Edinburgh Napier University, UK

Routinely ranked among the top 70 universities in the uk, ENU is one of the largest universities of scotland with 15,691 students, including 3,813 foreign students and over 600 from India. 

Sited in Edinburgh, Scotland’s ancient capital, Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) is ranked among the top 70 universities in the UK (Guardian Good University Guide 2011 (55) and Times Good University Guide 2011 (66)) and is top rated in Scotland for graduate employability. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, 93.2 percent of ENU graduates are employed or study further within six months of graduation. That’s because its faculties of business, engineering, computing, creative industries, health, life and social sciences enjoy an excellent reputation for offering employment-ready graduates and post-grads to industry. Over 90 professional bodies have independently accredited ENU’s study programmes.

“Edinburgh Napier is a dynamic and modern insti-tution which offers engaging and relevant degree progra-mmes that equip students with the knowledge, skills and confidence for today’s work-place. Whether on campus or online, Edinburgh Napier offers students a flexible approach to learning in a friendly environment with all the support they need,” says Dame Joan Stringer, vice chancellor of the university.

Awarded the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for higher and further education in 2009, ENU is one of the largest universities of Scotland with an enrolment of 15,691 students instructed by 1,858 faculty, and boasts a large (3,813) contingent of foreign students including 644 from India. Interna-tionalist in its outlook and philosophy, ENU has also signed several academic partnerships with institutions of higher education in China, Malaysia and India. For instance in early September, ENU inked a memorandum of understanding with the Directorate of Distance one of India’s largest private sector providers of distance education, to advance teaching, research and academic collaboration.

Currently a multi-campus varsity, ENU was founded as Napier Technical College in 1964, taking its name from John Napier, the inventor of logarithms and the decimal point, who was born in 1550 in the medieval tower house of Merchiston Castle (the site of one of the university’s campuses).

Edinburgh. The administrative capital of Scotland, a constituent demographic unit (together with England and Wales) of the United Kingdom, Edinburgh (pop.440,000) is arguably one of the most architecturally inspired cities in Europe boasting more than 4,500 listed buildings and 140 parks and public green spaces. Numerous monuments of interest and historical heritage include art galleries and concert halls; the Royal Museum of Scotland; the Royal Botanic Garden; Parliament House; and the spectacularly lighted Edinburgh Castle. Sports facilities include a variety of golf courses, the Royal Commonwealth Pool and Meadowbank Stadium. And for students looking for weekend getaways, Edinburgh offers easy access to the coast, hills and open country of the scenic Scottish Highlands.

The city annually hosts a number of international literary and cultural events and has been rightly christened the ‘Festival City’. Its downside perhaps is its cold and windy climate. Temper-atures range from sub-zero in winter to 25oC in summer.

Campus facilities. ENU is a multi-site university with campuses across the city. The Craiglockhart campus, recently reopened after extensive renovation, hosts its business school, and renovated facilities include two large lecture theatres, cyber café, language labs and computing facilities. Likewise, sited in the lively Bruntsfield area, Merchiston campus is a unique blend of the past and present and houses the award winning 500-seats Jack Kilby Computing Centre as well as the 13th century Napier Tower. The faculty of engineering, computing and creative industries and the school of life sciences are based here.

Set in picturesque woodland, the Craighouse campus hosts a set of Grade A-listed buildings in the charming district of Morningside and houses the schools of communication, arts and music. Located on Marchmont Road, a popular student area, the Morningside campus hosts part of the school of creative industries and is the base for photography teaching and facilities, including a range of studio set ups and a gallery. The Morningside campus also provides a lecture theatre and tutorial rooms within an old church.

ENU’s newest campus — the state-of-the-art £60 million (Rs.470 crore) Sighthill campus which opened its doors to more than 5,000 students and staff in January 2011 — hosts the faculties of health, life and social sciences and a number of the univer-sity’s professional service depart-ments. It also hosts [EN]GAGE, a 200 sq. metres fitness suite and gym and a 1,200 sq. metres sports hall with facilities for badminton, table tennis, football and basketball.

Academic facilities include three fully networked libraries offering more than 500,000 volumes, print journals, DVDs, CDs, maps, sheet music, reports, reference materials, special collections, newspapers and hundreds of e-books. Moreover, the Napier Students Associ-ation organises a number of social and cultural activities on campus throughout the year.

Admission. All admission applications to ENU (or to any other university in the UK) have to be routed through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). Students can also apply online at www.ucas.com citing ENU’s UCAS code E59. The minimum eligibility criterion for admission into under-graduate programmes is successful completion of Plus Two. Foreign students have to submit proof of proficiency in the English language —  an IELTS score of 6.0, or a TOEFL score of 75-86 or Pearson Test of English score of 50-57 are the minimal acceptable. Applications for full-time undergraduate study programmes starting in September 2012 must be submitted online through UCAS by June 30 next year.

Applications for postgraduate study must be made directly to the university. For further information, contact Edin-burgh Napier University, Craiglockhart campus, Edinburgh, EH14 1 DJ. Tel: +44 (0) 8455 20 30 50; e-mail: ugadmissions@napier.ac.uk; website: www.napier.ac.uk.

Accommodation. ENU offers university-owned accommodation in 198 self-catered flats to 950 students. Additionally it offers 71 en suite rooms with iQ, an external accomm-odation provider. All accommodation is self catered, off campus and situated in the city centre, well supplied by shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, cinemas and sports facilities. All flats offer broadband internet and telephone connectivity. For those who prefer private accommodation, there are many rental options available in the city.

Degree programmes. ENU’s three faculties and eight schools offer a wide range of bachelors, Masters and doctoral programmes (see box).

Summiya Yasmeen