Be Active
What is Active Wellbeing
Active Wellbeing aims to support more students and staff to be more active, more often through physical activity and wellbeing initiatives on all Heriot-Watt University campuses. The team work with various departments across the University, often collaborating to host activities and events.
Key to this work are the ‘Active Wellbeing Activators’ – a group of volunteers who help design, deliver and promote Active Wellbeing activity. Examples of activity include active campus tours, recreational sport, wellbeing walks, running groups, allotment workshops, bike trips and more.
The Active Wellbeing Team
- Sarah Robertson, Wellbeing Manager
- Jordan Moore, Active Wellbeing Officer
Active Wellbeing Activities
Active Residencies
Active Residencies is a physical activity programme designed for Heriot-Watt University students living in University accommodation. The programme is open to all students, no matter their experience with sport and physical activity.
The project is run between Active Wellbeing and ResLife, with activities delivered by ResLife Wardens and hosted at Oriam.
Sessions include football, badminton and table tennis which take place on a weekly basis, and dance which takes place monthly. All sessions are free and bookable via the Oriam App.
Active Wellbeing Colour Run
This vibrant annual event is hosted on the Edinburgh campus, free to attend and open to all students and staff. The event is an untimed 5k, with colour stations at every 1km mark. Usually taking place in March, the event is run in partnership with ResLife and celebrates Holi Festival.
Staff Sport
Weekly staff sport is offered, free of charge to all staff at the University. Sessions take place weekly during semester time, and range from recreational sport sessions at Oriam, to campus-based walks.
Couch to 5k
Couch to 5k is a beginner running programme, open to all students and staff. The programme takes place over 9 weeks, with two on-campus sessions per week. The programme utilises the scenic trim trail around campus, as used by Oriam Parkrun.
Projects
Learning & Teaching
Brain Breaks are a global initiative, launched in AY 2024/25 to support students to take short breaks during academic sessions over 60 minutes. Early engagement has shown Brain Breaks increase concentration, productivity and focus. Implementation will continue, moving into more academic courses and modules.
Sport Strategy
Active Wellbeing is a key part of the University Sport Strategy, working to ensure all students and staff have the opportunity to be active whilst studying and working at Heriot-Watt.