heriot-watt university is a product of the scottish enlightenment. a pioneer in bringing education to working people in 1821 and founder of a global movement through the creation of the world's first mechanics institute. heriot-watt is a university with global presence and a visionary international strategy. since the early 1990s, they have built sustainable academic partnerships with institutions across the globe from the us to the ukraine and from china to trinidad and tobago. they continue to push new frontiers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, business, and design.