Napier University

Napier University is a dynamic, innovative and forward-looking institution located in the heart of Edinburgh – a vibrant city, which is a major international centre for finance and the arts, and the seat of the Scottish parliament. Napier University also has a growing international reputation as a provider of high quality education.

OUR PURPOSE
Napier University is dedicated to providing educational services which support the transformation of people, businesses and communities.
Since 1964, when it was first established as a centre of learning, Napier University has become one of Scotland’s largest universities with 14,341 students and 1,700 staff. It offers 130 undergraduate and 70 postgraduate programmes in arts, business, computing and information technology, health care, engineering and science in addition to a growing programme of continuing professional development programmes for working professionals and a thriving Summer School.
The University takes its name from the 16th century philosopher and polymath John Napier, best known as the inventor of logarithms but famous in his day for a closely-argued commentary on the prophecies of the Scriptures.
Today the University’s outward looking ethos continues to foster creativity and innovation in putting knowledge to work in the modern world. Research is focused within five broad themes:
· Health and Environment
· Informatics
· Infrastructure
· Creative Industries
· Business and Employment.

Our centres of research excellence within these themed areas are highly relevant to Scotland’s economic and social priorities, as well as enjoying international renown for their conventional research and knowledge transfer activities. These centres include the cross-faculty Transport Research Institute, the Employment Research Institute in the Business School, the International Teledemocracy Centre and the Centre for Timber Engineering. These are part of a continuing history of successful applied research collaborations with industry and local and central government, and with other universities in the UK and Europe.
Napier is the top Scottish university for Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and is the most successful Scottish modern university for commercially applied research and consultancy.
Napier is located in the City of Edinburgh – a beautiful city and the UK’s top tourist destination after London. We have four main campuses in Edinburgh itself and additional smaller campuses within the city at Comely Bank and Canaan Lane which, together with our campuses at Melrose and Livingston, house the University’s nursing and complementary therapies programmes.
In autumn 2004, our refurbished campus at Craiglockhart reopened. It provides a new home for our Business School and successfully merges historic structures with futuristic buildings and open space. For the future, we will continue to invest in our estate, to give us one of the most modern and technically advanced teaching and learning environments in the UK.


FACULTY OF HEALTH, LIFE AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

The Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences offers programmes at diploma, degree, honours, masters and doctorate levels in a wide range of disciplines. The Faculty offers a vibrant and challenging academic environment and provides leading edge education and research.
Research activity within the Faculty encompasses a wide range of disciplines, with the School of Life Sciences especially active. The research culture within the entire Faculty continues to grow year on year. This growth is strengthened by the Faculty’s involvement in collaborative projects, such as the newly formed Centre for Integrated Healthcare Research, which sees the Faculty team up with research colleagues from Queen Margaret University and the University of Edinburgh to focus and develop Healthcare research.
The Faculty has strong and intimate links with the National Health Service; other clinical environments; social work; charities and voluntary agencies; and strong, emerging Community Health partnerships. Four of the Faculty’s campuses have a close geographical link with one of the NHS Divisions in the East of Scotland and the Scottish Borders.
The School of Life Sciences, based at Merchiston campus, offers an exciting and active academic environment with a diverse range of opportunities for research and study. Research and teaching interests in the School cover the entire spectrum of the biological and life sciences from the molecular – immunology, biotechnology and microbiology – through the whole organism – biomedical science, animal biology and marine and freshwater biology – to the environment – environmental biology and ecotourism. A popular addition to this portfolio is an honours degree programme in Sport and Exercise Science which is supported by state-of-the-art equipment and specialist laboratories.
The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Care based at Canaan Lane campus and Comely Bank campuses, offers an extensive range of programmes including a Diploma and Degree in Adult, Child Health, Learning Disability and Mental Health Nursing and Midwifery, full and part time BSc Programmes in Nursing, Specialist Practitioner programmes at Honours and Masters level and a range of flexible (and/or online) learning MSc Programmes in Nursing; Critical Care Nursing; Perioperative Practice; and Palliative Care. The School also offers a BSc Veterinary Nursing programme in collaboration with the College of Animal Welfare, the first such programme in Scotland. Also on offer are a number of programmes, which contribute to the increasing educational development of the nursing profession with graduates gaining a recordable teaching qualification with the Nursing & Midwifery Council.

The School is the largest provider in Scotland of pre-registration Nursing programmes in the specialisms of Child Health, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities, offering awards at Diploma, Degree and Honours level. It is the only provider in Scotland of a Masters degree in Midwifery by flexible (and/or online) learning, and a Masters degree in Advanced Neonatal Nursing Practice by blended learning (mixture of classroom based; practice and flexible learning modules).

OUR STUDENTS
Academically the University is organised in three Faculties as follows:
Faculty of Health, Life and Social Sciences
Napier University Business School
Faculty of Engineering, Computing & Creative Industries.
Our graduates are confident and valued by employers, for their job skills as well as their subject knowledge. Our student body is diverse and cosmopolitan, and is made up of about 11% international students, 10% UK students and 79% Scottish students. As well as encouraging international students to study in Scotland, Napier University has students studying on a number of Napier programmes in Hong Kong and Malaysia. Napier University was the first UK University to open a representative office in Beijing and is currently planning to establish joint campuses in Mainland China.
About 25% of our students study at Napier University on a part-time basis. We also have a growing community of students who are in full-time employment and update their professional and technical skills by attending one or more of a wide variety of courses on offer at the University which provide opportunities for continuous professional development.

OUR STAFF
Napier University employs 1,700 staff including 850 academic staff, 70 research staff and 800 support staff. In addition to the three Faculties, a variety of University Services provide direct support for the academic life of the University in areas such as Academic Development, Lifelong Learning, Learning Information Services, Communication and IT Services and the Research Office. In addition, Registry Services and Student Services provide a direct and front line service to Napier University students through effective management of student information and providing advice and guidance to support the student experience.
Napier University is committed to ensuring that all its staff have the opportunity for personal and professional development and this is reflected in our achievement of Investors in People status in January 2001 and re-accreditation in 2004. All staff participate in a Review process every year to assess performance and highlight their development needs. Our Corporate learning and Development Unit (L&D) organises a range of development opportunities for all staff and Educational Development Services (EDS) is responsible for specialist training for academic staff. EDS is also the driving force behind the major development of flexible learning opportunities including those programmes developed with our strategic Commercialisation partners.