University of St Andrews

Many of our venues listed have additional breakout and syndicate rooms available, these vary from capacities of 10 to 72 delegates,  our website ace.st-andrews.ac.uk gives a comprehensive overview of all meeting spaces including images and capacities.

- Upper College Hall
- Lower College Hall
- Medical Science Foyer & Cafe
- Physics Theatres A & B
- Arts Building
- David Russell Apartments Facilities Building
- Gateway Lower Ground

View our virtual tours here

Founded in the 15th century, St Andrews is Scotland's first university and the third oldest in the English speaking world. Teaching began in the community of St Andrews in 1410. In 2009, St Andrews became the first Scottish ancient university to appoint a woman as Principal, recruiting Professor Louise Richardson from the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard, to lead it into its seventh century. She was succeeded in 2016 by Professor Sally Mapstone.

St Andrews recently celebrated 600 years of continuous existence during which time it has made an enduring contribution to the intellectual and cultural life of both Scotland and the wider world.

The University of St Andrews embraces sustainable development across all of its operations, fully integrating in it in all that we do.  Current sustainable practices and achievements include:

- A reuse and recycling rate of 73%

- 100% of University food waste is recycled at an anaerobic digestion plant, and all of our green waste is composted.

- The University’s sustainable food policy and action plan promotes sourcing as much of the University’s food and drink from local and sustainable businesses.

- The University has held Fairtrade University status since 2006 and constantly works on expanding it fairtrade product range.  Currently all of the University’s sugar, coffee, hot chocolate and bananas are Fairtrade-certified.

- Through the energy investment (Salix) fund, the University has committed £4.4 million to energy efficiency measures across campus, with another £5.1 million to be invested over the next 18 months. The fund is the largest and most successful in the UK higher education sector.

- All new building projects since 2010 have achieved BREEAM excellent green building certification. Our latest research laboratory is the first BREEAM outstanding building in Scotland and first outstanding laboratory in the UK.

- Procurement of conflict-free electronics and IT equipment.

- The energy efficient data centre holds a Gold CEEDA award.

- The Museum of the University of St Andrews (MUSA), as well as three halls of residence, hold Gold Green Tourism Awards.

- The dedicated Environment team develops the ideas and vision to deliver improved environment and sustainability performance.

- The sustainable development policy and strategy is supported by the Principal and University Court.

- Sustainable and responsible investment programme developed through student consultation.

The Eden Campus Energy Centre is central to the University of St Andrews' strategic drive to become the UK’s first energy carbon neutral university. It will supplement other University carbon reducing projects such as electricity generation by wind turbines at the Kenly Farm site, and improvements to existing campus buildings to reduce their energy demand. The combination of all these strategies will create the first energy carbon neutral university in the UK and further enhance the University and Scotland as leaders in sustainable development.

GENESIS Centre

The GENEration Storage Innovation and Sustainability Centre (GENESIS) is a new facility for research and development activity in storing and converting energy. It will provide a space where companies can access University and industrial expertise, engage with other companies, build business-to-business collaborations, and develop and experimentally test innovative new approaches to the development of low-carbon energy systems.

The Centre will be seen as a business-facing facility. It represents the deployment of the University’s interface between research and applied commercialisation in areas of energy conversion and storage. It will be a place where companies can access both equipment and knowledge – providing facilities to test products, on the one hand, while also providing a forum for engagement between companies and with the academics driving the extensive energy-related work in which the University is engaged.

In attracting private partners, interaction between private businesses will be facilitated and encouraged, on the principle that other companies are your potential collaborators, not your competitors. It will be designed in a way to grow a body of energy-related economic activity around Eden Campus, to act as a catalyst for wider economic growth in the Fife and Tay cities.

In doing so, the GENESIS facility will complement other innovation centres in Scotland which provide test or demonstration space for low-carbon technologies, particularly the following:

- Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) in Dundee
- National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (at Strathclyde)
- Power Networks Distribution Centre (also at Strathclyde).

St Andrews already has contact with all these facilities through involvement in the Energy Technology Partnership, and through links made with Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) to ensure that the two facilities are complementary. 

There is a strong synergy between what is proposed at MSIP and Eden Campus. The University of St Andrews offers a strong academic base to complement the strong manufacturing offering at MSIP. The activities are complementary focusing on slightly different ranges in the technology readiness scale (TRL). This synergy is already apparent, and we are in discussions to formalise this with an outline protocol to ensure synergy and cross-referral of companies. Illustrating the synergy, the largest activity currently proposed for Michelin relates to a company that works closely with St Andrews on research and development, and this relationship has greatly improved the prospects of that company setting up in Dundee. A recent £12 million grant led by St Andrews in the relevant area serves to further reinforce these prospects.

As a member of Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau you can receive a preferred discount on any direct enquiries (minimum numbers apply) – please quote 'DACB' on enquiring.

Member of:

- Dundee & Angus Convention Bureau
- Member of Meetings Industry Association AiM Accreditation
- VisitScotland Grading Scheme Member