Éireann Leverett

Name: Éireann Leverett
Age: 31
Born: Lambeth, London
Lived in Scotland: 10 years

Born in London and brought up in the United States, Éireann has dual nationality. He came to Scotland because of the educational opportunities, studied for an honours degree in Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, and is now working as a Software Engineer for GE Energy in Livingston.

Éireann believes he got where he is now because of the quality of education he received at Edinburgh University. The Informatics department at the university is the number one research school in the field. One of the founders, Donald Michie, worked at Bletchley Park cracking codes with Alan Turing during World War II.

"I didn’t expect to be so proud of the department I studied with but I am. Edinburgh was the only university in the UK to be awarded the top 5*A rating in computer science in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. They also have the UK’s biggest research group in this area."

In his current job Éireann works with systems that are vital to the energy infrastructure of not only the UK, but other countries around the world. He develops automated tests for the software, and assists in securing critical national infrastructure as a junior member of a global team.

"Scotland is a great place to be at the moment if you want to work in the technology sector. There are a lot of international companies here offering fantastic opportunities for people."

So would Éireann recommend Edinburgh as a place to work and study?

"Without a doubt! But don’t come if you can't laugh at yourself. Scots use humour to keep you in your place, to tell you you’re not as cool as you think you are. I love that perspective on life.

"Edinburgh's a great place for students. Departments are dotted around all over the city, so you're much more integrated with the city than you would be on a campus. You don't need a car to get around and there's loads going on.

"It's an equally good place to be once you’ve graduated and got a job too. My quality of life here is fantastic and many of the people I studied with are still here too, either working or having gone on to do further study or research. That’s one of the things that Edinburgh is good at – fostering talent and keeping it – because once you've lived here you may not want to leave.

"Some of the people I studied with went on to jobs in London and elsewhere, but I always had my fingers crossed that I would get a job here and be able to stay."

Éireann says: "Tollcross is a great area of the city if you want a bit of international flavour. There are shops, cafés and restaurants in the neighbourhood offering North African, South African, Mexican, Indian, Turkish, French, Thai, American, Italian, Chinese and of course, Scottish food. I love that, it reminds me of where I grew up in Washington DC."

Related Links

• General Electric
• School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Alan Bundy
• Moa Johansson
• Tommy French
• Remco Stoutjesdijk