Research
Internationally recognised research
Heriot-Watt is recognised internationally as a centre for high calibre research in science, engineering and business, and we are one of the UK’s leading universities for cutting edge, applied research. We continue to attract significant research funding year on year and nearly 90% of our academic staff are involved in research activity.
World leading expertise
Our expertise in science and engineering is considered world leading and we are renowned for our applied and technological research and for our industry-oriented collaborative work. We also work hard to share this expertise and participate extensively in Knowledge Transfer which helps businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity.
Recent research in marine conservation for example has focused on marine habitat mapping for conservation purposes in the UK, Galapagos, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama alongside work to understand the impact of climate change (e.g. ocean warming and acidification) on marine species and habitats. Similar projects are being set up in Malaysia.
Our research activity in Malaysia
Heriot-Watt is already engaged with industry organisations and professional boards in the region and we intend to develop and strengthen this activity to ensure that all our research activity at our Putrajaya campus is relevant to the needs of Malaysia. We aim to engage with local higher education institutions, government ministries and organisations, as well as business and industry, to develop research in line with their needs and priorities.
A platform for partnerships
Our new Putrajaya campus will provide a dynamic platform from the creation of partnerships with other local universities through which we can deliver research studentships and other funded research activities. We also hope to work with Universities and other Higher Education Institutions in the surrounding region, particularly with those from ASEAN countries.
Key areas we expect to engage in
Examples of the areas we expect to engage in include, sustainable development, biotechnologies, energy, water resource management, smart textiles and interior environments. It is likely that our research and knowledge transfer activities in Malaysia will reflect the six themes of the University's core strategy which are:
- Environment and Climate Change
- Energy
- Transport and Infrastructure
- Physical and Life Sciences Interface
- Modeling and Risk
- Creativity, Design and Innovation