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Contact UsGrowth and development have been the hallmarks of Heriot-Watt's Learning and Teaching this year. Growth in student numbers, in Scotland, in distance learning students and in Dubai, growth in graduate employment figures and development in the structure of the academic year.
Building on this success, with the aim to continue improvements to the student learning experience, increasing student numbers, retention rates and employment figures, is a key element of the University's strategic plan. The effects of the restructuring of the academic year will be assessed over the coming year, and any required lessons learned, but early indications are that it is already contributing to improvements in student-centred learning and prompting positive feed-back from students and staff.
Student numbers rise
Following growth of 7% in student intake in 2007, 2008 admissions figures for the University's Scottish campuses show that there has been a 5% year-on-year increase of undergraduate entrants and full-time postgraduate numbers have grown by 3%. Within this increase, international (non-EU) numbers have grown by 9% in 2008.
Spectacular growth has also been achieved at the University's Dubai Campus, where the overall student population is anticipated to reach more than 1,000 by the end of the academic year.
Commenting on the figures, Principal Anton Muscatelli said, "The University continues to react well domestically to the lifting of the Scottish Funding Council cap on undergraduate places and the rise in student numbers from outside the UK embeds our position as Scotland's international university."
Mike Bates, Director of Recruitment and Admissions, commented, "The University is performing well in a challenging student recruitment environment and it is encouraging to see numbers continuing to grow. We face many issues such as the demographic decline in Scottish school-leaver numbers, the ever-increasing global competition for students and the uncertain economic climate.
"The significant increase in student numbers at the Dubai Campus affirms the work of staff in establishing the University's brand and reputation for quality education in the region. Also, a number of engineering and
management students have transferred to the Edinburgh campus again this year, thereby contributing to the overall numbers at the University."
Rise in Graduate Employment Figures
Graduate employment figures are up for the third year in a row. Graduate level jobs at first degree level have risen from 60.7% in January 2006 to 77.4% in January 2008. The figures for overall employment/further study have risen from 91.9% in January 2006 to 94.8% reported in January 2008.
Heriot-Watt also achieved 13th place in the UK for employment in the 2008 Sunday Times University Guide. The measure used scored the proportion of graduate level employment as well as the overall figure.
The University sets its sights for its graduates high and is ambitious to create the next generation of leaders in business and technology. Success in this ambition was underlined when Heriot-Watt featured well in the MINES Paris Tech 2008 professional Ranking of World Universities, which ranks on the basis of the number of an individual university's alumni who are listed among the CEOs in the 500 largest world-wide companies.
Restructuring of the Academic Year (RAY)
With effect from 2008/09, the University changed the structure of its academic year from three terms to two semesters, with the session starting in mid-September and concluding in late May.
The restructured academic year is now based around two 12-week teaching semesters, each followed by an assessment period and containing fewer, longer modules. Both undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses in all Schools (with the exception of the Edinburgh Business School) are now structured on this model, with each restructured course comprising four modules of 15 credits per semester.
The restructuring was undertaken to provide benefits for student learning through longer, in-depth, integrated modules and opportunities for curriculum development, as well as offering business benefits for the University. Within these core objectives, there were six student-centred purposes to be reflected in re-designed courses:
- Improving assessment (formative and summative)
- Improving preparation for employment
- Enhancing skill development
- Formalising research-informed learning
- Improving transition into first year
- Ensuring internationalisation of the curriculum.
During March 2009 a RAY Review will be held in each School, to consider the activities which have been introduced to achieve six RAY objectives and to form an initial view of their effectiveness. The review will be enhancement-led, meaning that the focus will be on how courses are being enhanced and developed in accordance with the RAY objectives.
University Joins Elite International Energy Industry Partnership
Heriot-Watt University joins Chevron University Partnership Programme
Heriot-Watt University has become one of 17 international universities, and only the second in Europe, to be invited to join the Chevron University Partnership Programme (UPP). The Programme's remit is to create mutually beneficial programmes for delivering tomorrow's energy, to develop a world-class, enterprise-level, globally mobile workforce of the future, and to do this by forming long-term, strategic relationships between Chevron and the chosen universities.
Under the scheme Chevron will provide £150,000 worth of scholarships and support in the Institute of Petroleum Engineering and in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering, including support and assistance for specific degree courses and research. Students will also have the opportunity to apply for work experience and internships, with Chevron looking to employ top-class graduates on completion of their university studies. The programme will build on Chevron's existing 30 year relationship with Heriot-Watt, identifying mutually beneficial partnership opportunities through Chevron Upstream Europe, based in Aberdeen.
International Study Centre
The University has entered into a partnership with Study Group, a company specialising in international education and training, launching the International Study Centre (ISC) in Research Park North, at the Edinburgh Campus, in September 2008.
The Heriot-Watt ISC is part of a network of nine ISCs at UK universities, offering international students a pathway to a University degree through a nine month Undergraduate Certificate (UC). The UC offers direct entry to the second year of a degree programme and covers English language training, maths, study skills and specialist subjects linked to Heriot-Watt degrees: Business and Management, Engineering and Computing and Life Sciences.
The course familiarises the students with the teaching methods and style that they will encounter at degree level and enables them to become accustomed to university life and culture prior to starting the degree. The students have visiting scholar status, Students Association membership and will be staying in halls of residence with full access to the Library and sports, entertainment and catering facilities.
Learning and Teaching Awards
The Heriot-Watt University Learning and Teaching Awards for 2008 were presented at this year's graduation ceremonies. The winners are selected by a University Review Panel, which includes external assessors. This year's overall prize was awarded to members of staff in the School of Management and Languages for their design of a new first year module to be taken by all Languages students. Professor Sharwood Smith and Dr O'Rourke were presented with a Certificate of Award and the Prize of £1,000.
Other staff were also Highly Commended for their work by the awards panel: Dr Helen Lever from the Institute of Petroleum Engineering, for her innovative developments on the Petroleum Engineering Geoscience module and Professor Pooley and the Interactive Systems Team for their development of a new degree in Information Systems.
Online Collaborative Learning Success
Dame Vivienne Westwood and Fashion Design Students
Since VISION was enhanced last year with collaborative learning building blocks including wikis, blogs and podcasts, use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) has steadily grown, while being increasingly embedded and incorporated into modules. The use of the VLE for more than 'shovelware' has increased, and online collaborative learning tasks are being incorporated, to motivate students and improve their learning experience.
Blogs have been used as reflective learning logs, with students writing about their learning progress and constructively commenting on their peers' postings, yielding rich data that allows views into the learners' minds, while helping to design out plagiarism.
The great winner so far of the portfolio of online collaborative tools, has been wikis, which are an easy and straightforward way within VISION to let students create web pages, with the ability to upload a wide variety of different file types. Examples of use across the institution include coursework, group authoring areas, reusable knowledge compendiums, collaborative group projects, such as field trips, and text based discussion.
