Join us as we take a look back at some of the shining moments of 2020, and the positive news stories that brightened an extremely challenging year.

Date posted

16 December 2020

15:46

The pandemic – and our response

In many ways, 2020 will be defined not by the pandemic, but by our response to it. And with that, we said time and time again: #ThankYouNHS. 

We’re proud of the Edinburgh Napier community for stepping up at the start of the pandemic, and throughout.  

In April, we stood on our doorsteps to #ClapForCarers, and staff worked to create scores of visors to protect frontline workers.

We loaned vital equipment and donated PPE to the country’s Covid-19 response. Wall-e, our very own ventilator was transferred to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh to help save lives.  

We had students join the front line as Special Constables, an academic develop an app to help with deliveries and academics receive funding and join international taskforces to research the impact of Covid-19.
Fighting Covid-19

2020 – the year of the nurse and midwife 

Nearly 1,000 #EdNapier student nurses and midwives from the School of Health & Social Care were assigned to hospitals and care homes across the Lothian and Borders NHS areas.   


It was a huge year for our graduating nurses, but one story in particular stands out. Ellie was re-diagnosed with breast cancer last year and, despite being in a shielding category and attending appointments for chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she was determined to complete her placement and degree.  

In October, Ellie graduated with a Bachelor of Nursing degree in adult nursing – we were all so inspired by her story, which you can read in full below.

Ellie, and all other nurses and midwives, were awarded the Alumni of the Year Award by the University. A tribute which goes some way to say ‘thank you’ for their incredible commitment and dedication.  
Cancer couldn’t stop Ellie chasing her nursing ambition

Courageous student gets her degree and the job of her dreams

Together we said Black Lives Matter 

Another defining moment, and movement, of this year is Black Lives Matter. In April, the University released a statement in which the Principal, Professor Andrea Nolan, resolved to ‘address the scourge of racism’.  

With that, anti-racism work began in earnest internally.  

In September, new staff network BAMEish was launched – with Professor Nolan as sponsor. BAMEish is a space for Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff, and allies, to meet, share ideas, lived experiences and, above all, learn from each other.  


Keep an eye out for BAMEish in 2021 as they have big plans…  

October was #BlackHistoryMonth, and it also marked five months since the death of George Floyd.  After a month of intense reflection, the University community came together to commit ourselves to ending racism in all its forms, and to lay out the progress made.  
A message from our Principal

Edinburgh Napier committed to addressing the scourge of racism

Our academics excel once again 

Throughout 2020, our Edinburgh Napier academics and research teams have continued to excel, with their work shaping the world around us, improving lives locally and globally.  

Professor Mark Huxham of the School of Applied Sciences was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) after nearly two decades working with local communities dependent on mangrove resources. 

A collaboration between Edinburgh Napier and HAS Technology picked up Innovation of the Year at the Scottish Knowledge Exchange Awards for the development of wearable technology to predict the risk of people falling.  

The University also received numerous research funding grants, including £300,000 from Forces in Mind Trust to conduct new research into the experiences of ex-Service personnel living in Scotland.  

Edinburgh Napier research to develop multimodal hearing aids designed to autonomously adapt to their surroundings was also part of a £3.2m funding package by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.  

Our School of Computing continued to be a hotbed of spin out business talent, with Memcrypt – a business dedicated to combatting ransomware attacks – the latest to launch.
Partner with us

Whether you need to collaborate on a ground-breaking project, exchange knowledge and expertise, or develop new programmes and fund research, we're the perfect partner.

Graduations move online – but the inspiring student stories continue 

Summer and autumn graduations are always huge dates in the calendar, but this year they looked a little different. 

We made the most of the virtual celebrations, with well-known faces from the University and beyond taking to our social media channels to say ‘congratulations’ to the Class of 2020.  

A stand-out story was that of James Homan, who was awarded a degree with distinction after an extraordinary journey which saw him twice made redundant and his wife diagnosed with cancer.
How our graduates are celebrating at home...

Edinburgh Napier celebrates ranking success 

And of course, who can forget being named the #1 Modern University in Scotland by The Times, having climbed 38 places in the Good University Guide 2021?


The National Student Survey results placed us top in Edinburgh for student satisfaction and in the Guardian University Guide we were the #1 highest climbing university in Scotland.  
 
The Principal said of the results: “Our climb through the rankings is a wonderful lift for everyone at Edinburgh Napier in what are, and will continue to be, extremely challenging times for Higher Education… [The tables are a] tribute to the hard work which goes into ensuring studying here is a rewarding experience.” 
Rankings and league tables

We're also number one in Edinburgh for student satisfaction.

A thank you  

Of course, we couldn’t include all the inspirational news stories we’ve worked on this year in this article – as, despite everything, there were simply too many to share. You can still look back in our news pages, or on our social media channels where you’ll find content for the entire year and beyond. 

Thank you for a memorable year, we’ve loved sharing your stories and interacting with you all.  

Sending you best wishes for 2021.