Our Equality Charter

The Athena SWAN Charter was established in 2005 by the UK’s Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) to encourage and recognise commitment to advancing the careers of women in science, technology, engineering, maths and medicine (STEMM) employment in higher education and research. The Charter now recognises work undertaken to address gender equality more broadly, and not just barriers to progression that affect women.

The Charter has three levels of award, Bronze, Silver and Gold. A team led by Catherine Donnelly achieved the Bronze Award for MACS in October 2015. The Bronze Award was renewed in May 2019 by a team led by Damian Clancy. In November 2024, a team led by Andrew Ireland and Audrey Repetti achieved a Silver Award. Our Silver Award has an associated 5-year Action Plan. A redacted version of our 2024 Athena SWAN application will be made available early in 2025.

Heriot-Watt University has held an Athena Swan Bronze institutional award since 2013.

If you have suggestions or questions related to Athena SWAN, or an event that you would like to advertise, then please send them to us via athena-macs@hw.ac.uk. In addition, if you would like to be part of the new MACS Equality Diversity and Inclusion Team (EDIT) then please do get in touch.

Heriot-Watt University is a registered supporter of the Good Practice Scheme of the London Mathematical Society's Women in Mathematics Committee.

University Human Resources policies are available, including family friendly policies and policies on working flexibly.

MACS Athena-SWAN Summer Undergraduate Bursaries 2026

The aim of the MACS Athena SWAN Summer Bursary Scheme is to improve gender equality across our disciplines, and more broadly address Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) issues:

• Any project that funds a student from an under-represented group meets the aims of the scheme.
• Likewise, a student project that directly addresses EDI issues also meets the aims of the scheme.

Project proposals and submission

Project ideas can come from students and/or academic staff from across the School on the Dubai and Edinburgh campuses. A project proposal must, however, be submitted by an academic member of staff that is willing to act as the project supervisor. A maximum of one proposal per supervisor can be submitted in this call.

Applications for the Summer 2026 scheme are now open, please see the Application Form for more information.

To apply please send the completed Application Form to athena-macs@hw.ac.uk by the deadline of noon on Friday 3 April 2026.

Latest MACS Athena Swan Newsletter

Edition 32 of the MACS Athena Swan Newsletter includes:

This Issue includes:

1. Google Research Award – Edinburgh News
2. App-a-Thon for Health – Dubai News
3. A Good Read
4. Nominations for Honorary Degrees: Have your say

Read more in MACS Athena Swan Newsletter Edition 32.