Heriot-Watt University launches Strategy 2035: Driven by purpose, measured by impact

Heriot-Watt University has launched Strategy 2035: Driven by purpose, measured by impact, setting out its direction for the next decade.

Building on more than 200 years of education, research, and industry collaboration, the strategy focuses on creating opportunities, addressing global challenges, and delivering meaningful benefits for people and communities.

Heriot-Watt Online will play an important role in achieving these goals. Through the development of our Online Campus, we aim to help more individuals and organisations develop the knowledge and skills they need to respond to a changing world.

Russell Brooks, CEO of Heriot-Watt Online, says: "We are excited about the opportunity to take the expertise of this university to more people in more places and helping to meet the needs of learners, industry and society at a time when they arguably need us more than ever."

Building on our experience in online education

At Heriot-Watt, we have decades of experience in distance learning and are already a top 10 UK distance learning provider, as well as the fourth largest for postgraduate online education.

Last year, we launched our first online degrees from the School of Maths and Computer Science and expanded into undergraduate education with our online BSc Business Management. Strategy 2035 sets out plans to build on this experience, significantly expanding our online provision and creating more opportunities for learners around the world. The University's ambition is to achieve significant growth and establish its Online Campus as a globally recognised leader in flexible, career-aligned online education.

To achieve this, we have set out three priorities.

Expanding our portfolio expansion

One of our top priorities is to broaden the range of online learning opportunities.

This includes expanding our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, micro-credentials and executive education, giving learners more choice in how they develop their knowledge and skills. With a wider range of options, we aim to make education more accessible and flexible, helping people find learning opportunities that fit around their work, personal commitments and individual needs.

By combining Heriot-Watt's academic expertise with real-world challenges, we aim to support people looking to progress in their careers, develop specialist knowledge or gain new skills as their industries change.

Extending our impact through partnerships

Partnerships are central to our growth plans, particularly in markets where demand for higher education is increasing.

As Russell explains, one opportunity ahead is to "distribute through partners, reaching learners in some of the world's fastest-growing markets where the demand for higher education is immense."

We're already working with organisations to offer online learning opportunities, including our MSc Computer Science and MSc Computer Science with Artificial Intelligence programmes in partnership with Coursera, and our CPD course Sustainability, Investment and Value Creation, developed with Arkadiko Partners.

Through Strategy 2035, we aim to build on these relationships and establish new partnerships that will help us bring our high-quality education to more learners around the world.

Innovation into new products and formats

Our third priority is to explore new ways of delivering education, with the aim to reach more people whose needs may not be met by traditional degree programmes.

Alongside expanding our existing portfolio, we plan to develop new products and learning formats, including Continuous Professional Development (CPD), to engage broader audiences.

Russell says: "The traditional model – education, qualification, career, perhaps a return to study later – is no longer enough.”

He adds: "People will need to move in and out of education throughout their lives."

This changing approach to education is at the heart of our plans. By offering different formats, we want to make it easier for people to access focused, career-relevant learning when they need it.

Looking ahead to 2035

Strategy 2035 sets out a clear direction for our Online Campus and the role we will play in the University's future.

Building on our experience in online education, we're focused on reaching more learners, responding to changing skills needs and creating opportunities for people to benefit from Heriot-Watt's academic expertise, wherever they are in the world.

As we work towards 2035, our focus will be on growing in a way that maintains the quality, flexibility and practical relevance that learners expect from Heriot-Watt Online.

Russell concludes: "By bringing together our academic expertise, our global reach and our ability to innovate, the Online Campus will deliver Heriot-Watt's educational mission on a new scale, reaching more people in more places throughout their lives."

Discover more about how our Online Campus can help shape your future.