Transition event

The Edinburgh campus is a large campus and may seem daunting at first but there are many markers that help you navigate your way around the buildings, follow the blue signs overhead and on the walls as you walk along the corridors. Pick an area as your main point and navigate back to there, whether it be the main reception, the shop or a certain bus stop, you will soon find your way around the campus.

Check out our campus map with building names and numbers- this will help you to navigate whilst you are on campus. Check out a virtual tour of the Campus.

Student Wellbeing Services provides a range of support, guidance, activities and advice to help students to be their best and get the most from their university experience. Services include:

• Disability support
• Counselling
• Mental Health Support
• Mental Health Mentoring
• Thinking of Leaving guidance
• Study skills referrals
• Wellbeing support
• Drop In sessions
• Wellbeing Activities

The MyHWU portal is for everything you'll ever need at our University. You can download it to your phone or tablet from the App Store or Google Play or use it on your computer.

It's basically a one stop shop for everything any student needs at Heriot-Watt. It is completely personalised, you can change the colour if you want, add things to your home screen or take parts away as you wish.

You can read about portal guidance or watch a video about the Portal.

Canvas is our virtual learning environment used by Heriot-Watt University. Course tutors use it to organise the courses throughout your study to provide an easy way for you to access materials, discussions and links to online teaching. It is also where you will submit your online assignments, view tutor feedback and collaborate with peers. Visit the IT Essentials webpages for help getting started with Canvas.

The Student Union is a student-led organisation that exists to represent students at University and as a registered student at Heriot-Watt you are now a fully-fledged member of Heriot-Watt University Student Union.

Their main purpose is to represent the best interests of all students on the issues they may face (whether that's locally, on campus or nationally).

The Student Union is mostly led by elected students, who are typically current or recently graduated students from the Uni. They hold social events, run commercial services such as bars, cafes and shops and host many great societies. There are events being held throughout Freshers Week (Freshers Week is the same week as Welcome Week).

Oriam is Scotland's national performance centre for sport, based at Heriot-Watt University's campus in Edinburgh. The Scottish Rugby Union and the Scottish Football Association use it as a training facility, as do Heart of Midlothian F.C. for first-team training and to run their academy. It is also used by other sports teams, students and members of the public.

The Sports Union is the student-focused organisation that provides sport and opportunities for Heriot-Watt students. With a sports performance programme, and over 30 different clubs offering a range of activities from recreational fun to competition in a safe and welcoming environment, there’s a place in the WattFamily for everyone regardless of sporting ability or experience. They are based at Oriam, the largest indoor sporting centre in Europe with exceptional opportunities and facilities to excel on and off the playing field.

Studying as an undergraduate student at our Edinburgh campus you will be placed in accommodation with other new 1st year students or direct entrants into 2nd, 3rd or 4th year.

All undergraduate halls are conveniently located near to the Student Union, sports facilities and academic buildings allowing you to make the most of living on campus. All accommodation is self-catered and there are a number of catering facilities on campus.

Further information can be found on the Accommodation webpages on the Heriot-Watt website.

• Heriot-Watt Edinburgh Campus Accommodation Tour
• Heriot-Watt Accommodation Tour Vlog

The ResLife Hub is a welcoming environment where students living on campus can find support for any challenges they may be facing. The friendly team can offer practical information, emotional support and signpost to relevant University services.

ResLife are here to help students who:

• are having difficulty settling into halls or university life
• are facing conflicts with their flat mates, for example over cleanliness or noise
• require further support from the wellbeing or disability teams
• require support for mental health
• have any questions regarding campus life
• are locked out of their flat or room
• need to report maintenance

SafeGuarding operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and the Officers are the first responders to any incidents occurring on campus. All of the SafeGuarding Officers are first aid and mental health first aid trained and will respond to all SafeZone activations on campus.

SafeZone is a free app that allows you to send a location-based alert from your smartphone or tablet to SafeGuarding Services whenever you need an immediate emergency response, first-aid or any other general assistance. It is designed to enhance your personal safety and extends the reach of campus safety and security, to cater for the real time needs of the people who use campus every day. It provides a quick and easy way for users to alert SafeGuarding Services, when help or assistance is needed.

The Chaplaincy promotes spiritual and social wellbeing. It is open to everyone - both students and staff - from all backgrounds and cultures. People of all faiths and no religious faith are welcome.

The Chaplaincy aims to enhance the student experience by promoting spiritual and social wellbeing. There is something for everyone. This is a nice quiet spot to have your lunch or meet friends away from the busy areas of the campus!

It might seem odd to mention the Careers Service when you have not even started your studies yet, but they can offer support to students in any year of their degree. The aim is to assist students and graduates to make informed career choices by providing a professional, high quality careers guidance and information service.

The Careers and Graduate Futures Service is here to support your career planning in a number of ways including:

• looking for graduate jobs, internships, placements and part-time work on campus
• attending careers fairs, networking sessions and other events
• writing CVs and drafting job applications
• preparing for interviews and psychometric tests
• finding volunteering opportunities
• getting a mentor
• choosing a career path

Our library is situated in the Cameron Smail Building and normally remains open 24/7 during the exam revision period, giving you plenty of time to find and use the books, journals and other material.

Students are automatically made members when they enrol with the university. There are individual and group study places, there is plenty of space for you to study, whether on your own or in groups.

There is WiFi access throughout, and networked PCs and printers allow you to access University-licensed software, online databases and journals, as well as other internet resources.

The library catalogue will help you find items in our collection and tell you which type of loan (standard, week or 3 hour loan) applies to each item. You can also use the library section within the myHWU Portal to reserve books and check on availability.

Academic Support and Liaison Librarians

Within the library there are Academic Support and Liaison Librarians who can provide one-to-one tuition or support for a group of students or staff on using the resources available or information skills. There are also subject guides which can support you with research or studying.

Effective Learning Service

Within the library, there is also the Effective Learning Service, which provides support to all students to develop skills in a range of areas, including academic writing, essays, reports, adjusting to higher education, reading, note-taking and time management. You can book an appointment with the Effective Learning Service by visiting the Skills Hub.

The Campbell Maths Gym is a cross-campus initiative aimed at supporting all HW students, from any subject, to strengthen their mathematical or statistical skills and gain confidence in applying these skills.

We provide support through a variety of activities including drop-in sessions, one-to-one appointments and workshops.

Whether you want to brush up on basic skills or need help to understand new material from your course, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

We also work in partnership with Autism Initiatives to provide support. This may have been discussed with you by your Disability Advisor.

The University Support Team provides support for adults with Autism. The support received is person centred and tailored to the individual needs of the student. The extent of support from them is dependent on the recommendations made by a Disability Advisor at Heriot-Watt University.

If you require this support, you will be assigned a support worker. Some of the support can include the following:

• Initial orientation to the University environment
• Support to develop and maintain social networks
• Development of practical life skills
• Planning, prioritising and organising academic workload
• Development of study skills
• Preparing for and attending exams
• Identifying personal strengths and areas for development
• Coping with the impact of sensory differences
• Staying motivated!
• Study and exam preparation skills
• Managing procrastination
• Effective communication strategies
• Strategies and advice about team/group work
• Managing sensory sensitivities
• Ensuring the strategies are maintained