Scotland’s Newest University

There have been calls for a university in the Highlands and Islands since 1653, when the writer and translator Sir Thomas Urquhart put forward ambitious plans for his estate at Cromarty.

But real progress only started in 1991, when Highlands and Islands Development Board commissioned Professor Sir Graham Hills, formerly Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde, to report on how it might be achieved. His report confirmed the potential for a federal, collegiate university based on existing further education colleges, and in 1992 the University of the Highlands and Islands Project was born.

This led to the creation of The UHI Millennium Institute, which became a higher education institution in 2001, and went on to be granted its own taught degree awarding powers in August 2008.

The final stage was the creation of the University of the Highlands and Islands — a partnership of colleges, research and learning centres across the region — on 1 February 2011.

University title has been achieved with the crucial support of our three sponsoring universities, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Strathclyde, all noted for substantial research expertise.