Heriot-Watt University
Although one of the smallest of the five Edinburgh-based institutes of higher education in terms of student numbers, Heriot-Watt University is one of the best performing and oldest universities in Scotland. Named after the sixteenth century financier to King James, George Heriot, and the eighteenth century inventor and engineer James Watt, the university has a solid reputation for good teaching standards of business, language and technology based subjects.
Originally based in Edinburgh city centre, the university’s main buildings are now divided over four campuses. The main campus is located in Riccarton, ten kilometres outside of Edinburgh, with three other campuses situated in the Scottish border town of Galashiels sixty kilometres away from Edinburgh, on the Orkney Islands, and in Dubai: home of the university’s famous business school. With only seven thousand students residing on the Scottish mainland itself, a quarter of whom come from outside the UK, the university offers a very tight-knit yet cosmopolitan and diverse atmosphere.
The green location of the university’s main campus in Riccarton offers students beautiful natural surroundings during their studies, while Edinburgh city centre is only ten kilometres away, easily reached on the number forty-four bus service. For students with cars, the A70 and A71 provide students with direct links to the the city centre.
Students living on the Galashiels campus have access to Galashiels town centre, which offers students everything from bars and shops to sports facilities. Being such a small town, the quiet laid back atmosphere may not be as vibrant as Edinburgh, but provides students with the opportunity to experience a more relaxed version of student life, with locals and students mixing well and forming a close-knit community.
Although the student population at Heriot-Watt is relatively small, the university's student's union is very active, with sports and media related societies and functions particularly well represented. The university has more than thirty sports clubs, several of which have enjoyed success in recent years. Sports facilities on the main university campus are of a good standard, while the independently produced student magazine, The Journal, is also popular, and distributed to students living in the area.
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