Edinburgh Napier University

“The opportunities offered by Edinburgh Napier were something I wouldn’t find at another university”

I wanted to be sure that whichever masters program I choose would enable me to pursue running my own business. I also wanted excellent instruction. One of my tutors, Dr. Anna Leask, is one of the world’s top contributors regarding the management of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I knew that by attending the Heritage and Cultural Tourism Management programme at Edinburgh Napier University I would be getting an education that would benefit my future career. The opportunities offered by Edinburgh Napier were something I wouldn’t find at another university.

Our lecturers do a great job of introducing the academic material while at the same time incorporating examples of its real-world application. You never get the sense that the information covered or the work produced will prove irrelevant once you have completed your degree. Some of the courses also include site visits to local businesses or museums. My heritage course visited Edinburgh Castle earlier this year where we were able to speak with the Executive Director about managing this world-famous attraction. That kind of experience is invaluable, and really can’t be achieved anywhere else.

I'm most impressed with the University tutors

One of the things I'm most impressed with are the University tutors. You get the sense that they take a lot of pride in their work. They know their stuff but they also want to make sure that you are keeping up and understand the material. The University itself has a number of programs and tutorials to help facilitate your academic success. A lot of the students who were returning to school after having spent time out in the world working (myself included). I felt somewhat nervous about returning to studies and academic writing but there are so many resources provided to help you! The school really does want you to succeed; they offer lectures on how to effectively research, how to write a good essay, and the professors themselves often offer to look over a piece of work before it is submitted to offer you feedback.

“Arranging my move to Scotland was assisted by the incredible immigration support staff”

The facilities at the University are very modern. The technology is reliable, (IT works hard to make it so) and the library is equipped with all the resources you could possibly need to complete your degree. A great deal of the library is accessible online as well, which makes finding scholarly articles and hard-to-find sources a breeze. I like that there are three different campuses. I’m partial to Craiglockhart because that’s where my program is taught but Merchiston has a 24-hour library which is very useful if you study best in the “wee” hours.

As an international student, arranging my move to Scotland was assisted along the way by the incredible immigration support staff. They had all the answers to my (many!) questions about moving to the United Kingdom, and made sure that things were entirely in order upon my arrival.

My first impressions of Edinburgh…“Please pinch me, I can’t believe this is real.” Honestly, living here is like living in a Fairy Tale. There is a castle. There is a palace. Swans on every Loch (lake) and if you take the right cobblestone street, and it will lead you to the school that provided JK Rowling with her inspiration for Hogwarts. The whole city feels magical.