September 2019

Ahead of South Asia Week celebrations around the city, we catch up with four graduates with links to the region.

South Asian connections

South Asia Week celebrates Edinburgh's connections to the region. Activities take place around the city and start on the 30 September until 4 October. This year there is a wide range of events, including film screenings, exhibition previews, musical performances and more. 

South Asia Week

Poonam Bala

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Dr Poonam Bala

Dr Poonam Bala is a pioneer in the research field of medicine and colonialism. Here, she reflects on her experiences as a Commonwealth Scholar in Edinburgh and her international research and teaching career.

Read Poonam Bala's profile

The research I conducted for my doctoral studies in Edinburgh concluded in the publication of my first book, 'Imperialism and Medicine in Bengal: A Socio-Historical Perspective' (Sage, 1991), which became one of the most comprehensive and first region-specific studies exploring the interaction between Indian medicine and the British colonial imperatives [...]

Dr Poonam Bala

Ovais Yazdani

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Ovais Yazdani making a speech

Passionate educationalist Ovais Yazdani shares his vision for creating an accessible, pluralistic and egalitarian education system in Pakistan.

Read Ovais Yazdani's profile

Today, I have been able to successfully transform my organization into a profitable social enterprise built on cost-effective measures and a generous financial aid program that does not deny any deserving student the right to quality education.

Ovais Yazdani

Sindhu Rajasekaran

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Sindhu Rajasekaran reading her book 'So Let it Be'

Storytelling is key to the many strands of Sindhu Rajasekaran’s career, including writing short stories, producing films and crafting corporate communications.

Read Sindhu Rajasekaran's profile

I started writing 'So I Let It Be' while studying at the University of Edinburgh. Many of the stories in this book have been workshopped by my student peers and tutors while I was at Edinburgh. 

Sindhu Rajasekaran

Erangi De Costa

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Erangi De Costa

Masters graduate Erangi De Costa reveals how her Edinburgh studies helped to fast track her career as a product manager in Sri Lanka.

Read Erangi De Costa's profile

Not only am I the youngest product manager in a company of 500+ employees but also the only female to ever be appointed to the role of product manager during the 20+ year history of the company.

Erangi De Costa

Send us your profile

We're interested in the path you've taken since your studies at Edinburgh and want to learn about the challenges and highlights you've encountered along the way. Please get in touch and you and your experiences could feature on our website and inspire today's student, as well as fellow alumni.
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