Learning and Teaching Matters

No matter where or how you are studying, learning and teaching matter. Across our campuses and global community of students, we are promoting learning and teaching with a series of key messages to provide you with advice and information at crucial points during your Heriot-Watt experience. Here are the messages so far:

You said, We did

You told us what would improve your learning experience through student surveys so here is what we did:

• Provided a new, central state-of-the art supported study and learning environment – the Learning Commons
• Refurbished more learning and teaching spaces
• Made changes to the Personal Tutor system
• Now publish teaching timetables earlier

Personal Tutors

Your personal tutor is there to help you succeed. Every student has a member of academic staff allocated to them as a personal tutor who will be a key source of advice, guidance and support during your time at Heriot-Watt. Your personal tutor is your first point of contact if you need advice on any issue, both academic and non-academic, and can refer you to other support services where relevant for non-academic matters. Personal tutors provide a clear point of contact for you throughout your degree. For more information visit the Personal Tutor page.

Supporting Student Success

The University is here to support your success. We do that through our dedicated support services from Student Counselling to Careers, study resources, Go Global opportunities, policies and guidance. To find out more follow the links to the left of this page.

Graduate Attributes

There are four Heriot-Watt University Graduate Attributes which encompass the particular skills, qualities and academic abilities you will develop as a Heriot-Watt student: Specialist, Creative, Global, Professional.

There are many ways in which you can develop your HWU Graduate Attributes, through your learning and general experience, and your extracurricular activities. Ask your lecturer, personal tutor or the Careers Service for support and advice.

Course Feedback Survey

Course Feedback Surveys provide your lecturers with feedback they can use to improve the delivery and design of their courses. All lecturers use the same standard set of questions across the University, delivered online through Vision, so that all students, at all locations have the same opportunity to provide feedback. Some departments have included additional questions on specific points of interest to them, such as tutorials or group work. Results are shared directly with the course teaching team, discussed and actions identified. This year, across the University, lecturers will provide responses to your comments on the Vision course page. Read our testimonials to find out how lecturers feel about your feedback and ask your lecturers what changes have been made in the past because of the feedback received.

1. Feedback on Assessment
2. Graduate Attributes

Careers service

The Careers service has offices on the Edinburgh, Borders and Dubai campuses and provides guidance to Heriot-Watt students and graduates. The service works closely with employers and academic Schools to support students by developing the skills they need to maximise their employability. For more information, please visit the Careers web pages.

Career Mentoring Programme

This programme, run by the Careers Service, can pair students with an industry mentor to help the former with their career planning. Mentors are located all over the world and are from every industry sector. They are able to draw on a wealth of experience to advise students on how best to prepare for a career in their line of work and what to expect.

Careers events

The Careers Service organises 11 careers fairs/insight events, more than any other Scottish university. These provide students with opportunity to meet with recruiters and find out about the careers they have on offer. As well as running a programme of talks in every academic programme the Careers Service also runs a series of interactive workshops centrally for all students covering various jobhunting skills such as CVs, LinkedIn, psychometric tests. To see what's on offer, check out our Careers fair page.

As a student of Heriot-Watt University, you are part of our global community. You will meet new people, discover new interests, develop your life skills and enhance your employability and career prospects.

The University will provide you with opportunities to develop skills, qualities and academic abilities during your time as a Heriot-Watt student. These are known as the Four Heriot-Watt Graduate Attributes:

• Specialist
• Creative
• Global
• Professional

Investing in Learning and Teaching:

Across all our campuses, your University is undertaking enhancements to the learning environments. The University is in the first phase of developing a robust and supportable Learning Space Technology platform across the University.

Read more about Study spaces.

You Said, We Did:

Student feedback is vital to ensuring the University continues to give you the best student experience. For more information on student satisfaction surveys, check out our Student feedback page and rankings page.

You Said, We Did

Here are some examples of how the University has responded to your feedback:

• Feedback on Coursework Policy – you said the return of feedback for assessed coursework took too long. All Schools will now be working to shorter timescales as set out in the new policy.
• Investing in Learning Environments – you said you wanted improved learning environment. We are now investing more in improved learning and teaching facilities across all our campuses.