Heriot-Watt University is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, world's first mechanics' institute and subsequently was granted university status by royal charter granted in 1966, it is the eighth oldest higher education institute in UK. The name Heriot-Watt was taken from Scottish inventor James Watt and Scottish philanthropist and goldsmith George Heriot. Heriot-Watt was named International University of the Year in recognition of its global presence and impact by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. In 2020, the university ranked among top 300 in the world by Times Higher Education World University Rankings; the same year, The Complete University Guide ranked Heriot-Watt at 35 in UK, ahead of several Russell Group universities. Since its foundation, the university has maintained strong ties with the neighbouring University of Edinburgh for teaching and research. Known for its strength in science and engineering, it is one of the 39 old universities in the UK comprising the distinctive second cluster of elite universities after Oxbridge.

Heriot-Watt was established as the School of Arts of Edinburgh by Scottish businessman Leonard Horner on 16 October 1821. Having been inspired by Anderson's College in Glasgow, Horner established the School to provide practical knowledge of science and technology to Edinburgh's working men; the institution was of modest size, giving lectures two nights a week in rented rooms and boasting a small library of around 500 technical works. It was oversubscribed, with admissions soon closing despite the cost of 15 shillings for a year's access to lectures and the library; the School was managed by a board of eighteen directors and funded by sponsors from the middle and upper classes including Robert Stevenson and Walter Scott. It first became associated with the inventor and engineer James Watt in 1824, as a means of raising funds to secure permanent accommodation. Justifying the association, School Director Lord Cockburn said: " shall be employed for the accommodation of the Edinburgh School of Arts.

" In 1837, the School of Arts moved to leased accommodation on Adam Square, which it was able to purchase in 1851 thanks to funds raised in Watt's name. In honour of the purchase, the School changed its name to the Watt Institution and School of Arts in 1852. Heriot-Watt's time as the Watt Institution marked a transitional period for the organisation, as its curriculum broadened to include several subjects beyond mathematics and the physical sciences. While the School of Arts had catered exclusively to working-class artisans and technical workers, the Watt Institution admitted a large number of middle-class students, whom it attracted with new subjects in the sciences, social sciences and humanities. By 1885, the skilled working class were no longer the majority in an institution, created explicitly for them. A shifting class make-up was not the only demographic change to affect the student body, as in 1869 women were permitted to attend lectures for the first time; this move put the Watt Institution some way ahead of Scottish universities, who were only permitted to allow women to graduate 20 years following the Universities Act of 1889.

The decision to admit women was made in large part owing to pressure from local campaigner Mary Burton, who became the Institution's first female director in 1874. In 1870, the Watt Institution was forced to move following the demolition of Adam Square. After a brief period on Roxburgh Place, it relocated to the newly constructed Chambers Street near where its former site had stood; the move caused the Institution severe financial difficulties, which were compounded by a combination of declining funds from subscribers and increased costs from its growing student body. In 1873, the Directors turned to George Heriot's Trust for support, agreed to a merger of the Trust's endowment with the Institution's own; the proposed merger was provisional to changes in the structure of the Watt Institution, which would see the organisation become a technical college with representatives of the Trust in management positions. Accepting these changes, the Watt Institution became Heriot-Watt College in 1885, was subsequently on far firmer financial ground.

The Watt Club was founded at the Watt Institution on 12 May 1854, is today the oldest alumni organisation in the UK. Following the unveiling of a statue of James Watt outside the Institution, local jeweller J. E Vernon proposed that " whose object would be to sup together on the anniversary of the birth of James Watt…and to promote the interests of the School, by raising a fund each year to provide prizes." Watt Club Medals are still awarded by the organisation each year to Heriot-Watt's most achieving students, while the Watt Club Prize is awarded by The Watt Club Council to recognise student initiative and enterprise. After the establishment of Heriot-Watt as a technical college, the new management committee set about extending the institution's buildings and strengthening its academic reputation. In its new form the College was one of only three non-university institutions in the UK with the power to appoint professors, the first of these was appointed in 1887. In 1902 the College became a central institution, while in 1904 it introduced awards for graduating students which were similar to university degrees.

Expansion meant that the College made increasing demands on George Heriot's Trust throughout the first part of the 20th century, which ultimate

Global Information Network, Ltd. or GIN, incorporated in 1986, is an independent, New York domestic non-profit news organization with an office in New York City that gathers and disseminates news from reporters in the field in Africa. It supplies news and features to over 300 ethnic and minority newsweeklies nationwide, its stories have appeared in print and web media in the U. S, its Executive Director is Lisa Vives. The mission of the GIN news service is to give information on global issues that are overlooked or under-reported by mainstream media; the Inter Press Service, an international newswire made up of journalists, communications experts and specialists in international cooperation, that spotlights the developing world, is a news partner of GIN. The agency's World Service covers over 150 countries and is produced in English and Spanish, with selected stories translated into eleven languages; the daily output is around 112,000 words. In addition to the news service, it provides a radio service and a columnist service, with columns written by statesmen/women, opposition leaders and opinion-makers.

Columnists have included the Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev and others. The trustees of the IPS include Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Martti Ahtisaari, I. K. Gujral and Mário Soares. Stories written for GIN have been picked up by IPS, have been featured as lead articles on the IPS home page and been distributed across the world in United Nations journals, radio stations in Latin America and Asia, hundreds of international publications. In addition to its role as news distributor, it produces a weekly Africa News Briefs bulletin and is a monthly host of African roundtable conferences that present human rights journalists honored by organizations such as the Committee to Protect Journalists, PEN, the international writers' organization and The UN Human Rights Committee

Chris Porter is a Canadian-American former professional ice hockey left winger who played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild, he was drafted in the ninth round, 282nd overall, by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to his professional career, Porter played collegiate hockey at the University of North Dakota, he spent four years at the University of North Dakota appearing in 175 games for the Fighting Sioux. He made his NHL debut with the Blues in the 2008–09 season opener, he scored his first career NHL goal on October 2008 against the Chicago Blackhawks. On July 16, 2012, Porter was re-signed as a free agent by the Blues to a one-year contract. On August 8, 2015, Porter left the Blues organization as a free agent after 8 seasons and signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Porter failed to earn a spot on the Flyers during training camp and was placed on waivers by the team on September 30, 2015. On October 1, 2015, prior to the 2015–16 season, he was claimed by the Minnesota Wild.

Over the course of the campaign with the Wild, Porter consolidated his role on the fourth line, featuring in a career best 61 games for 4 goals and 7 points. As a free agent, Porter was unable to attain a NHL contract over the summer. On September 12, 2016, Porter signed a professional try-out contract to attend training camp in a return to the St. Louis Blues. Unable to secure a contract in his return to the Blues, Porter was released and signed on October 31, 2016, to a professional tryout agreement with the Providence Bruins of the AHL. Porter is close friends with University of North Dakota teammate and current NHL star of the Minnesota Wild, Zach Parise, he acted as best man at Parise's wedding. Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database