Ken Sutherland

Ken Sutherland came to Edinburgh because of strong family connections and after many years of travel and work tells us he wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Your time at the University

I chose Edinburgh mainly because of my strong family connections to Edinburgh and to the University here.  My parents both studied in Edinburgh in the 1950s and my sister and brother also studied here. I spent my first two years in Edinburgh at Pollock Halls where I made friendships with people in my corridor that have stood the test of time. I still play poker with two of my mates from almost 30 years ago now and was the best man at the weddings of two of the people who I met on my first evening in staying in Pollock.

I enjoyed many happy days and nights in Teviot union (the old men’s union as my Dad described it) and I dabbled in student politics but fortunately didn’t get the bug that some of my contemporaries did.  I remember having many interesting discussions with one of the current labour front bench.

Don’t feel constrained by your choice of subject.  I never use the technical skills I learnt during my degree but I do use the softer skills I learnt around collaboration, teamwork and determination and I use some of the network of people I met.  These aren’t specific to my actual choice of degree topic.

Tell us about your Experiences since leaving the University

When I finished my BSc, I was offered the chance to stay and tackle a PhD in image analysis which I accepted and enjoyed.  After that, I spent four years in post-doctoral research in Edinburgh before deciding that my future wasn’t to be an academic.  I’ve worked in mostly software and technology companies since then before joining an Edinburgh company seven years ago that was subsequently acquired by Toshiba. Having worked in England for some time I’m now back in Edinburgh and often meet people who I knew at University. I also meet people who studied at the same time as me who I’m meeting for the first time almost thirty years on.  

I now travel a lot to Japan and the US and I am company president of the team here in Edinburgh.  I’m keen to give something back and we now sponsor two bursaries with Edinburgh University School of Informatics.  Outside my day job, I have a general interest in the Lifesciences industry in Scotland and I chair the Scottish Lifesciences Association.  I’m also a director of a small charity in Edinburgh that operates 41 sheltered homes for the elderly.

Alumni wisdom

Don’t feel constrained by your choice of subject.  I never use the technical skills I learnt during my degree but I do use the softer skills I learnt around collaboration, teamwork and determination and I use some of the network of people I met.  These aren’t specific to my actual choice of degree topic.

Enjoy your time in Edinburgh! I’ve been lucky and have had a chance to travel extensively since my student days and I wouldn’t live anywhere else…