Tommy French

PhD student, Tommy French, 24, first came to Edinburgh to study for his Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University due to his family connections to the city and the quality of Scottish education…

"I was born in Buckinghamshire in England, but I moved to Portugal when I was three-and-a-half-years-old," says Tommy. "We lived near Lisbon in the town of Cascais. My father was a doctor and we moved to Portugal when it was about to join the EU because he wanted to start a clinic there.

"I always assumed that I would return to the UK at some point. I chose to come to Edinburgh because of the quality of education here and because it’s beautiful city.

"Most of all, I came because of my family connection to Edinburgh; my father grew up in Edinburgh so it's a big part of his past. I also have a brother who is studying Sports Science at Edinburgh University. He came here because of the family connection as well, but it's partly my influence too."

Tommy's enthusiasm for Scotland has not only persuaded his brother to study at Edinburgh, but also made him feel at home in the Scottish capital. He mentions, "I miss my family, friends and beaches, but I go back to Portugal four or five times a year.

"However, I'm beginning to feel a part of Scotland. And I love Edinburgh! I think the biggest thing that attracted me to the city was how international it was; there are people from all over the world here. I love the size too; it's not too big or too small. I also love being in Glasgow and going to the Highlands. I know a lot of people from other countries who have stayed on after graduation and I think that benefits the city."

Part of the reason why Tommy feels at home in Edinburgh is because of the people. "I like the Scottish people; they're a great bunch," he says. "They're very friendly and welcoming to people from other countries and open to accepting contributions to their country."

Tommy is also happy to be contributing to Scotland's technological industry.

"For my PhD research I'm studying emergency response – fire emergencies in particular – and how Artificial Intelligence can be applied to improve response and intervention. There’s a lot going on in Scotland's technology sector. Dundee, for example, is big in the gaming industry and the School of Informatics at Edinburgh University is very good and I am so happy to be a part of it," he says.

Not only is Tommy happy to be a part of Edinburgh University, he is also feeling the benefits of studying away from home.

"From what I've heard from friends back home, the Portuguese undergraduate degree is longer. A lot of people stay at home when they go to university,” he mentions. “But by coming to Scotland I get to move away and get more life experience. The quality of education is generally higher too. The system is very different here; you specialise a lot faster in comparison to Portugal."

Tommy likes Edinburgh so much he would encourage people to move to Scotland. He says, "Yes, I would definitely recommend Scotland. I went to St Dominic's International School back in Portugal. Since I came from an international school I wanted to make sure that there were people from all over the world where I was going to study. And Edinburgh has lots of international students, which was a big reason why I decided to come here.

"Even though I've been here for six years, there's still so much to explore. I love the way Scotland has accepted me, I love its beautiful architecture, the countryside, the hills, the Scots and their culture and history. So I love everything about Scotland, I guess!"

Related Links

• Edinburgh University School of Informatics
• Moa Johansson
• Professor Alan Bundy