Our people

Contemporary Art Practice graduate and Being Edinburgh Alumni Award nominee Jiayi Chen’s creative works explore human connection, celebrate female culture and treat audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to an interdisciplinary performance centred on a secret ancient Chinese script used only by women.

Shirley Tian, a University of Edinburgh student and Chief of Staff at Shasha Network, reflects on her journey from an international upbringing across diverse education systems, to speaking at the United Nations and empowering African youth.

With our entrepreneurial student body launching more than 350 startups in the last four years, a culture of innovation on campus is thriving. How did alumni Rowan and Ross flourish in that environment, and make their ideas a reality?

PhD student Lokesh Jain has won the prestigious Coimbra Group Three-Minute Thesis Competition. His research uses a supercomputer to model how icebergs and sea ice melt around the Greenland ice sheet to try to narrow uncertainty in future sea level rise. 

Across the University, thousands of students have been celebrating their achievements at our graduations.

Sabrina Tickle, cofounder of The Wee Haven Youth Project, more commonly known as the WHY project in Edinburgh, shares why youth work matters more than ever and what it means to be winner of the University’s Being Edinburgh Alumni Award 2026.

Pioneering clinician-researcher, Professor Michael Eddleston, explains how restricting access to highly toxic pesticides has saved hundreds of thousands of lives, and why global action is now within reach.

After more than two years behind scaffolding and hoardings, one of Edinburgh’s most iconic University buildings has reopened its doors.

From environmental stewardship to community care and climate education, donor support is helping to accelerate the University’s response to the climate crisis in diverse and meaningful ways.

Giselle Gonzales has been recognised as a finalist in the Being Edinburgh Award for her work using technology, storytelling and impact sourcing to empower displaced communities and form bridges between the public and private sector. 

Hana Mahmood, an alumna of the University, has been recognised as a finalist in the Being Edinburgh Alumni Award for turning her research findings into national health policies that impact millions of children.