We do a lot of things, sometimes many of them behind the scenes so you might not always be aware. We'll update this page with our "wins", milestones, and things we've done that will make an impact while you study at Heriot-Watt, so you can see everything that the Student Union does for you throughout the year.

  • September 2022

  • Late Enrolment Fees Waived - We know that some students are facing delays with enrolling, which can be incredibly stressful. We've worked with the Univeristy to stop late enrolment fees until 26th September which will hopefully enable students to resolve the issues they're facing that are stopping them from enrolling. We still encourage students to enrol as soon as possible (so you don't miss anything!) but this will hopefully help those that need it.

  • Black Voices Project Scholarships - Our Black Voices Project secured funding from the University's 1821 Appeal to create 40 scholarships worth £1,000 each, to provide increased support that will enable talented Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) students overcome the barriers they face to fulfilling their academic capabilities and realising their potential

  • SBC Campus Allotment - We were pleased to work with the University to launch the SBC allotments, allowing students to sign up for their own mini-plot of land to grow their own veg.

  • OCTOBER 2022

  • Society Shortlisted for Engineering Society of the Year - We're really proud that the Robotics Society were shortlisted for Engineering Society of the Year, up against societies from Glasgow and Bristol. 

  • Adapted to Change - To mark World Metal Health Day, we hosted a day of talks, workshops and tasters support your wellbeing.

  • Lecture Recordings Are Back- You asked and we listened! Molly, your VP Education and Alba, the Student Voice Coordinator worked with the University to get you your recorded lectures back. From Week 7, where applicable, lectures will be recorded for those of you who rely on them. 

  • NOVEMBER 2022

  • Sustainability Week - As part of our annual Sustainability Week, we hosted a series of awareness events and activities including giving away free travel cups, upcycling workshop, a repair cafe to fix your devices and talks.

  • Community Larder - To launch Sustainability Week, we opened our Community Larder, stocked with a range of household essentials for students who need them. There is also a book swap where students can bring a book and leave a book.

  • December 2022

  • Hands-In - We offered free hot drinks and biscuits to students during the festive Christmas period!

  • Festive Freebie Friday – We hosted 100 students for a full free Christmas lunch along with hot chocolates and mince pies.

  • Free Period products - On both the Edinburgh and Scottish Borders Campus there are free period products for anyone who needs them!

  • January 2023

  • Funding Secured - We secured funding for the Community Larder to help us expand and help more students!

  • Burns Supper - We hosted a fantastic Burns Night Supper where everything Scottish including Haggis was served!

  • February 2023

  • Global Day - We had an extremely cultural day where the Heriot-Watt University multi-cultural brilliance was showcased. 250 students attended and connected with others while experiencing other students’ cultures!

  • AGM - We organised our Annual General Meeting where important subjects were discussed! This included a motion to support the UCU strikes, a motion to make Heriot-Watt Fossil free and a motion to keep the existing policy to boycott Nestle!

  • Reloved - We opened our very own charity shop in the Student Union so preloved clothes can become reloved. You can either be a customer, donate clothes or volunteer your time to help us run the shop!

  • March 2023

  • Paddy’s Day Bonanza - We celebrated St Patrick’s Day at the Union with many Tayto Crisp sandwiches and Guinnesses!

  • International Woman’s Day - We had a fantastic IWD on campus with so many activities including a free celebratory breakfast where messages were left by staff and students for women they appreciate!

  • Election results - The 2023 election results were announced with four fantastic candidates being voted in as the 2023/24 FTOs along with our amazing Student MPs. A total of 9323 votes were cast, that’s 16.7% of Heriot-Watt students!

  • Volunteer Awards - We hosted the 2023 Volunteer Awards at the Robotarium! We had an outstanding 500+ nominations and an overwhelming number of students submitted their volunteer hours!

  • Dignity Boxes - We trialled a donations box in the Edinburgh Business School where staff members donated toiletries which were redistributed to students in need.

  • APRIL 2023

  • Policy Proposal passed - Extending the pronouns offering on Canvas to include the following options: 

    Any pronouns

    She/they

    He/they

    This was done in partnership with the LGBT+ Society. To change your display pronouns on Canvas:  Profile -> Settings -> Edit Settings

  • MAY 2023

  • Our End of Exam Party - A party full of Food, Drinks and Good Vibes. An all-round great day celebrating the end of semester at the Student Union!

