Our people

Meet the extraordinary individuals making a difference.

Peter Mathieson on navigating changes at a historic university

Kathryn DarcusSep 26, 20249 min read
The University’s Principal and Vice-Chancellor on driving culture change, navigating a global pandemic and remembering our shared humanity.

Building family in the student community

Nick BarnesSep 3, 20245 min read
More than 400 student-led societies and volunteering groups aim to help build a sense of belonging in the University experience. How did one motivated student leader level up that ambition, even reaching out beyond the campus?

What happens when the stars misalign in Parkinson’s?

Emer O’TooleAug 19, 20247 min read
Áine Heffernan from the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences is the winner of the University’s 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) competition for research on Parkinson’s disease which aims to understand why some individuals develop the condition. 

A community to champion activism

Nick BarnesJul 30, 20245 min read
Syjil Ramjuthan uses her activism to provoke positive change. She’s committed to using the power of the student voice to improve the University environment now and for the future.

A journey to the unknown

Barbara MorganJun 18, 20244 min read
In December 2023 Dr Claudia Colesie, a terrestrial ecologist in the University’s School of GeoSciences, travelled with a team of scientists to Antarctica. Their destination was the unexplored Zavodovski Island, said to be one of the stormiest places on Earth.

A build-up of little acts, giving back to others

Nick BarnesJun 4, 20246 min read
More than 2,000 Edinburgh care home residents receive cards at Christmas from Julie Ann Fooshee’s community wellbeing project. Her aspirations, to reach out to the city’s isolated and vulnerable individuals, go further.

A chain of students paying back to society

Nick BarnesJun 4, 20245 min read
Jay Choudhari founded Dhyeya in India’s rural Chandrapur. This non-profit organisation is tackling education inequality, helping children from marginalised sections of society aspire to and access education.

Prioritising community and transparency

Nick BarnesJun 4, 20247 min read
Nadine Barakat represents a community of postgraduate research students. Her efforts have been instrumental in bringing the students together, acting on their feedback and instigating change.

On a space mission

Sarah LincolnOct 12, 20238 min read
As the University’s Space Sector Business Development Lead, Kristina Tamane is on a mission to launch collaborations between academia and industry that are out of this world.

Stepping up

Máire CoxSep 19, 20236 min read
When hundreds of Ukrainian children arrived in Edinburgh’s schools Katia Popova and her students organised tutoring, translation and tunes.

Rebuilding a war-torn country: Meeting the future of Ukraine

Emma ReekieMay 31, 20238 min read
A pioneering Twinning Initiative has boosted bonds between Edinburgh and Ukraine, strengthening the cross-border exchange of people and ideas.

Accountability needs you

Derek MainMay 4, 20239 min read
For history graduate Blair Glencorse, a brief conversation in Nepal was the catalyst for an idea that has become a 25-million-strong global movement of people making the world fairer and more accountable for us all.

Introducing the University’s first Gaelic writer in residence

Geraldine DickJan 4, 20234 min read
Author, poet and storyteller Martin MacIntyre will take up the new role for the next two years.

Meet the alumni making waves in the climate crisis

Geri DickNov 23, 20225 min read
Edinburgh is celebrating some of its former students at the forefront of the global climate response.

Supercomputing’s super potential

Derek MainNov 2, 20229 min read
Having been at the leading edge of supercomputing, and its extraordinary growth over the past 30 years, Professor Mark Parsons believes we’re just at the cusp of exploiting its mind-blowing potential.