Appointment of New Academic Lead for HWU Online

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The University is delighted to announce that following an internal selection process Dr. Paul Hopkinson, Associate Professor in Marketing and Associate Head of the School of Social Sciences in Dubai, has been appointed the Academic Lead for Heriot-Watt Online.

The success of Heriot-Watt Online is of fundamental importance to the future of the University and has been agreed as a strategic priority by the Executive and Court. The new unitary Heriot-Watt Online team was launched on the 1st of July bringing together expertise from across the University to cement our position as pioneering in online education, offering flexible and accessible learning for those in employment or with other commitments.

Accessible, life-long learning has never been so important. In this rapidly changing world, organisations and individuals need to be armed with a range of continually evolving skills relevant to challenges that are shaping business and society today; challenges including, climate change, resource scarcity, and rapid shifts in technology resulting in great automation and digitisation

With this secondary appointment, reporting to Dr. Gillian Murray (Deputy Principal Enterprise & Business), Paul will lead the academic vision for Heriot-Watt online and be responsible for building relationships amongst key stakeholder communities to ensure the project is a great success.

 “I am delighted to have this opportunity to shape Heriot-Watt’s digital future. I’m keen to work with the Schools to rapidly position the University as a pioneer in digital education through a combination of thought leadership, distinctive programme offerings and unique community connections. I am looking forward to sharing my vision for Heriot-Watt Online at a ‘Town Hall’ meeting in the Autumn and would encourage academics to engage with me to support the University’s endeavours”

Dr. Paul Hopkinson

“Paul’s appointment is extremely timely as we endeavour to adapt and respond to the current Covid_19 crisis, reimagining our provision to boost economic growth in the diverse regions in which we operate. I am looking forward to working with Paul to accelerate our plan for Heriot-Watt Online and develop a new model that will differentiate us from the competition.”

Dr. Gillian Murray

The first three new programmes, Digital Learnership, Business Analytics and Logistics, will be launched in 2021. They will also be available individually for upskilling/reskilling global employees.