Hillwalking One of the most common hazards for Scottish hillwalkers at any time of year is mist. One minute you can be enjoying views that stretch for miles; the next you can hardly see your feet, never mind the path.Often it arrives suddenly and unexpectedly. When it does the hillwalker’s progress and safety rely entirely on their compass, their map and their fellow walkers. That was the image […] Read More
Heriot-Watt University is open and our new academic year will start, as planned, in September. Despite Covid19 disruption the University has transformed its way of working in a matter of weeks. Students are being supported in their learning. Staff are tackling the challenges of remote working. Assessments are being marked. Exam boards are being held. Care, empathy and mutual support are characterising our individual and group interactions. In […] Read More
Summer Graduations With our summer graduation season over for another year, we look back on a hectic but happy month of celebrations at our Galashiels, Edinburgh, Dubai and Malaysia campuses. Celebrations where we applauded the achievements and scholarly success of our students; and where we also recognised the successes and achievements of particular individuals through the award of honorary degrees: the University’s highest accolade. This year six individuals […] Read More
On 6 May 1954 a young medical student, Roger Bannister, became the first man to run a mile in under four minutes (3 minutes, 59.4 seconds). In 1979 Sebastian Coe ran the same distance a full ten seconds faster (3 minutes 48.95 seconds). Today the world record is held by Hicham El Guerrouj with a time of 3 minutes 43.13 seconds. What explains this remarkable improvement? In recounting […] Read More
It has long been said that travel broadens the mind. In university life travel enables us to seek out and meet people who think differently from ourselves; who challenge and disrupt our settled view of how problems might be solved and who prompt us to think creatively about activities which for us have become routine. This was my experience of travelling to visit Olin College of Engineering in […] Read More