World-leading St Andrews

St Andrews strengthened its position as one of the world’s leading universities throughout 2025, combining research excellence, academic leadership and a deep commitment to quality. A successful external review by the Quality Assurance Agency concluded that the University ‘is effective in managing academic standards, enhancing the quality of the learning experience and enabling student success’.

St Andrews was also the first higher education institution in Scotland to participate in the new Tertiary Quality Enhancement Review, a quality assurance and enhancement process with a central focus on improving the student learning experience. Our participation demonstrates our commitment to excellence within our own institution, and recognises the value, dedication, and professionalism of our staff in helping achieve this.

Research excellence continued to define the University’s global reputation. Breakthroughs in virology, chemistry, marine biology, and planetary exploration have uncovered innovative findings. These included Professor Sonja Vernes’ discovery that bats can tolerate coronaviruses, and Professor Sabine Hyland’s research into how khipus, the string writing of the Inkas, were used to record climate changes. Such examples attest to the depth and breadth of the excellent research that happens here, driven by a focus on translating research into real-world impact.

The University’s expertise continued to shape national and international policy. Academics partnered with the Scottish Government to address critical evidence gaps in seabed management, while five St Andrews scholars were appointed to the Scottish Science Advisory Council, strengthening the expert panel that advises the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland. Research into 20th-century policies affecting Gypsy/Traveller communities uncovered clear evidence of institutional discrimination, contributing to national conversations about historical injustice.

In February, the University took over the chairship of the Scottish Council on Global Affairs (SCGA), marking the occasion with a talk by former Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD on ‘Looking at how nations like Scotland and Ireland can provide a hub for debate and discussion on international affairs’.

Major new research investments expanded the University’s global reach. Two new Global Research Centres – the Centre for Neonatal Sepsis and the Centre for Changing Climates – were launched, bringing together interdisciplinary teams to address urgent global challenges. Individual excellence was also recognised nationally, with four members of the School of Physics and Astronomy honoured at the 2025 Institute of Physics Awards.

The Vice-Principal (Research, Collections and Innovation) and the Research and Innovation Services team continued to work with Academic Schools to support preparations for Research Excellence Framework 2029.

The University’s reputation remained exceptional. St Andrews was named Scottish University of the Year in the Daily Mail University Guide, ranked top in Scotland and second in the UK in the Guardian University Guide 2026, and retained second place in the UK in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2026, with eight subjects ranked top in the UK: Art History, Chemistry, English (joint with Oxford), French, History, International Relations, Physics and Astronomy, and Social Anthropology. These achievements reflect a research environment defined by ambition, collaboration and impact that continues to shape global understanding across disciplines. Outstanding colleagues were recognised at the 1413 Teaching Excellence Awards, now in their 15th year.

The quality of student experience that we offer was reinforced in the National Student Survey 2025, in which St Andrews increased its positivity score compared to the previous year.

St Andrews ranked 17th in the British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) league table out of almost 150 institutions and celebrated a series of successes across an impressive range of sports including golf and rowing.

Representatives from Saints Sport visited Zambia to support the University’s volunteer activities with the sports NGO Sport in Action, and the Volunteer Zambia initiative celebrated 20 years of impact in 2025.

Sustaining this world-leading trajectory depends on the strength and support of the University’s global community. The Making Waves campaign continued to take strides towards realising our vision for world-leading St Andrews through fundraising for ‘New College’ and the Digital Nexus building, and for scholarships and endowed academic posts. The University celebrated a record fundraising year, breaking the previous cash record for fundraising with over £23.3 million donated to 31 July. This achievement represents the community’s unwavering belief in our vision for St Andrews and reinforces our commitment to excellence – and our mission to make a difference at local and global levels.

Digital St Andrews

Digital innovation continued to transform the St Andrews experience in 2025, strengthening the University’s ability to deliver flexible, high-quality education and support to learners around the world.

The University’s online learning portfolio continued to grow, offering flexible, part-time postgraduate degrees, short courses and micro-credentials that allow learners to study from anywhere in the world. These programmes are built on the same academic rigour and teaching excellence that define the on-campus experience, with courses designed collaboratively by academics and digital education specialists to ensure high-quality online pedagogy. Students benefit from interactive virtual seminars, digital libraries, discussion forums and tailored academic support.

New offerings, such as the online MSc in Conflict and Security in Policy and Practice, are meeting the needs of professionals seeking to upskill while balancing work and personal commitments. Additionally, Saints Sport introduced a new online Performance Curriculum, developed with sports medics and a professional footballer, to support elite athletes in balancing academic excellence with high-performance sport.

Online courses continue to support the upskilling of University staff in subjects ranging from mediation to machine learning, while St Andrews’ flexible online portfolio has unlocked over £50,000 in additional funding from EPSRC / UKRI, Tay Cities Deal and the British Academy over the last 12 months. A growing expertise in digital learning has been integral to the University forming new partnerships with V&A Dundee, ArtUK and Scottish Government on online short courses and micro-credentials.

Collaborations between the Digital Education Innovation Scheme, Schools and Services are now fostering transformation across the University – for example, through the addition of a green screen in the media studio at Eden Campus, and via the development of new delivery models, policies and systems to support modular and stackable study.

The University won the Herald Education Award for ‘innovative use of technology’ for its Common Extension Request System, which has streamlined coursework extension processes and significantly improved the student experience.

Artificial intelligence and automation are also beginning to reshape how the University manages enquiries from students, staff and prospective applicants. In 2025 St Andrews introduced ‘Sandy’, an AI-enabled chatbot, to assist with routine frontline enquiries through a conversational and monitored interface available around the clock and in multiple languages.

Early engagement has been strong and successful, with more than 18,000 conversations recorded in Admissions alone and almost 60% taking place outside normal working hours. By supporting 85 languages and guiding users to relevant information or next steps, the tool is helping create a more accessible and responsive digital experience for the University’s global community, while ensuring traditional routes of enquiry are maintained.

Alongside the chatbot rollout, the University is analysing how enquiries flow across its services to identify opportunities to streamline processes and reduce manual workload. Email inboxes across 45 public-facing mailboxes received more than 950,000 messages in a single year, highlighting the scale of demand for routine information and support, and these are currently in the test environment. By combining AI-enabled self-service with process redesign and improved digital tools, teams are beginning to simplify administrative workflows and free up staff time to focus on more complex and value-adding work. Importantly, these tools are designed to complement – rather than replace – human interaction, preserving our personal approach while enhancing our teams’ capacity to support students and staff.

Digital tools also enhanced research and public engagement. A new device developed by St Andrews Libraries and Museums and the School of Physics and Astronomy allows cultural institutions to identify toxic pigments in historic books quickly and safely, demonstrating how digital innovation can transform heritage conservation.

Across the University, digital systems continued to support staff, students and prospective students. The new Employee Assistance Programme offers confidential 24/7 support, including wellbeing resources and short-term counselling, while a new Employee Discount Portal will help ease financial pressures by providing access to discounts at major retailers.

Funds raised for the Digital Nexus building – one of the two capital projects in the Making Waves Campaign – exceeded £1 million, and plans continued to make progress towards creating this cutting-edge hub for interdisciplinary teaching and research – and new home for the School of Computer Science – on the North Haugh.

Together, these developments reflect a University that is embracing digital transformation not as an add-on, but as a core part of its mission to deliver excellence, flexibility and opportunity.

Entrepreneurial St Andrews

Entrepreneurship and innovation flourished across St Andrews in 2025. The Business School launched new Executive Education programmes designed to help professionals navigate global complexity, while students engaged directly with leading entrepreneurs including Dragons’ Den judge Peter Jones CBE, who visited the School for a dynamic question and answer session on innovation and leadership. The University welcomed the first cohort of postgraduate students onto the new MSc in Entrepreneurship programme in September.

Research-driven innovation continued to thrive. The development of a rapid-testing device for identifying toxic pigments in historic books demonstrated how interdisciplinary collaboration can produce tools with real-world impact. St Andrews researchers also contributed to the European Mars Rover mission, trialling instruments that will shape the rover’s scientific capabilities when it launches in 2028.

A new Alumni Founders Community was established, spearheaded by St Andrews Innovation in collaboration with the University’s Development Office, to connect St Andrews graduates with an interest or experience in entrepreneurship with students and with one another. Inaugural events included the Alumni Founders Dinner, in-person Alumni Founders Networking, and a series of online information sessions.

Innovation Week in October brought together staff, students, alumni and the wider innovation community, with speakers including alumni Ted Rosner and Max Dubiel, founders of Redemption Roasters, a business with a mission to reduce reoffending through coffee. Innovation Week was hosted by the Entrepreneurship Centre in partnership with academics, alumni, and University collaborators. Also on the programme were interactive workshops and networking events exploring the trends and strategies shaping the future.

Scottish EDGE awarded £1.5 million to 35 companies across Scotland in 2025, with University of St Andrews Business School student Aditya Mahapatra and his co-founder among the winners. The pair were awarded an £80,000 grant for their innovative approach to brand growth through their influencer marketing agency Augmentum Influencer Solutions.

A total of 262 applications were submitted to the Converge, Net Zero, Create Change, and KickStart Challenges from all Scottish universities, including five St Andrews entrants. The School of Medicine team behind SimulatedPatientAI (SimPatient), an interactive platform designed to address key challenges in medical training, were recognised with Converge’s KickStart Challenge Entrepreneurial Spirit Award.

Five participants entered the Changemakers programme, and the Entrepreneurship Centre hosted a series of workshops and events including Venue Creation Lab in April, a visit from members of the St Andrews Business Club, and Summer Workshop Series.

The Connect-Ed Network Meet-Up brought together a dynamic panel of female founders and investors to explore how best to engage and support women in entrepreneurship. This focus continued at an EdenTay Founders Community event, where a powerful discussion on the importance of female founders featured St Andrews alumna and Noé Dresses founder Noemie Jouas, alongside guests from the Universities of Dundee and Abertay.

Lunch & Learn events were held throughout the year, covering topics such as the basics of freelancing, and entrepreneurship in the creative arts, sport and STEM.

A new Startup Skills Lab was launched by the Entrepreneurship Centre, providing a beginner-friendly, hands-on programme to help turn ideas into real-world impact, and a suite of online resources was developed in support of this initiative.

The Centre also celebrated programme graduates and competition winners at an evening of awards. Competitions held in 2025 included ‘Founder of the Year’, the ‘Start Up Challenge’, and ‘What’s the Big Idea?’,

St Andrews Innovation was represented at the Universities Scotland conference on universities and regional economic development in Glasgow, the purpose of which was to develop a shared understanding of how universities are currently contributing to economic growth, and to consider what policies and mechanisms are needed to protect and augment that in the future.

Senior leaders from the University and St Andrews Innovation hosted Ian Murray MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, for a visit to the Eden Campus focused on innovation and enterprise, during which he visited the Colin Vincent Centre for Battery Technology, heard about the University’s new Power-to-X facility for green hydrogen and sustainable chemicals, and met with the alumni founders of RasTech, a sustainable aquaculture start-up using renewable energy and carbon capture technologies to grow king prawns on land.

The Innovation Yard at Eden Campus opened to tenants in the autumn, providing modular, containerised pop-up units tailored for incubators, start-ups and innovators, marking another milestone in the University’s commitment to fostering green growth and entrepreneurial excellence.

Entrepreneurial thinking was also evident in the University’s approach to governance and strategy. The Principal’s Office continued its programme of School and Unit visits, strengthening dialogue around financial sustainability, strategic priorities and institutional resilience, ensuring that St Andrews remains agile, confident and forward-looking.

People make St Andrews

Highlighting just a few of the personal, professional and team achievements of our staff and students in 2025.

• Finance Lecturer Dr Maria Chiara Iannino from The St Andrews Business School was appointed academic co-lead for Finance at Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ), where she will facilitate connections between academics, financial institutions, and policymakers to drive sustainable finance initiatives.
• A group of postgraduate students presented the mobile app WillCO2st at the Europeaum event ‘The Future of the European Green Deal’, held at the Complutense University of Madrid. The app enables users to track carbon dioxide equivalent (CO₂e) emissions of research activity, across three key areas: experiments, travel, and direct emissions, with plans to incorporate procurement tracking in future updates.
• Professor Simon Dobson from the School of Computer Science, Professor Russell Morris from the School of Chemistry, Professor Ifor Samuel from the School of Physics and Astronomy, Professor Deborah Williamson from the School of Medicine, and Dr Alex Browne from the School of Chemistry joined the Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC), strengthening the expert panel that supports the Chief Scientific Adviser for Scotland in her work with Scottish Ministers.
• University Golf Scholars Judd Sundelson and Judy Joo made history by claiming both the Men’s and Women’s Order of Merit titles in the 2024-25 R&A Student Tour Series, Europe’s premier university golf circuit.
• The Royal Economic Society (RES) named Professor David A. Jaeger a Founding Fellow in recognition of his contribution to economics and its impact on society. The award recognises those who demonstrate excellence, leadership and a commitment to advancing the discipline beyond academia.
• Dr Amit Kumar from the School of Chemistry won the 2025 Harrison-Meldola Early Career Prize for Chemistry for his development of green processes based on catalytic (de)hydrogenation for the synthesis of renewable polymers and their recycling.
• Professor of Medieval History Caroline Humfress, FRHistS, FSLS and Professor of Modern History Richard Whatmore, were elected to the British Academy’s Fellowship in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences.
• The University of St Andrews Women’s Football 1st Team was crowned British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) national champions after beating the University of Nottingham in the Championship Final.
• Professor Deborah Williamson, Dean of Medicine and Head of the School of Medicine was appointed Co-Director of Public Health Scotland’s newly launched National Scottish Pandemic Sciences Partnership (NSPSP).
• Undergraduate student Sophia Issberner made history for rowing at the University by claiming gold as part of the Great Britain Women’s Eight (W8+) crew at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Germany. Sophia’s triumph marks the first-ever gold medal in GB rowing by a University of St Andrews student at an international event.
• Professor Christopher Smith from the School of Classics was appointed Chair of the National Library of Scotland. The National Library of Scotland is the guardian of the printed and recorded memory of Scotland, held on behalf of the nation. It fulfils a statutory role as one of the nation’s most significant cultural and research organisations.
• St Andrews’ trade union representatives and the University’s efforts to extend cancer support for staff was recognised in the Scottish Parliament. Considered to be the first such agreement in the HE sector and one of the most generous employee benefits of its kind, University staff affected by cancer will now be entitled to 12-week paid phased return to work as well as other support for their health and wellbeing.
• Rachel Turton, Sports Development Officer at Saints Sport, represented Great Britain in Disc Golf at The World Games 2025 in Chengdu, China.
• University Golf Scholar Ellie Monk delivered a commanding performance on home turf to capture the individual stroke play title at the 2025 St Andrews Links Collegiate.
• Dr Sara Lodge’s book The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective was shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize.
• Michael Downes, Director of Music at the Laidlaw Music Centre was awarded an OBE for services to music and to the University in the King’s Birthday Honours.
• Ursula Martin, Honorary Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics and one of the first women to become a Professor at St Andrews, was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to Science and Education.
• Professor Frances Andrews from the School of History received an MBE for services to Higher Education. Frances is a historian of medieval Europe, with a particular focus on the history of Italy and of medieval religion.
• Fiona McDonald (House Service Assistant, Residential and Business Services) won the Frank Maguire Award for Health and Safety at the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) alongside former colleague Jean Pickering, and was presented the award by the First Minister.
• Scotia McDonald, Application Developer in IT Services, won the Innovative Use of Technology category at the Herald Higher Education Awards, which recognised the work put into creating The Common Extension Request System which is now used in nearly every School in the University.
• Emma Hughes, a final year Psychology student, won the ‘Outstanding Contribution from a University Student’ category at the Herald Higher Education Awards.