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Heriot-Watt owes its existence to the generosity of the Edinburgh community. Established in 1821 to provide the working classes with a specialist education, its first incarnation, the School of Arts, immediately faced the issue of fees. The stretched income of prospective students wouldn’t cover the 15 shillings cost of the first two sessions – around £57, the equivalent today of paying fees of £1,102. Thankfully, 350 subscribers offered financial support and opened the doors for 400 students.
The institution owes its development as well as its name to engineer and inventor James Watt. In 1851, a fund raised by the people of Edinburgh in his memory enabled the School of Arts to buy a building in Adam Square – for £2,500 – to secure its future. In gratitude, the directors of the school changed its name in 1852 to the Watt Institution and School of Arts. In May of 1854, staff and students held a party to unveil a new statue of Watt to grace the entrance of the building. They formed the Watt Club, one of the UK’s oldest alumni associations – which now has more than 100,000 members around the world.
By the 1880s, the school was feeling the stretch as student numbers rose. In 1885, the Heriot’s Trust agreed to take over the Watt Institution and award it a grant of £4,000 per year – this merger was recognised with yet another new name: Heriot-Watt College. Although the College became independent in 1928, the trust continued to fund its development, and from 1878 to 1965 that support amounted to £300,000.
Philanthropy runs through the history of our University, but it is as much a part of our present, and thus our future, as our past. The support of graduates and friends has had a defining impact on our more recent history, and here we celebrate 50 years of generosity as we mark our golden anniversary.
The Riccarton Estate – 1960s and 70s One of the first gifts to be given to the newly established Heriot-Watt University was its campus in 1969. Heriot-Watt’s links with industry were entwined with its new home, and it entered a new era in 1971 when it established the first University Research Park in Europe at Riccarton. Companies could now build their own research and development laboratories on the estate, harnessing the commercial potential of academic research.
The Global MBA and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation – 1970s and 80s Our distance-learning MBA programme engages students across the world and established Heriot-Watt as a global university. The MBA programme offered a purely distance-learning option, allowing students the flexibility to complete their degree whilst pursuing their career. Without the support of the
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, which works to enhance understanding of economics and finance in society, this may never have been possible – its grant in 1978 allowed for the creation of distance-learning materials for the MBA. The first grant from the foundation funded the establishment of the Esmée Fairbairn Research Economics Department of the University in 1970. This was followed by substantial donations towards the development of the Business Executive Centre, opened in 1988, and the Paul Stobart accommodation building five years later.
The Annual Fund – From 1990s Since its establishment in 1995, the Annual Fund has created opportunities and enhanced the lives of Heriot-Watt students through the generous donations of alumni, staff and other friends of the University. More than 3,600 donors have supported the fund and 25 generous graduates have given a gift every year since its inception.
Each year the Annual Fund supports 50 access bursaries to students from low-income and challenging backgrounds, provides scholarships to allow students with talents in sports and music to continue their training
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