Snaps capture places that won student hearts

Edinburgh students’ creative talent is being displayed in a gallery of images showcasing the University and Scotland’s inspiring capital.

A bird’s eye view of the city centre, a graduation ceremony in McEwan Hall and the Forth Bridge against a cloudy sky are among the scenes captured in a student photography competition.

Ariel image of city of Edinburgh — Mingchen Zhang – Bird’s eye view of Edinburgh

Person holding their hood to shield their face as they walk across a snow covered road while snow falls around them. — . Rui Zhang – Blanketed in snow.

Young deer stood in a snow covered field with snow covered mountains and a body of water in the distance. — Rachel Maguire – Arctic local – Reindeer in Tromsø Norway.

Two people sat on two separate benches in front of a large old building with white window frames. — Maitha Qassim – Representing different perspectives

Ariel image showing three bridges poking through cloud cover. — Emily Qvist-Baudry – Forth Bridges in the Sky.

Snow covered building with snow covered hill in the background and coniferous trees in foreground. — Zeliang Lyu – Cold weather contrasts with warm light.

Black and white image of a woman walking in front of a large old building. — Sachinda Witharanage – McEwan Hall

City of Edinburgh at sunset. — Ruibo Zhang – Calton hill in November.

Now in its eleventh year, the annual competition – run by Edinburgh Global – attracted more than 175 entries.

Students were invited to submit an image on the theme of Explore Edinburgh.

The competition gives students the opportunity to share images related to their experience of studying at Edinburgh.

This year students were invited to enter in one of four categories – abroad, campus, city and community.

Eight prize-winning images are on display in the online gallery.

The winners

First place : Mingchen Zhang

Second place : Rui Zhang

Abroad : Rachel Maguire

Campus : Maitha Qassim

City : Emily Qvist-Baudry

Community : Zeliang Lyu

People's Choice : Sachinda Witharanage

Principal's Choice : Ruibo Zhang

These stunning images shine a light on the different ways our students carry impressions of Edinburgh with them, wherever they are in the world. This year the students shared some thoughtful and beautiful images which we are delighted to share.

Alan MackayDeputy Vice Principal International and Director of Edinburgh Global

The photographs were shortlisted by the University’s photographic society, Photosoc.

The winning photographs were then were selected by a judging panel including the Principal and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Mathieson and award-winning photographer Jane Barlow.

The overall winner is Mingchen Zhang from China, with an amazing aerial image of The Hub and Edinburgh castle.

The competition is open to current international students, students who have had a Go Abroad experience and online learners outside the UK.

An online exhibition on the Edinburgh Global website showcases the competition entries.

An on-campus exhibition is planned for next academic year in Semester 1.