Skip page header and navigation

Background

Dr Bronwen Williams has worked in Higher Education for 18 years, starting out first as an hourly paid part-time lecturer and progressing to her current position as Academic Director of Swansea Law School. As Academic Director, Bronwen is responsible for the leadership and management of the Swansea Law School, which involves clear curriculum development, together with the day-to-day management of curriculum delivery, quality assurance, enhancement of the student experience and the effective and efficient deployment of physical and human resources. UG and PG programmes offered in the Swansea Law School are programmes across Law, Criminology and the Emergency Services, such as policing and fire and rescue. Bronwen has developed significant relationships and partnerships with external organisations in order to design innovative qualifications, creating opportunities for collaboration and enhancement of the student experience, with all programmes having a strong focus on employability. 

Specialist Subjects

  • Legal Education
  • Employability in Higher Education

Professional and/or Research Experience

Research interests include links with educational institutions and professional practice in particular for MA research purposes, legal education and the profession, with DProf research on how Higher Education institutions can include employability skills into academic delivery and how to survive in today’s competitive market.

DProf thesis:
How the University through its Police Student Volunteer scheme helped develop employability skills to prepare students for a career in the police service.

Further research into legal education in Wales led to the paper supporting the case for a Level 7 Legal apprenticeship in Wales as commissioned by the Law Society Wales office released May 2025 and presented to the Counsel General.

Research undertaken in 2017 on behalf of Dyfed-Powys Police evaluating life sign monitoring in Police detention cells in order to reduce the number of deaths in police custody.

Qualifications

  • Doctorate in Professional Practice – UWTSD 2024
  • MA (PDET) – Swansea Metropolitan University – 2012
  • PGCE (PCET) – Swansea Metropolitan University – 2009
  • LLB (hons) – Exeter University – 2000

Languages Spoken

English

Professional Membership or Roles

2025- 2029 External examiner for the University of Staffordshire
2025-2029 External Examiner for the University of Ulster
2024- present Member of the Law Society’s National Board for Wales
2021 - present. Vice Chair - Independent Member of the Ethics Committee for South Wales Police
2019 - present Magistrate and Presiding Justice for West Glamorgan Bench.
2022- present Chair of the West Glamorgan Magistrates Association
2022- present Member of the All-Wales Police Academic Collaboration Group and Chair of the Impact and Learning working group and Chair of the Impact and Learning Group

Academic Teaching

External Recognition or Rewards

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Sister Member of the Order of Saint John

Link to Orcid Profile

Professional Publications

  • “Pepper, I., Rogers, C., Turner, J., Louis, N. and Williams, B. (2024), "Enabling student employability through volunteering: insights from police volunteers studying professional policing degrees in Wales", Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learnin