Representation

Over the last few years we have made great progress in getting postgraduate students more involved in university life and have some of the most active postgraduate student representatives in Scotland. Heriot Watt University has a significant postgraduate community with one in five of its students being from this background. Postgraduates are an expanding area with the university placing great importance on expanding its research base as well as expanding its postgraduate taught numbers. HWUSA exists to represent all students and has made an investment over the last few years to ensure that includes all its postgraduate students.

Being a postgraduate has its own challenges. For taught postgraduates there is a need to settle in quickly and adapt to the pace and intensity of study at postgraduate level. Representing your academic needs is vital, you only have a short time to get it right and we need to know ASAP if there are any problems on your course so they can be put right.

Postgraduate Research Students have a Rep in each School and in the larger Schools there will be a department Rep. The PGR reps hold regular meetings within their schools to keep you up to date with any research student issues and to also give you the opportunity to feedback on things that may be affecting you. These issues will be fed to the appropriate committee or member of staff and students will be kept up to date on current issues through their Rep or Staff/Student Committee. The reps are fully involved in discussions about the Research Student Experience Survey (PRES), Research Student Code of Practice, skills training programmes, the student/supervisor relationship and the research environment at Heriot-Watt University.

Postgraduate Student Reps have recently been involved in designing the social/study space in the new Postgraduate Centre. They have also organised the past four annual themed research conferences and the postgraduate football tournament.

Representation is important for you as students at Heriot-Watt, you'll expect your research and/or course to conform to high standards. The Research Representatives were fully involved in reviewing The Research Student Code of Practice which sets a minimum standard of provision for postgraduate students. This document outlines what you should expect in terms of supervision, assessment, facilities and a whole lot more.