Alumni Services

1970s

Graduates from the 1970s provide nostalgia, sage advice and proof that an Edinburgh education can lead to global recognition.

Rodrigo Escobar Holguín

Rodrigo Escobar
After a long career in Columbian urban planning that saw him dealing with decision-makers at the highest national level, Rodrigo Escobar Holguín retired and returned to education, recently completing a philosophy PhD.

Kodira Kushalapa

Kodira Kushalapa outside the Ashworth Laboratories in 2019
Dr Kodira Kushalapa arrived in Edinburgh in 1970 to research forest mapping technology. A return visit to King's Buildings in 2019 prompted him to reflect on his work in forest conservation over the past five decades.

Gavin Reid

Professor Gavin C Reid
Professor Gavin Reid reflects on balancing teaching, family life and research as an economics PhD student in the 1970s, playing flute in a blues band and approaching 30 years' service at St Andrews.

David F Noble

David Noble
Retired divinity graduate David F Noble traces his journey from New College to positions in the pastorate, book publishing and university teaching.

Derek Beatty

Derek Beatty
Healthcare and medical devices have been the focus of Derek Beatty's career since 1972. Alongside running his own company, Derek is engaged in helping to improve diabetes care in the UK.

John Esling

John Esling
Canadian John Esling completed his PhD at Edinburgh in the 1970s, when 13p could buy you a pint. Now retired, the distinguished linguist looks back on a rewarding career in academia and with the International Phonetic Association.

Mayer Hillman

Mayer Hillman
Green campaigner Dr Mayer Hillman on his family's Edinburgh roots, the happy years working on his PhD in Social Sciences, and his deep engagement in environmental policy research.

Lawson Cairns

Lawson Cairns outside on a sunny day
Veterinarian Dr Lawson Cairns describes his journey from Aberdeen to Durban, South Africa, and his work to improve compassionate care of companion animals.

Stuart Black

Stuart Black
1978 arts graduate Stuart Black recalls his unconventional entry to university and the winding path to finding an enjoyable career in international development.

Narayan Hosmane

Narayan Hosmane
A studentship enabled Narayan Hosmane to come to Edinburgh in 1971 to study a PhD in Chemistry with Professor Evelyn Ebsworth. He tells us about his academic career in Northern Ireland and the United States.

Bill Hare

Bill Hare
Having attended university as a mature student, Bill Hare has since carved out a varied career in the arts involving exhibition curation, teaching and writing on Scottish modern and contemporary art.

Laurie Bauer

Laurie Bauer
Now retired, Emeritus Professor Laurie Bauer has had a fruitful academic career in Denmark and New Zealand, publishing numerous books and articles on linguistics.

Helga Ögmundsdóttir

From meeting her life partner to setting up a fulfilling career in medical research and education, Helga Ögmundsdóttir, president of the Iceland alumni group, describes the impact her PhD studies have had on her life.

David Lockwood

David Lockwood
David Lockwood's Doctor of Science degree led him to advising the Canadian government. He reveals his memories of being a student at Edinburgh, including being a warden in Pollock Halls.

Michael Clout

Michael Clout
English-born Michael Clout says that Scotland changed his life that has seen him take on some vital research into the species of New Zealand.

Matilda Mitchell

Matilda Mitchell
History of Art graduate Matilda Mitchell has enjoyed a varied career in the arts sector, which saw her bring paintings into the corridors of hospitals.

Diana Chambers

Wealth mentor Diana Chambers discovered her love of mountains while living in Scotland, and remembers fondly visits to her shared flat by the actor Robbie Coltrane.

Jane Bachner-King

Arts graduate Jane Bachner-King remembers the smells of Edinburgh and explains how she is helping save Colombian orphans' lives one stitch at a time with vocational training through machine knitting.

Anna Fraser

Anna Fraser originally came to Scotland for a studentship in 1968 but following the Soviet invasion that year, Anna stayed on at Edinburgh and hasn't looked back since.

