Universities in Wales are to get a further £18.5m in funding and £500,000 to woo more international students as they continue to face job losses and departmental cuts, it was announced on Tuesday. The extra cash from the Welsh Government brings the total it has given to universities this financial year to more than £50m.

Welcoming the cash Universities Wales, which represents institutions, warned it was "short-term investment" and said more discussion was needed about long-term funding. Outlining where the money will go Wales' higher education minister Vikki Howells said she has asked university vice-chancellors to meet for discussions about challenges they face.

Universities in Wales estimate a combined deficit of at least £70m this year . The UCU union is to ballot for possible industrial action over proposed deep cuts at Cardiff University.You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.

In a statement the Welsh Government said: "Universities in Wales will be supported by investment of £18.5m to help them address the challenges facing the higher education sector and a further £500,000 to support international recruitment and promotion. The funding will be provided to universities via Medr and is to help them meet capital costs associated with estate maintenance and digital projects to reduce operating costs while also improving environmental sustainability. It will also ensure that facilities continue to be suitable for providing a high-quality student experience and delivering world-leading research.

"An additional £500,000 is also being invested in the Global Wales programme to continue supporting the international recruitment and promotional activities of Welsh universities. It is the third funding boost for the sector this financial year. There has also been an increase to the home tuition fee limit that is estimated will provide up to £21.9m in additional income to universities next year and an announcement of an additional £10m last autumn."

Universities have been hit by inflation, a fall in numbers of higher-paying international students, and largely static home tuition fees. Cardiff University, Wales' flagship institution, is currently consulting on 400 academic jobs with more to follow and closing entire departments including its schools or nursing, music, and modern foreign languages.

The University of South Wales has confirmed it will be outlining consultation on savings it plans later this week while all but UWTSD and Wrexham have posted deficit budget reports amid widespread cuts. It's not clear whether the extra cash from Cardiff Bay will be enough to ease the cuts already announced or under consideration as the cash is for very specific areas. You can read more about pressures on universities here.

Ms Howells said: “Universities across Wales are anchor institutions in our economy, our communities, and our culture. This funding will contribute to the longer-term sustainability of universities. I have invited all vice-chancellors to a roundtable meeting for more discussions about the current challenges facing the sector and how we can work together to safeguard the future of higher education in Wales.” The Welsh Government said the £18.5m was "extra funding from reserves in the second supplementary budget" published on Tuesday and added: "It has been allocated in recognition of the significant financial challenges facing higher education.”

Latest data from university admissions service Ucas shows Welsh universities buck the UK trend in falling applications, including from lucrative international students. Wales also now has the lowest proportion of 18 year-olds in the UK nations applying to university at just 32%.

Responding to the announcement of more cash Universities Wales, which represents employers, said: "Universities Wales welcomes this announcement of additional support for the Welsh higher education sector. It comes at a crucial time for our universities who are facing some of the most pressing, difficult financial circumstances in recent memory.

“We have worked constructively and positively with the minister for further and higher education to explore solutions to the challenges being experienced by Welsh universities. And we are grateful for the support announced today which will provide much needed short-term investment to our institutions. However we remain in a challenging economic environment and there is a need to identify medium to long-term solutions to help tackle the underlying issues and ensure the sustainability of our sector."

A Cardiff University spokesman said: "We welcome today's announcement from Welsh Government. The precarious financial position of many universities in the sector is well-documented. It is too early to say how this funding will affect Cardiff University but it will be considered in our wider financial context. Additional capital funding to support our estate and digital infrastructure is always welcome.”

Cardiff UCU Branch President Dr Joey Whitfield hoped the cash might ease pressure leading to proposed cuts at his university and said: “Today’s announcement of a £19m cash injection for the sector in Wales makes it even more difficult for Cardiff University’s executive board to plough ahead with its plans to slash 400 jobs and close entire departments and programmes. Now more than ever it lacks the political cover for its cruel and unnecessary cuts. Along with its £188m in accessible cash the promised money from Welsh Government gives Cardiff University no excuse to make 400 more of our members redundant.” The branch said the Welsh Government should make any new funds "conditional upon governance reform and protecting access to and participation in Welsh universities. Otherwise they risk throwing good money after bad".

Deio Owen, president of NUS Cymru, said there needed to be a “long-term conversation” about university finances in Wales. “If we don’t fix it now, in the long term we're going to see cost-saving measures, efficiencies, whatever you want to call it, over time to try to fix what is existing but we’re not changing the system altogether.”

He called this announcement a “cash injection” and not a “long-term solution”. He added: “It's not sustainable for the government to just keep trying to find cash pots. This isn't going to fix the issue we’re facing this year without looking at next year and the year after that."

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