  • The Heriot-Watt Oscars - The annual Heriot-Watt Oscars night took place. A night dedicated to showing our appreciation for the wonderful staff that work here at Heriot-Watt. A night where students can nominate and vote for their favourite staff members to give them the recognition they deserve.

  • Exam Packs - During the month of May, it can be an overwhelming time at Heriot-Watt and so we decided to hand out over 900 completely free exam packs to students to try and bring some enjoyment to this stressful period. The 900 Exam Packs were distributed to students across all 3 of our UK campuses.

  • SUMMER (JUNE AND JULY) 2023

  • Free Soup Thursdays - The Student Union love Free Soup Thursdays, so why let summer put an end to them? Well, we didn’t! We continued the Free Soup Thursday scheme going throughout summer for all students who were still kicking around at our Edinburgh campus. 

  • Postgrad Friday’s - With more Postgraduate students still at our Edinburgh campus attending university during the summer, we decided that The Postgrad Friday events should continue. Each Friday night throughout summer was dedicated to postgraduate students, an evening to relax, unwind and socialise after a busy week of school.

    One of these nights was our Pizza and Ping-Pong Night in Geordies, where students who came along were treated to masses of free pizza throughout the evening along with some friendly competitive ping-pong action.

  • Pride Month - Here at Heriot-Watt we celebrated Pride Month throughout June.

    We had an ‘Ask for Clive’ vinyl sticker put up to signify that the LGBTQ+ community is welcome here at the Union. We passed a new policy to extend the amount of offered pronouns on Canvas. Our FTO’s had a great time attending Edinburgh Pride during the month. We included online modules specifically surrounded around the LGBTQ+ community as asked for by some studens

    To wrap up Pride Month 2023, on Friday the 30th of June Geordies hosted a wonderful evening. An inclusive evening, which is what Pride Month is all about.

  • AUGUST 2023

  • Our Freshers Week Preparation - After listening to feedback from students last year, we got to work planning Freshers Week to make it the best Freshers Week yet for our newly arriving undergraduate students.

  • Freshers Week is for Everyone – NOT JUST UNDERGRADS - This year we focused heavily on ensuring that there was a range of events for our Masters and Postgraduate Students to enjoy. Such events included a relaxed Cheese and Wine evening, a Whisky tasting event, a Ceilidh, an Open Mic Night and even a night to see the famous drag queen Mystika Glamoor performing live at our very own ‘Zero’s’. There was something for everyone here at Heriot-Watt Freshers Week.

  • SEPTEMBER 2023 

  • Freshers Week - Freshers Week was not short of exciting events for all. The week started with an awesome launch party down at the Union, with free t-shirts and lots of new faces it was a great night for our undergrads to meet some new people. We then hosted a Beach Party evening where we handed out free sunglasses and bucket hats to those who came along. Another fantastic night at the union. Thanks to our friends down at Shanghai we managed to organise a Heriot-Watt takeover as many students got their first taste of the hugely popular Shanghai nightclub. The night was full of jungle themed drinks, face paint and dancers and it’s safe to say that the first Shanghai Wednesday of the new semester did not disappoint! After many nights of partying throughout Freshers Week already accomplished, The Freshers Party may have topped the lot. The night was held down at the Student Union and 5 lucky students walked away with £200 in cash on the night. There were retro arcade games in Liberty’s, and Zero’s was packed full of throwback tunes. It truly was a night to remember down at the Union.

  • OCTOBER 2023

  • Our Student-By-Elections - Several Students at Heriot-Watt put their name forward in the hopes of earning a Parliament position or a NUS Conference Delegate role. As a result of this, we saw many campaigns and manifestos in October from those involved. Then, as the Student-By-Elections were ending, we held a party for all our candidates involved in the elections. The party was even hosted on Teams for those who were not based at the Edinburgh campus. There was teas, coffees, and cake on offer along with the all-important election results.

