Featuring the four finalists of the 2025 Being Edinburgh Alumni Award
The Being Edinburgh Alumni Award is given every year to an exceptional alum, who’s work has created undeniable, transformative change in their local or global communities. This season, Nilufer was beyond thrilled to be able to talk to the four finalists of the 2025 award; Jimmy Paul, Giselle Gonzales, Hana Mahmood and Hammed Kayode Alabi. These amazing alumni compose our special episode, sharing their advice, insights and stories on all things motivation.
Jimmy Paul, MA Geography 2012 | MSc Integrated Service Improvement: Health and Social Care 2015
Jimmy’s life and career has been driven by one mission - to affect real, lasting change for people whose voices are too often unheard. Growing up around violence, and spending much of his childhood in the ‘care system’, his passion is rooted in his own journey, which is why he works to ensure others experience love and care in their early years. In 2023, aged 33, Jimmy became the youngest ever Head of Scotland’s critically acclaimed Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), drawing on his wide range of professional and personal experiences to oversee prevention programmes and to break cycles of harm.
Giselle Gonzales, MSc Entrepreneurship and Innovation 2019
Giselle Gonzales is the Founder and CEO of EqualReach, an award-winning social enterprise connecting vetted teams of displaced tech talent with dignified digital work. Having worked for some of the most well-known companies in the world - including Amazon.com, AWS, the Walt Disney Company, and National Geographic - Giselle leverages technology, storytelling and impact sourcing to empower displaced communities and form bridges between the public and private sector.
Hana Mahmood, PhD Global Health 2022
Hana is a public health expert and researcher specialising in health informatics and mHealth (mobile health) technologies. One of her most ground-breaking contributions was leading fieldwork for Pakistan’s first national psychiatric morbidity survey, which involved months in the field, hundreds of team members, and late-night data checks. The survey gave voice to more than 11,000 households and forced mental health into the spotlight of national policy. Hana has led over 35 large-scale studies, but more importantly, she has turned research findings into national health policies that impact millions of children.
Hammed Kayode Alabi, MSc Africa and International Development 2021
Hammed Kayode Alabi is an EdTech (education technology) leader and social entrepreneur, TEDx speaker and author, dedicated to advocating for education, youth empowerment, and sustainable development. Originally from Nigeria, he overcame a challenging upbringing marked by personal loss and financial struggles, which inspired him to empower young leaders in his community through education. In 2023, Hammed founded Skill2Rural.Org, an EdTech start-up, which reached over 415 users in just eight months and educators signed up on the platform are currently reaching 128,000+ young people across Africa. And his work doesn't end there.
About Multi Story Edinburgh
Multi Story Edinburgh is a student-produced podcast that brings you the stories, experiences and wisdom of University of Edinburgh alumni. We hope they will inspire you, reassure you and remind you that you are part of the global University community that is here to support you as you make your own way in life.
The podcast is run by the Alumni Relations team at the University of Edinburgh. All opinions expressed are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Edinburgh.
Music
Detective Begining Adventures by KonovalovMusic. Sourced from Tribe of Noise.
