Digital Volunteering with Wikipedia

Wikipedia editing as part of The Edinburgh Award.

  • Edinburgh Award students in Argyle House, with sunny Edinburgh in background out the window

Register your interest or find out more

Registration is now open for 2025/26 students interested in undertaking the award. Registration will close Tuesday 21 October 2025 at 5pm.

About this Edinburgh Award

Editing Wikipedia has never been easier using the new Visual Editor interface which makes editing Wikipedia as easy as using Microsoft Word or WordPress blogs. Now you can undertake Wikipedia editing as part of The Edinburgh Award, and receive accreditation for developing important digital research skills and applying these to improving the knowledge freely available online.  

The Edinburgh Award | The University of Edinburgh

Last year students were interested in improving topic coverage of Women in Astronomy, Young British Artists (and their artworks), 19th century photography and photographers, the African diaspora in Latin America, the Industrial History of Leith and much much more.

Learn more at our introductory workshop

This first introductory workshop is aimed purely at introducing the how and why of Wikipedia editing; including:

  1. Why should you edit Wikipedia?
  2. How to create your user page
  3. Mastering the Visual Editor – Headings, bold, links
  4. Mastering the Visual Editor – Citations
  5. Mastering the Visual Editor – Drafting your 1st article in the Sandbox

By the end of it you can then decide if you would like to undertake this Edinburgh Award and consider the subject area(s) you are interested in: be it Scots Law, Gothic Literature, Citizen Science projects, Climate Change, Covid-19 research, International Development, Women in STEM, Black History, LGBT history or anything else that appeals to your head and heart.

You can then work individually, in pairs, or groups from the first mandatory workshop onwards to the final deadline in March 2026. You can even host your own Wikipedia editing events to encourage others in your school or college to get involved and thereby improve awareness of how knowledge gets online locally and understanding of your discipline globally.

You can also email send an email if you want to learn more or register your interest for the 2025/26 award.

Email Ewan McAndrew about the Edinburgh Award (opens in a new window)

Please note: I am looking for an interested, committed group of students who can work work individually but form part of a team of editors to support one another.

Timeline for this Edinburgh Award

NB: The expectation is you would undertake 55-80 hours from October to March and attend the mandatory in-person Input sessions in this time.

21 October 2025Input 1 Workshop: Room 1.07, Main Library, 5.30pm-7:00pm
3 November 2025First reflection exercise deadline: 6:00pm
5 November 2025Wikipedia Training Workshop: Room 1.07, Main Library, 3:00pm-7.30pm
19 November 2025Project Discussion Day: Room 1.07, Main Library, 4:00pm-7.30pm
3 December 2025

Input 2 Workshop: Room 1.07, Main Library 4:00pm-7:30pm

Combined Christmas get-together with the Digital Skills Specialist award participants, 7:00pm-9:00pm (TBC)

12 January 2026Second reflection exercise deadline: 6:00pm
14 January 2026Midpoint progress check: Room 1.07, Main Library 4:00pm-7:00pm
28 January 2026Project goals to be agreed: Room 1.07, Main Library 4:00pm-7:00pm
11 February 2026Group research workshop: Room 1.07, Main Library 3:00pm-7.30pm
25 February 2026Group research workshop: Room 1.07, Main Library 3:00pm-7.30pm
11 March 2026

Input 3 workshop, Room 1.07, Main Library 3:00pm-7.30pm

Group research workshop: Room 1.07, Main Library 3:00pm-7.30pm

30 March 2026Third (Final) reflection exercise deadline: 6:00pm
April 2026 (Reading week)Celebration event for all Edinburgh Award achievers at Playfair Library.

The Award encourages you to view your skills development as a three-step process:

  1. Identify the subject area(s) you wish to research (and improve Wikipedia's coverage of).
  2. Develop Wikipedia editing skills, copyright literacy, academic referencing and more through self-directed learning,  workshops and group work.
  3. Learn how to write for different audiences through publishing new and improved pages to Wikipedia.
  4. (optional) Stage fun & impactful editing events to encourage others in different schools, student societies to participate in an open knowledge community.

  • Increase your awareness of your strengths.
  • Make the most of your strengths, identify areas for development, and work on your individual action plan to develop these skills.
  • Confidently demonstrate what you have to offer to others.
  • Achieve a positive and lasting impact in your subject area(s).

  • Quick facts about Wikipedia at 24
  • A survey by Yougov found that around two thirds of the British public trust Wikipedia more than traditional news outlets including the BBC, ITV, the Guardian and the Times.
  • One of the most visited websites worldwide, and now one of the most trusted, Wikipedia is a resource used by most university students. Increasingly, many instructors around the world have used Wikipedia as a teaching tool in their university classrooms as well.
  • Indeed, as the drive for scholarly research to become ever more Open Access gathers pace, Wikipedia will increasingly become the digital gateway to this research.

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