  • Galaween Event - The Gala Rugby Club was the place to be on the spookiest night of the year as the Galaween event was taking place. The turnout from students was amazing to see, almost as amazing as the costumes on display. With the tunes blasting and many prizes up for grabs for the best costumes of the night, it was certainly a night to remember down in the Scottish Borders.

  • Sustainability Week - Sustainability week got underway at Heriot-Watt and was full of events, such as: The Vintage Clothing Fair at our Edinburgh campus, The Third Finger up Halloween Event, The Vintage Clothing Fair at our Galashiels campus, A Repair What You Wear Workshop, The Keep-Cup Drive, Tote Bag Painting, A Knitting and Crocheting Session in Galashiels and A Net Zero Engineering Conference. So many events packed into just a few days, sustainability week at Heriot-Watt was great!

  • NOVEMBER 2023

  • The Big 6 Student Surveys - The Big 6 Student Surveys are small surveys which are distributed annually at Heriot-Watt to get an overview of student satisfaction or dissatisfaction regarding the 6 survey areas: Student Life, Community, Money, Support, Social and Accommodation. There were some amazing prizes offered this year for completing the surveys and it will help Heriot-Watt improve the university experience for its students in the future.

  • More Exam Packs - During November the Student Union distributed many more exam packs to help students deal with intense upcoming period full of exams. A little gesture of help!

  • Movember - The entire month of November is dedicated to Movember which looks to raise awareness about men’s mental health. Here at Heriot-Watt there was a fantastic response from students. There were fun events, there were fundraiser nights and who can forget, some beautiful moustaches on show! The Month of November was nearly over, just days before we all started cracking open our chocolate Christmas calendars, The Two Roads Charity hosted suicide prevention training to coincide with Movember. A very serious topic, and something that sadly does exist within society, but it was great to see so many people at the event engaging with the training on the day.

  • The Black Voices Project - For Black History Month we had our ambitions set on rebooting the Black Voices Project and in doing so we hired 4 BME Advocates who will get stuck into their new role in semester 2 in January.

  • DECEMBER 2023

  • Free Christmas Lunch at our Edinburgh campus - What an amazing afternoon our free Christmas lunch was on Friday. The queue was out the door, full of hungry Heriot-Watt students. Thanks to the entire team pulling together, we managed to serve over 200 students a festive lunch full of turkey, roasties, veg and gravy!

  • JANUARY 2024

    Watt-Welcome Fair - We welcomed our students back to campus after the Christmas break without Watt-Welcome Fair which gives students the chance to join new societies and sports clubs and settle back into university ahead of the upcoming semester.

    Unbelievable Campaign - Our Unbelievable campaign was launched in January 2023 and looked to inform students of just how many things we, as a union, are actively involved in to try and get across the extent of our operations here.

     

    February 2024

    Student Election Nominations - We hosted the application process for our Student Elections. This gives all students the chance to stand as a candidate during the elections for a variety of available positions.

    LGBTQ+ History Month - Police Scotland hosted a workshop which helped teach our staff members how to correctly intervene during a situation that doesn’t seem quite right! We hosted a variety of fun events around LGBTQ+ to empower students and make it clear that the Student Union is a place for all.

    Student Union Oscars and Volunteer Awards Nominations - In February, we opened nominations for our Student Union Oscars and Volunteer Awards. Our Student Union Oscars looks to recognise the fantastic work of students whilst Our Volunteer Awards on the other hand, look to recognise the hard work of the lecturers and tutors at Heriot-Watt University who go above and beyond!

     

    MARCH 2024

    Our Student Union Elections - Our Student Union Elections ran from the 11th – 15th in which all students were given the chance to hear from the candidates and vote for who they wished to see fulfil the many roles we had on offer.

    New FTO's in the Building - Following our Student Union Elections, we announced the arrival of 3 new FTO's, Cameron, Holly and Rachael! And we welcomed Sebi back for his second term as VP Community!

     

    May 2024

    T.G.I Summer - To celebrate the end of exams, we threw an awesome 2-day party open to all students (May 9th and 10th). Across the 2 days we had an outdoor BBQ, DJ, live singing performance, open mic session and inflatables for students to enjoy whilst the sun shone down.

