Year-of years

From 2017 to 2019, Heriot-Watt University celebrated themed years of public engagement with research. 

Following on from the successful programme of activity around the UN International Year of Light in 2015, Heriot-Watt Engage adopted a themed approach to engagement. Kicking off with the Year of Robotics 2017, we reached more than 1,800 school children and 13,000 members of the public, in face to face sessions and demonstrations, in addition to 830 delegates and 150 industry partners through our lead role in the European Robotics Forum and Edinburgh Centre for Robotics (ECR). 

In 2018, we celebrated a Year of the Sea, with a calendar of events for schools, the public, academia, industry collaborators, funders and policy makers. We engaged with over 1500 pupils and 19,000 people at 41 events, reaching an audience of more than 50 million with news about our pioneereing research.

In 2019, the focus switched to health and health technologies. We hosted events ranging from family fun days to industry conferences, and from exhibitions to schools' competitions, all to showcase our innovations in healthcare, diagnosis and treatment, engaging with nearly 19,000 people face to face.

For more information on each themed year, follow the links below.