Department of LINCS at Heriot-Watt under threat of cuts and closure

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We have launched a Save LINCS petition because the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies (LINCS) at Heriot-Watt University finds itself under threat of:

  • Losing 11FTE jobs, one third of its staff
  • Closure of all Chinese and German undergraduate programmes
  • Removal of numerous Intercultural Studies courses

Please take a moment to sign and distribute as widely as possible. Please also consider writing to your MSP, MP etc. and ask them for their support.

LINCS has a long history and excellent international reputation. Heriot-Watt College started teaching French in 1843, German in 1866, and Spanish in 1888. The department of Languages introduced Scotland’s first BA honours course in Interpreting & Translating in 1970. Today it offers programmes in Translation, Interpreting, Intercultural Business Communication at BA, MA, MSc and PhD levels in five languages: BSL, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Spanish. They are professionally recognized by the CIUTI, the EMT network and the CIoL.

The cuts are proposed despite a growing global demand for language services with AI playing a supportive rather than a transformative role. A growth rate of 5% is expected through to 2029 according to The 2025 Nimdzi 100.

Chinese: Global demand and educational uptake

China is the world’s second largest economy and 82% of UK employers think that language teaching in schools should reflect important potential growth markets for British trade and business according to the British Council in the blog article at https://www.britishcouncil.org/contact/press/speaking-mandarin-will-give-school-leavers-career-advantage-say-77-cent-business-leaders

Entries for the GCSE in Mandarin rose from just over 3,000 in 2012–13 to more than 7,800 in 2023–24 (British Council Sep 2025), while studies at Nat2-5 in Scotland increased from 235 in 2019 to 450 in 2024 and at Higher they increased from 165 in 2019 to 275 in 2024.

There is a clear and renewed pipeline for undergraduate Chinese. The Tianjin Study Scholarship for S6 leavers in Scotland (funded by the Confucius Institute in Scotland), launched in 2012, has consistently motivated Scottish pupils to study Chinese and progress to degree level, with many choosing Heriot-Watt University. Although the scheme was paused during the pandemic, its relaunch in 2025 is expected to increase the number of applicants with advanced Chinese proficiency.

German: Global Demand and educational uptake

German is the most sought-after foreign language among UK employers according to the recent #ShoutOutForGerman – A case for language learning and German at British Universities blog article authored by the German Embassy and German Academic Exchange Service for HEPI at https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/03/17/shoutoutforgerman-a-case-for-language-learning-and-german-at-british-universities/

There has been a slight decline at Higher and A Level, but an increase at National 2-5 in Scotland over the last 5 years, showing potential for future growth. This is significantly enhanced by the recent announcement that the UK will re-join the ERASMUS student funding programme in 2027 to revive our European partnerships and attract European students to both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, provide new funding opportunities for both teaching and research.

Further Information

For more information about languages in Higher Education please refer to the following reports:

You can find out more about the fascinating world of languages and cultures and how they shape our lives at our Life in Lincs blog.

The Scottish Confucius Institute for Business & Communication (SCIBC) at Heriot-Watt is one of five business-focused Confucius Institutes in the UK.

The Heriot-Watt Languages Society is for anyone and everyone who shares a passion for languages.