Heriot-Watt University Information

Heriot-Watt University is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, worlds first mechanics institute and subsequently was granted university status by royal charter granted in 1966. It is the eighth oldest higher education institute in UK. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot.

Heriot-Watt was named International University of the Year in recognition of its global presence and impact by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. In 2020, the university ranked among top 300 in the world by Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The same year, The Complete University Guide ranked Heriot-Watt at 35 in UK, ahead of several Russell Group universities.

Known for its strength in science and engineering, it is one of the 39 old universities in the UK comprising the distinctive second cluster of elite universities after Oxbridge. In the latest Research Excellence Framework, it was ranked overall in the top 10 of UK universities and 1st in Scotland for research impact.

Heriot-Watt was established as the School of Arts of Edinburgh by Scottish businessman Leonard Horner on 16 October 1821. Having been inspired by Andersons College in Glasgow, Horner established the School to provide practical knowledge of science and technology to Edinburghs working men.:64–66 The institution was initially of modest size, giving lectures two nights a week in rented rooms and boasting a small library of around 500 technical works.:100 It was also oversubscribed, with admissions soon closing despite the cost of 15 shillings for a years access to lectures and the library.

The School was managed by a board of eighteen directors and primarily funded by sponsors from the middle and upper classes including Robert Stevenson and Walter Scott. It first became associated with the inventor and engineer James Watt in 1824, as a means of raising funds to secure permanent accommodation. Justifying the association, School Director Lord Cockburn said:

In 1837, the School of Arts moved to leased accommodation on Adam Square, which it was able to purchase in 1851 thanks to funds raised in Watts name. In honour of the purchase, the School changed its name to the Watt Institution and School of Arts in 1852.

Heriot-Watts time as the Watt Institution marked a transitional period for the organisation, as its curriculum broadened to include several subjects beyond mathematics and the physical sciences. While the School of Arts had catered almost exclusively to working-class artisans and technical workers, the Watt Institution admitted a large number of middle-class students, whom it attracted with new subjects in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. By 1885, the skilled working class were no longer the majority in an institution that had been created explicitly for them.:133–135

A shifting class make-up was not the only demographic change to affect the student body, as in 1869 women were permitted to attend lectures for the first time. This move put the Watt Institution some way ahead of Scottish universities, who were only permitted to allow women to graduate 20 years later following the Universities (Scotland) Act of 1889.:163 The decision to admit women was made in large part owing to pressure from local campaigner Mary Burton, who later became the Institutions first female director in 1874.:133–135

In 1870, the Watt Institution was forced to move following the demolition of Adam Square.:148–153 After a brief period on Roxburgh Place, it relocated to the newly constructed Chambers Street near where its former site had stood. The move caused the Institution severe financial difficulties, which were compounded by a combination of declining funds from subscribers and increased costs from its growing student body. In 1873, the Directors turned to George Heriots Trust for support, and agreed to a merger of the Trusts endowment with the Institutions own. The proposed merger was provisional to changes in the structure of the Watt Institution, which would see the organisation become a technical college with representatives of the Trust in management positions. Accepting these changes, the Watt Institution officially became Heriot-Watt College in 1885, and was subsequently on far firmer financial ground.:160–161

The Watt Club was founded at the Watt Institution on 12 May 1854, and is today the oldest alumni organisation in the UK. Following the unveiling of a statue of James Watt outside the Institution, local jeweller J.E Vernon proposed that

Watt Club Medals are still awarded by the organisation each year to Heriot-Watts most highly achieving students, while the Watt Club Prize is awarded by The Watt Club Council to recognise student initiative and enterprise.

After the establishment of Heriot-Watt as a technical college, the new management committee set about extending the institutions buildings and strengthening its academic reputation. In its new form the College was one of only three non-university institutions in the UK with the power to appoint professors, and the first of these was appointed in 1887. In 1902 the College became a central institution, while in 1904 it introduced awards for graduating students which were similar to university degrees.

Expansion meant that the College made increasing demands on George Heriots Trust throughout the first part of the 20th century, which ultimately led to the independence of the two bodies in 1927. While the Trust continued to pay Heriot-Watt a fixed sum each year, from then on the College was responsible for managing its own financial affairs. Heriot-Watt continued to expand after becoming independent, opening a new extension in 1935.:243

Both World Wars impacted on the speed of the Colleges expansion. During World War I, student numbers dropped as young men joined the army, while teaching in engineering stalled as the department was used for the manufacture of shells and munitions.:213–215 During World War II, student numbers dropped again and the electrical engineering department became involved in training the armed services in the use of radar.

After the College introduced a postgraduate award in 1951, it offered awards equivalent to university degrees and doctorates in all practical respects. Recognising this, in 1963 the Robbins Report recommended that it should be awarded university status. On 1 February 1966 the recommendation was enacted, as the institution officially became Heriot-Watt University.

The first personal chair was appointed in 1974.

While Heriot-Watt continued to expand in the centre of Edinburgh after attaining university status, the institution had grown big enough that relocation was felt to be desirable. In 1966 Midlothian County Council gifted the Riccarton estate north of Currie to the University and in 1969 work began on transforming the site into a future campus.:252 The process of relocation to Riccarton continued until 1992, with teaching and facilities divided between the new campus and the city centre until this time.:379–381

The University has continued to grow after completing its move to Riccarton, constructing additional student halls, a sports centre and a postgraduate centre on the site. The institution also expanded beyond Edinburgh, merging with the Scottish College of Textiles to create a campus in the Scottish Borders in 1998, opening a campus in Dubai in 2006:436–441 and a campus in Putrajaya, Malaysia, in 2012.

In recent years, the Universitys campus in Edinburgh has benefited from major infrastructural projects worth £60 million, with another £68 million worth investment announced. These include the UKs first purpose built graduate centre (£6 million), Scotlands elite Oriam Sports Performance Centre facility (£33 million), and the UKs first FlexBIO flexible downstream bioprocessing centre (£2 million). It is also constructing a 5,000m² Watt Innovation Building to boost ‘creativity and ideas generation’ on the Universitys growing Edinburgh campus, and has plans to host a major £65 million film studio and a £2.5 million academic partnership with the oil and gas firm TOTAL S.A..However, in 2017 it was also announced that a major budget shortfall and the impact of Brexit would result in Heriot-Watt shedding 100 jobs.

Heriot-Watt currently has five campuses, and also runs distance learning programmes through 53 approved learning partners to students around the world.

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