Our research environment

To maintain our high level of achievement in research innovation, industry collaboration and enterprise, we continually invest in the resources and infrastructure that support a research-led environment and our ability to share knowledge.

Flagship developments include the GRID – Global Research Innovation and Discovery – facility and global ecosystem, providing opportunities for entrepreneurial creativity for students, staff and businesses. On the Edinburgh Campus, the loch-side GRID building houses state-of-the-art computer laboratories and virtual reality and gaming studios used by academics and students for research and learning. It is home to the University’s Business and Enterprise team and the focal point for research and enterprise collaboration, knowledge exchange and business partnerships.

Our Global Research Institutes (GRIs) are platforms for delivering interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, in collaboration with external partners. They act as focal points for Heriot-Watt’s world-leading research on major global challenges through significant international collaborations and connectivity to business.

Our first, The Lyell Centre for Earth and Marine Sciences and Technology, was joined by The National Robotarium, the UK’s centre for robotics and artificial intelligence in 2022.

These are now joined by the GRIs in Health and Care Technologies, and iNetZ+, focused on Achieving Net Zero and Beyond.

Leading research centres also include the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre, which offers prototyping and manufacturing support to develop medical devices; the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre, the UK’s research and innovation hub for industrial decarbonisation – and the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions – a world-leading engineering centre focused on the technologies needed to reach carbon targets.

Within the campus lies the 180-acre Research Park, opened in 1971 and the first University Research Park in Europe. This is home to over 30 organisations and companies including the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, Scottish Water, Charles River, Fugro and Logan Energy. The Park is integral to the University's ambitious plans focused around Robotics and AI, Health and Care Technologies, Net Zero, Quantum and Satellite Communications, and Brewing and Distilling.

Our Edinburgh Business School, internationally renowned for its MBAs and also for its research, which is intrinsically linked throughout our GRIs and in Panmure House. The birthplace of Adam Smith, it was restored by the University and opened in 2018, as a centre of excellence, debate and thought leadership in contemporary economics and sustainable capitalism.