    End of Semester Party - We made sure not leave out our friends in Galashiels studying at our campus down in the Scottish Borders. On Friday the 17th of May we held an end of exams party with free food, drinks, and party games for students to enjoy. We then ended the night parting hard in town till late!


    JUNE 2024

    General Election - We made sure to let students know all about the upcoming General Election; with all the dates they needed to be aware of in order to cast their vote come election day on the 4th of July.

     

    August 2024

    Freshers Week 2024 - We were super excited to welcome students back to campus following a long summer off, but we were just as excited to welcome some new faces to campus as well. We kickstarted the new academic year with some amazing Freshers Events for the new Heriot-Watt students to enjoy. With party nights at the union, meet ups at the pub, pub quizzes and more, it made for an amazing first week back on campus.

    Living Wage Employer - In August, we became a Living Wage Employer, meaning that all the staff here at the Student Union received an increase in pay to meet the increased Living Wage. This marked a huge moment for all of the staff at the Student Union including student employees.

     

    September 2024

    Watt-Welcome Fair - We were largely involved in the Watt-Welcome Fair which takes place in the Oriam each year. The Watt-Welcome Fair looks to attract new students starting at Heriot-Watt and get them thinking of any societies and sports clubs they may be keen to join during the year. The Student Union had loads of society stalls and wellbeing services stalls on the day and was a great afternoon meeting lots of new and returning faces.

    Student Parliament - On Thursday the 26th of September, we held the first Student Parliament of the new academic year where all students were given the chance to attend and have their say on many student issues put fourth our elected MP’s.

     

    October 2024

    Welcome Week - The 21st – 25th of October marked our highly anticipated Wellbeing Week 2024, where we offer various events for students to get involved in. The highlight from the week was by far our Puppy Yoga, where students had the chance to attend a yoga class with some fluffy friends joining them.

    Watt’s My Age Again!? - To celebrate the season of scares, we held an awesome Halloween party right here at the Student Union for students to attend. Filled with, food, drinks and unforgettable throwback tunes, it was an amazing night for all in attendance!

    Black History Month - With October marking Black History Month, we decided to run several events to acknowledge Black History Month and recognise and celebrate the many Black celebrities who have shown resilience during their careers to overcome adversity.

     

    November 2024

    World Vegan Day - We kickstarted the month off in style, with fooood! We ran a Community Meal in coherence with World Vegan Day to serve up 100 portions of vegan lunch to students completely FREE of charge.

    Sustainability Week 2024 - We celebrated sustainability week in November! Sustainability is by no means the most fun-filled of topics, however we put our usual twist on things and held a variety of fun, sustainability themed, events on throughout the week for students to enjoy. From our clothes swap and sewing workshop to our tote bad painting and sustainability pub quiz, it made for a week full of fun with sustainable practice in mind.

    Housing Week 2024 - In November the National Student Housing Week, 2024 took certain stage with students across Scotland uniting to make their voices heard on the issues faced by students when it comes to securing housing. We encouraged students to take part in the National Student Rally at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday the 14th of November.

    The Big 6 Surveys - November marked the beginning of our Big 6 Surveys campaign which ran from the 18th of November through the 2nd of December. The Big 6 Surveys is an annually run campaign by the Student Union to encourage students to give their opinions on 6 topics surrounding being a student at Heriot-Watt University. We gave away a £20 Amazon voucher each day of the 2 weeks, and one lucky student who completed all 6 of the surveys was randomly drawn to receive a £300 CASH PRIZE!!! This data will now be used in the future to make improvements to student life here at Heriot-Watt.

    Winter Fest - For the first year ever at the Student Union, we ran our Winter Fest Day which took place on Wednesday the 27th of November. This event was a chance for students to get into the Christmas spirit with an offering of many FREE Christmas inspired events to choose from and take a break from their studies ahead of upcoming exams. The day was a success and brought about some early Christmas excitement here on campus.

    Black Voices Advocate - In November, following applications in October, we appointed 2 new Black Voice Advocate representatives who would join the team and focus on organising events, advocating for equality on campus as well as building an overall sense of community here at Heriot-Watt.

     

     

     

     

     

     

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