The University of the West of England (UWE) was also considered, by RAE, to have "high levels of world-leading and internationally excellent research" in Biomedical Sciences, Art and Design and Communication, Cultural and Media Studies.

BBC: University is top for research

Kevin Williams, professor of media and communication studies at Swansea University, explained how those early BBC-affiliated stations differed greatly from the corporation as we know it today.

BBC: Broadcasting in Wales: 90 years since BBC went on air

It is the site of the dryly entitled but fascinating Laboratory for Communication Between Humans and Interactive Media, which is the domain of a genial, enthusiastic professor called Clifford Nass who studies how people and machines get on, particularly when the machines talk to the people.

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