Welcome to the new academic year.
If you are new to the University or coming to live in our city for the first time, I hope that your introduction over the past couple of weeks has enthused you for the year ahead. If you are a returning student, welcome back and I hope this semester brings you success.
We are beginning this new academic year with so much to look forward to. From research breakthroughs that will help find solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our time, to exciting events to help expand your thinking or ask you to consider things from other perspectives. Whatever your interests and passions are, there are many opportunities available to you. I encourage you to say yes to as many things as possible and shape your time here to be the very best that it can be.
This is a big university and I know that our sheer size can sometimes feel very daunting, especially if you are new to Edinburgh. Remember that everybody here wants you to succeed, enjoy yourself and feel part of our vibrant and diverse community. There is a range of support available to you, including from your Student Advisor, Supervisor or from our Student Wellbeing Service. If you are struggling and feel that you need help with any issue, personal or academic, please reach out and ask for it. To ask for help is a sign of strength, not a sign of weakness. Also, if you observe someone else who appears to be having difficulties, please offer to help them.
I’m especially pleased that in the spring, our iconic and much-loved Students’ Union building Teviot will reopen after extensive renovation works which have made it more accessible, environmentally friendly and fit for the future. In the meantime, there are plenty of welcoming spaces on campus for collaboration, studying or socialising.
You might also have heard a lot recently about the financial challenges being faced by universities across the UK, and you may be worried about what this means for you and your degree. Please let me reassure you that we are taking proactive steps to ensure that Edinburgh remains strongly placed and can continue to deliver world-leading education and research, now and in the future. Protecting and improving your experience here at Edinburgh is at the forefront of our plans as we look to reshape parts of how we operate in response to these challenges. We will keep you informed over the coming months on how the University is dealing with these circumstances.
Congratulations on being part of The University of Edinburgh and on your progress here so far. I wish you all the very best over this academic year,
Peter
Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor