Support and advice
Things you need to know about skills development, your wellbeing & support services available.Disabilities, health conditions and specific learning difficulties
At Edinburgh Napier, we work with a lot of students who tell us of their disability, health condition or specific learning difficulty as they seek help to succeed in their studies.
The Disability Inclusion team can be contacted at any time during the year. Please email disabilityandinclusion@napier.ac.uk if you have questions about arranging support.
If you have had support before, for instance extra time when you took exams at school or college, we can look to carry on that sort of support on your new course. We can also help you think through challenges coming up, develop new strategies, and decide about any additional support, including accessing additional funding if you are eligible.
It is helpful to start planning ahead early to ensure that support can be discussed and put in place as close to the start of your course as possible. If you had a support plan at school or college, send us a copy of that as soon as you can and include any evidence that supported it, such as a screening report from school, GP’s letter or educational psychologist’s report.
If you received the Disabled Students Allowance at college, please send us a copy of your needs assessment report or your recent funding application – again, as soon as you possibly can. Preparing your support works best when we can review your documentation before you start your new course with us. Do not leave it until your course has started if you possibly can avoid it.
It is especially important to speak with us before you start if your support needs will require us to bring in other specialist help, such as sign language interpreters and electronic note-takers. That is simply because the practicalities can take longer to sort out and we want everything in place in time for you.
There is a huge range of software to help you in your studies. You can see what the Disability Inclusion team recommends regularly and find out more from our Assistive Technology pages.
If you suspect you might have a specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, but you don’t have evidence, please first take a look at the information on the British Dyslexia Association’s website.
BEFORE arranging an appointment with an adviser, please complete the BDA’s Adult Dyslexia Checklist. If dyslexia looks likely, keep a copy and bring it with you when you see an adviser.
All discussions will be confidential and we will ask for your consent before we share any sensitive information about your needs with other staff.
Autism Transitions Programme: we run a transition programme for Autistic students each August. The programme aims to help you prepare for University by providing information on a range of topics as well as opportunities to meet other students, tour your campus and ask any questions you might have. A family member is also welcome to come with you as support.
ENSA Advice
ENSA runs a free, professional and independent advice service for students, covering a range of education and welfare rights issues. If you run into problems and don’t know where to turn, make an appointment.
The service is available on all 3 campuses, with video call or phone appointments also available.
Academic Skills
Studying at university is somewhat different from at school or college. The most successful students make efforts to improve their approaches to reading, writing, and independent learning. It is important, too, that students develop their understanding of techniques and concepts like referencing, structuring essays and reports, and critical thinking and writing. The Academic Skills team offers advice to all students, regardless of experience or ability, on these and other aspects of university work.
The Academic Skills Blog offers extensive guidance related to study and writing at university, as well as providing updates on the team’s services. It includes interactive skills guides, a resource bank, and an academic glossary.
Students are encouraged to email all enquiries and requests for individual guidance directly to the team: academicskills@napier.ac.uk.
Personal Development Tutor
Starting life at university is incredibly exciting, but at times it’s easy to feel overwhelmed as you adjust to a new environment. Your Personal Development Tutor (PDT) is assigned to you during the first few weeks at Edinburgh Napier and will be your first point of contact for any academic or personal issues you may experience throughout your time at university.
Counselling & Mental Wellbeing
For most students, going to university is an exciting and enjoyable experience. But for some it can be challenging; being lonely and homesick, or because they bring with them unresolved personal and emotional issues. The Counselling & Mental Wellbeing team exists to help and support students to cope with these kinds of issues. Both services adhere to strict confidentiality guidelines.
Our counselling service offers non-judgemental and accepting support by dedicated and qualified counsellors.
- One to one assessment and counselling, in general, up to 5 sessions
- Student can self-refer by e-mailing counselling@napier.ac.uk
- Students can use counselling to explore their thoughts and feelings to find meaning or work towards a particular goal. This can be based on any aspect of their life and not just their studies.
- Counselling can help with building emotional resilience during periods in a student’s life when they are feeling anxious, depressed or overwhelmed.
- Counselling offers a space which allows for support and exploration of personal and relational difficulties (past or present) where the student can develop new resources and coping strategies.
- As a service we can, with the student’s agreement, also look at referral to other support within the community
Visit Counselling & Mental Wellbeing for more information or email mentalhealthadviser@napier.ac.uk
Student Futures
Student Futures are a dedicated group of employability experts, here to support your professional development and prepare you for the world of work.
The Career and Skills Development team offer a range of services such as one-to-one career guidance, a variety of professional development workshops and support with key recruitment skills, such as CV writing and perfecting your interview technique. Our Placements team can support you with finding a relevant work placement to enhance your degree experience. They look after all stages of this process - from help with your initial applications, to ensuring you are fully prepared for your placement.
The Graduate Recruitment team help make sure that you are seen as key emerging talent by employers by promoting a wide range of employment opportunities on our myFuture jobs board and supporting them to recruit our talented students and graduates to their available vacancies.
Student Futures are a central service well connected to industry and are committed to forming partnerships with a wide range of local, national and international employers in order to enhance our services and provide you with access to exciting employer events and industry insights.
Underpinning all of our services is our digital platform, Student Futures Career Hub. Here you will find our range of digital placement support and interactive careers resources and tools (such as our CV builder and interview simulator). You can access this on myFuture, where you can also book one-to-one meetings with a Career Development Consultant or your School Placement Coordinator, confirm your attendance at one of our many fantastic employer events or search for part-time and graduate vacancies.