Carol Main

Carol Main
Carol Main MBE tells why she chose Edinburgh and how her degree, which focused on Music and English, helped her achieve her career aspirations.

Linda Catherine Pollock

One of the organisers of the upcoming Leaps in the Dark event, Linda Catherine Pollock fell into nursing education by accident and hasn't looked back since.

Dr Asher Wade

Dr Asher Wade discusses a lifetime spent in Academia and reflects on the special place memories of Edinburgh have for him.

Ian C Simpson

Former lawyer and current crime fiction writer Ian C Simpson experienced wide and varied activities during his time at Edinburgh and talks to us about how having the ‘gift of the gab’ benefited his career.

Andrew David Keener

Grammy award winning producer, Andrew Keener, talks to us about how his time at Edinburgh educated him in the art of dealing with other people.

George Russell Barr

Russell Barr
Reverend Barr counts his time at the University as having had a profound impact on his life and shares his stories of student life from freezing peas to football.

Janet Macmillan

Janet Macmillan
In her fourth year, Dr Janet Macmillan took an emergency psychiatry clinical placement to test how she could cope with the specialism, many years later she is still involved, even after retirement!

Professor Lesley Yellowlees

Professor Lesley Yellowlees
Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Science and Engineering, Professor Lesley Yellowlees talks indecision, women in science and why she is the University of Edinburgh through and through.

Kirsty Wark

Kirsty Wark
Alumna and award-winning television journalist Kirsty Wark talks passion and career progression.

Mora Main

Mora Main
Mora Main used her geography degree to make a difference in green politics and volunteers with environmental organisations in New South Wales, where she now lives.

James Garden

James Garden
Regius Professor of Clinical Surgery O James Garden undertook the first successful liver transplant in Scotland and is now leading the establishment of a new institute for Edinburgh Anatomy.

Gordon Mitchell

Gordon Mitchell
Dedication and a sense of humour have taken Gordon Mitchell from homeless art college student in the 1970s to the successful painter he is today.

Margaret Winter

Margaret Winter
Having grown up in Edinburgh, Margaret Winter’s highlights of her time at university were the field trips and extra-curricular activities.

Robin Carmichael

Robin Carmichael
Robin Carmichael has benefitted from his Edinburgh degree, but it was through the University Orchestra that he developed his social skills and met his wife.

David Andrews

David Andrews
David Andrews graduated in the 1970s, when rent was £4 per week.

Ian Frazer

Ian Frazer
Ian Frazer’s experiences have taught him not to waste a minute on things that don’t grab him as important.

Toni McGregor

Toni McGregor
Toni McGregor reveals how an Edinburgh degree helped her find both a husband and a job for which she wasn’t qualified…

Dr Alex Yellowlees

Alex Yellowlees
Alex Yellowlees’ passion for Edinburgh - both the University and the city - is obvious.

George Mackintosh

George Mackintosh
Co-founder of the Edinburgh University Industrial Society, George Makintosh, tells us how to become a British industry success story.

George McGavin

George McGavin
Dr George McGavin on how he has gone from a long-term teaching and research career, to becoming a TV presenter and public speaker.

Catherine Czerkawska

Catherine Czerkawska
English graduate Catherine Czerkawska tells us about the vivid memories she has from being a student in the early 1970s.

Rohan Harindra Wickramsinghe

Rohan Harindra Wickramsinghe
Since graduating from Edinburgh in 1972, Rohan Wickramsinghe has enjoyed an esteemed career, and has been honoured by two international governments.

Piers Sellers

Piers Sellers
Astronaut and ecologist Piers Sellers tells us about why he decided on Edinburgh and the best things about working for NASA.

John McAslan

John McAslan
John McAslan CBE, talks about his time at University and where his career has taken him since.

Linda Shuttleworth

Linda Shuttleworth
First in her family to go to university, Linda Shuttleworth fulfilled her dream of becoming an NHS clinical psychologist, while contributing to the growth of mental health services in Uganda.