| Heriot-Watt University | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1821 - The School of Arts of Edinburgh 1966 - gained University Status by Royal Charter |
| Chancellor | Baroness Greenfield |
| Principal | Professor Steve Chapman |
| Chairman of Court | Lord Penrose |
| Admin. staff | 1666[1] |
| Students | 9,283[1] |
| Undergraduates | 5,496 on Edinburgh Campus[1] |
| Postgraduates | 1,991 on Edinburgh Campus[1] |
| Location | Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Other campus locations | Galashiels Stromness Dubai |
| Website | www.hw.ac.uk |
Heriot-Watt University is a teaching and research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The eighth oldest higher education institution in the United Kingdom, it began in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute. In recognition of James Watt, the name changed to the Watt Institution and School of Arts in 1837, and to Heriot-Watt College in 1885 after George Heriot. It became a university in 1966.
Heriot-Watt is known for being research-led.[2][3] The university primarily offers vocational degrees leading to engineering or business roles.[4] As of 2011, it is ranked fourth in Scotland by the Complete University Guide.[5] The Edinburgh campus is home to the Edinburgh Conference Centre.[6]
Contents |
The institution that became Heriot-Watt University was established in 1821 as the "School of Arts of Edinburgh" by local businessman Leonard Horner. Following a conversation with watchmaker Robert Bryson about the lack of technical education for the working classes throughout their city, Horner became eager to establish an institution filling that need.[7]:64-66 His plan drew heavily on the example set by George Birkbeck, whose lectures in Anderson's Institution in Glasgow had taught chemistry and natural philosophy to working men around the turn of the 19th century.[8]
Renting rooms in St Cecilia's Hall on Niddry Street, the fledgling institution solicited Edinburgh's senior mechanics with details of classes their workers could soon attend before teaching commenced on 16 October 1821.[8][9] Although education at the School was not usually free — with yearly fees initially set at 15 shillings — it was subsidised. From its earliest days the institution's main source of income came through soliciting money via a subscription service, which allowed it to offer reduced fees to its students and eliminate them entirely in some cases.[8][10] In 1833 the School of Arts established its first course, awarding a Diploma of Life Membership to every student who gained proficiency in mathematics, chemistry and physics.[9]
In 1837 the School of Arts moved to rented accommodation on Adam Square, which it was able to purchase in 1852 thanks to public funds raised in the memory of inventor and engineer James Watt.[9] In honour of this act, the School changed its name to the "Watt Institution and School of Arts," whereupon it received its first public funding: a scholarship of £50 a year from the Department of Science and Art.[9]
On 12 May 1854, the statue of James Watt that today stands outside the entrance of Heriot-Watt's Edinburgh Campus was unveiled outside the School of Arts. At a reception to celebrate the event, a club was established with the purpose of celebrating Watt's birthday each year. This was to eventually become the Watt Club, today the oldest alumni association in the UK.[11]
Another landmark occurred in the School in 1869 when women were permitted to attend lectures for the first time. This decision came about in part due to pressure from local campaigner Mary Burton, who subsequently became the School's first female director in 1874.[7]:133-135[12]
During the 1870s redevelopment of Edinburgh resulted in the demolition of Adam Square to facilitate the construction of Chambers Street.[7]:148-153 After renting premises on Roxburgh Place for a brief period, the Watt School moved into a building on the newly constructed Chambers Street near where its former site had stood.[10] This was to cause the institution severe financial difficulties, which were ultimately resolved by the merger of its endowment with that of George Heriot's Hospital for Needy Orphans.[10] In 1885 the School's name was changed to "Heriot-Watt College" in recognition of this association, with the name Heriot ultimately deriving from jeweller, financier and philanthropist George Heriot.
Heriot-Watt grew substantially during its time as a college, with its premises, student body and curriculum all increasing in size as the demands industry made on the institution grew greater. Academically, the College appointed its first Professors in 1887 to administer the day classes which had begun to run alongside those taught in the night.[13] The institution's evolution into something resembling a modern university continued in 1904 with the introduction of the Associateship of Heriot-Watt College, an award conferred on the completion of certain three or four year full-time courses.
