Heriot-Watt University Malaysia and Class Of Your Own formalise decade-long education partnership
Heriot-Watt University Malaysia and Class Of Your Own Limited (COYO), creator of the international Design Engineer Construct! (DEC) Learning Programme, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen support for schools, teachers and young people pursuing future careers in the built environment.
The agreement formalises a relationship between Heriot-Watt University and COYO that has developed over more than a decade across Edinburgh, Dubai and Malaysia, bringing together school students, teachers, university students, academics and industry.
The partnership was celebrated at Heriot-Watt University Malaysia’s Putrajaya campus, where COYO’s Education Director Daniel McDonagh signed the agreement with Professor Mushtak Al-Atabi, Provost and Chief Executive Officer of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia.
They were joined by university staff and teachers from HELP International School, The Alice Smith School and St Joseph’s Institution International School. The schools will be among those supported through closer engagement with Heriot-Watt academics, students, research and facilities.
Under the three-year agreement, Heriot-Watt University Malaysia and COYO will collaborate to support the continuing professional development of DEC teachers, strengthen students’ knowledge, skills, competencies and behaviours and create opportunities for young people to engage directly with higher education, research and professional practice.
The partnership will include opportunities for campus visits, university experience days, guest lectures, seminars, masterclasses, student mentoring, design challenges, competitions and showcases, alongside support for careers and progression into higher education, apprenticeships and professional careers.
The agreement also creates opportunities for educational research, curriculum development, impact evaluation, innovation, public engagement and collaboration with industry.
Education Director Daniel McDonagh signing the agreement with
Professor Mushtak Al-Atabi, Provost and Chief Executive Officer of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia.
For COYO, the MOU builds on a substantial history with Heriot-Watt University.
The relationship began in Scotland, where Heriot-Watt academics and undergraduate students supported the delivery of Design Engineer Construct! at Drummond Community High School in Edinburgh alongside industry partner Laing O’Rourke.
That work later contributed to Heriot-Watt’s “Mutual Benefit” research, exploring the value created when schools, higher education and industry work together to support young people developing knowledge and skills for the built environment. The relationship subsequently became international.
In 2021, as the world prepared for the United Nations COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, COYO created the global Design The COP: Centre for Our Planet challenge to engage young people with climate change through the built environment. Students from Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh, Dubai and Malaysia campuses supported the COP26 initiative by reviewing and shortlisting entries from young people around the world.
The programme challenged students to consider how the places we design, construct and manage can respond to climate change, bringing together school education and university expertise across three continents at the same time that governments and global leaders were gathering in Glasgow.
HWU and COYO – an enduring relationship
The collaboration continued in Dubai, where Heriot-Watt University students have supported DEC learners through real project experiences, including work experience programmes at Uptown International School, the DEC Centre of Excellence for the Middle East.
Malaysia now represents the next stage of that international relationship.
“Some partnerships begin with the signing of an agreement. This one has a history.
“For more than a decade, Heriot-Watt academics and students have stepped forward from Edinburgh, Dubai and Malaysia to support our teachers and young people.
They have shared their knowledge, mentored students, supported teachers, judged extraordinary DEC projects and helped our children understand there’s a great future for them in the construction industry.
We’ve seen that relationship come full circle too. Young people who first encountered the built environment through DEC have progressed into university and then returned as undergraduates to support the children following behind them. It’s exactly the kind of educational pathway we want to create.
This powerful collaboration will continue to help young people think seriously about climate change through the places we design, engineer and construct.
I’m particularly pleased that the schools themselves were part of our celebration; our union gives teachers continuing access to knowledge and expertise and offers their students meaningful opportunities to experience university, industry and the careers that are critical for the future of our planet.
Heriot-Watt has been part of the DEC story for many years and I’m incredibly proud that we are writing the next chapter in Malaysia together.”
Alison Watson MBE
Founder and Chief Executive of Class Of Your Own
“We are delighted to formalise this partnership with Class Of Your Own and build on Heriot-Watt University’s long-standing relationship with the Design Engineer Construct! Programme.
Our purpose is to develop leaders to build a sustainable, equitable, and enriching society, and that journey begins long before a student arrives at university.
Through this initiative, our academics from the School of Engineering, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society (EGIS) will work with schools and educators to bring real-world knowledge into the classroom, helping young learners engage with the built environment and inspiring future study and careers in the sector.
The collaboration equation is “Collaboration = Shared Purpose x Mutual Trust” and with two ingredients available in abundance among Heriot-Watt University, COYO and schools across Malaysia and Southeast Asia, we can create more inclusive pathways into the built environment professions and equip young people with the knowledge and confidence to shape the communities and cities of the future.”
Professor Mushtak Al-Atabi
Provost and Chief Executive Officer of Heriot-Watt University Malaysia
The new partnership gives those ideas a practical framework, connecting Heriot-Watt University Malaysia directly with DEC schools and teachers while building on a relationship already established across Heriot-Watt’s international university community.
