Kim and Alan: Edinburgh roots, managing memories and education as transformation

In our third episode of season 6, guests Kim Graham and Alan Addison talk about Edinburgh roots, managing memories and education as transformation.

Professor Kim Graham was appointed as the first Provost of the University of Edinburgh in June 2022, having previously held the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor, Research, Innovation and Enterprise at Cardiff University. Kim is an internationally-renowned Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience and co-author of award-winning book The Evolution of Memory Systems. Her research asks how variation in the structure and function of brain networks is linked to differences in human memory performance and how damage to these networks influences risk and resilience to dementia across the lifespan. 

Alan is a published author and a retired literacy tutor. Before graduating from the university in English Literature in 1995, Alan had his own joinery business. He gave it up to pursue his love of literature, which stemmed from his uncle Bert Mackie, who was a writer and journalist, and encouraged Alan to study English. To enable him to qualify for university he went to a community college and was the first in his family to reach higher education. After graduating, he became a literacy tutor. By then he had been diagnosed with dyslexia and learned that this condition existed in his family. This led him to become a family literacy tutor supporting families in areas of multiple deprivation.

Who are we? Season 6 is about who we are as individuals, what motivates us and why we do the things we do? But as it is Sharing things, it is also about where we overlap, where our experiences help us better understand others and why we are never alone.

You can find more information on the Sharing things website.

Graphic images designed by Chris Behr. They are part of his Nice Things icon set.