Heriot-Watt's premises also grew throughout the 20th century, gradually expanding between the original Chambers Street building and the Cowgate.[7]:239-244 Expansion meant that the College made increasing demands on the George Heriot's Trust, which eventually resulted in Heriot-Watt becoming an independent body in 1927. While the Trust continued to pay Heriot-Watt a fixed sum each year, from then on the institution was responsible for managing its own financial affairs.[13]
Global events impacted on the speed of the college's expansion, as it twice found its resources diverted to the cause of war. During World War I, student numbers dropped as young men joined the army, while the engineering staff were made responsible for the organisation and supervision of shell and munitions manufacture in South-East Scotland. Teaching stalled as the engineering department was converted into a factory floor, with many women drafted in to assist in the production of shells.[7]:213-215 Numbers dropped to an even greater extent during World War II, where the electrical engineering department was instructed to help train servicemen and women on employing the new technology of radar.
After the establishment of the postgraduate award of Fellowship of Heriot-Watt College in 1951, it became increasingly clear that the institution's associateships and fellowships were equivalent to the degrees and doctorates awarded by universities in all practical respects. This similarity was noted by the Robbins Report, which in 1963 recommended that the institution should be awarded university status. In 1966, this recommendation was acted upon as Heriot-Watt College was the first in that year to be granted a Royal Charter on 1 February 1966. Consequently, "Heriot-Watt University" officially joined the ranks of the new plateglass universities.[13]
While Heriot-Watt continued to expand in the centre of Edinburgh after attaining university status -opening a new building in the Grassmarket in 1968- the institution had become big enough that relocation was felt to be desirable.[13] In 1966, Midlothian Council gifted the Riccarton estate in southwest Edinburgh to the university, and work began in 1969 on transforming the site into a future campus.[7]:252 While the university ceased operating in Chambers Street in 1989, relocation to Riccarton was not completed until 1992, with teaching and facilities divided between the new campus and the centre of Edinburgh until this time.[7]:381[7]:379
The university continued to grow after its move to Riccarton, and in subsequent years constructed more student halls, a sports centre and a purpose-built home for the Edinburgh Business School on the site. In 1998, it merged with the Scottish College of Textiles in Galashiels, with the latter institution becoming Heriot-Watt's Scottish Borders Campus, while in 2006 it expanded further by opening a campus in Dubai.[7]:436-441
Heriot-Watt currently has four campuses, with plans for a fifth in Malaysia announced in November 2011.[14] It also administers distance learning programmes through 50 approved learning partners to students around the world, whose studies are not linked to individual campuses.[15]
Heriot-Watt's main campus is located in Riccarton, Edinburgh on a 380 acre site once occupied by the estate of Riccarton House, several features of which remain on site. In addition to student residences, teaching and research facilities, the campus has a purpose-built postgraduate centre, several shops and sports facilities. The campus is home to Europe's oldest research park, which allows collaboration between the university and several private businesses.[7]:386
The university's main campus is set on 380 acres of parkland, with an active Student Union.[16] Thirty sports clubs hold regular events.[17] Thirteen music groups perform at a lunchtime music hour and regular concerts.[18] Campus facilities include several library collections, childcare, healthcare, a chaplaincy centre, a variety of recreational facilities, and an archive and museum.[19]
The Scottish Borders Campus in Galashiels conducts teaching and research in textile and design. The campus is largely self-contained, with its own library, accommodation and catering facilities, but shares some facilities and administrative functions with the Edinburgh Campus.[20]
Heriot-Watt's Campus in Dubai, UAE is situated in Dubai International Academic City. Offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses similar to those found in Scotland, it facilitates student exchanges and campus transfers between Britain and the Emirates. A new expanded campus opened in November 2011, which doubled the number of students the university can offer provision for.[21]
The Orkney Campus in Stromness is home to the International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT), part of Heriot-Watt's Institute of Petroleum Engineering. The Campus provides education to a small number of postgraduate students and is host to eight members of research staff.[22][23]
The university is divided into six schools and one institute that coordinate research and teaching in their own specialist areas:
|
|||||