You need you Heriot-Watt username/email and password to access a wide range of IT systems, software and library resources. Use our 'Getting Connected Digital Tour' to get set up for:
Note: your email is in the format abc123@hw.ac.uk and your username is abc123. If you don't know/forget your password, you can reset it using this link:
See also:
A 30 minute Library/IT induction should be available as part of your induction timetable. You can find out your induction timetable via the MyHWU student portal. If you have missed your induction, you can view a recording here:
In addition, the information below will provide a good overview of the resources, support and facilities on offer:
You will also find lots of useful information in your EGIS Subject Guide.
Once you have your username/password, you can then access all of the library resources. A University Library is not like a school library - Heriot-Watt University spends over £2million per year on books, journals, databases and other resources to support learning, teaching and research, giving you access to a huge range of resources:
When researching an assignment, don’t just google it! Lots of the resources we pay for can't be found using google. To make sure you know about all the relevant academic and professional resources for your subject. See:
To access our online resources, please use the links above and use your HW username or email. If you need further help with accessing online resources, please see:
For help borrowing print items, please see:
The University offers a wide variety of great places to study - whether you want to study alone or in a group, in silence or in quiet discussion, during the day or at the evenings and weekends. If you are within travelling distance to a HWU campus library, you are welcome to visit.
Arranged over 4 floors, the Cameron Smail (Edinburgh campus) Library offers 1200 seats, including:
The open areas are a mix of formal and casual seating, lounge chairs and study pods.
Study facilities include:
The library is open 24/7 during semesters. To find out more about study spaces, opening hours, booking study rooms, and for a virtual tour, see:
The library has security gates, so you have to use your student card (or app) to get in (note: the app will not allow you to borrow books or use MFDs).
You have free access to lots of software packages. These are available on-campus on the network PCs, off-campus via Keyserver. You can also access/download many software packages onto your own personal device. Before buying any software, check to see if the university provides it:
The university has Mult-Functional Devices (MFDs) across campus for you to print, copy and scan. To print something, you send it to a 'print queue' and then you can release the print at any MFD on campus. The first time you use an MFD, scan your student card, you will then need to log-in with your Heriot-Watt username/password. For all subsequent uses, you can just scan your card. To find out more about print quota, costs, top ups and wifi printing, see:
In addition to the IT services available on campus, Heriot-Watt University can assist students who find themselves in financial difficulties. All students can request a laptop on short-term loan. The Scottish Funding Council also fund laptops for the duration of study, for those that meet specific requirements. To find out more about short and long laptop loan see:
For all other IT related questions see:
The UniDesk Self Service Portal (SSP) can be used to find answers to common questions and also to ask questions/log an enquiry.
An important part of any academic assignment is acknowledging the sources that helped you develop your understanding. This is known as citing and referencing. Failure to acknowledge your sources, or citing and referencing incorrectly could lead to plagiarism, which is a type of academic misconduct. The university wants you to do well and provides lots of help and guidance on this, see:
The university provides free software called EndNote, that can help keep track of all the sources you use and format your citations in your academic assignments. To find out more about EndNote, see:
If you require further help with citing and referencing, academic writing or EndNote, see the 'Develop your sills' below.
If you would like support developing your academic, study, library or IT skills, we are here to help. We offer online and in-person classes, appointments and self-paced online learning materials in:
We may be timetabled within your course, or you can sign up to our classes via:
Last year 98% of students would recommend the Skills Hub class they attended to others, with comments including:
If you prefer to learn at your own pace, have a look at our online learning materials:
If you would like to make an appointment, please get in touch.
We are here to help. If you have any questions, just ask:
A selection of some books relevant to EGIS to help get you started:
A selection of some magazine and journal titles relevant to EGIS to help get you started: