October Alumni Weekend

Reflect, connect and explore: Edinburgh Medical School 300 Alumni Weekends

Our Autumn Alumni Weekend will take place on 2-4 October 2026.

Both Alumni Weekends will bring together staff, students and alumni. They will offer an excellent opportunity to come along on your own or with classmates as part of a reunion, to reconnect and reminisce, be inspired by our current cohort of talented students and to hear from our academic colleagues about the latest research and developments as well as our plans for the future.

You can view the full programme for the weekend below. All day programme events are free of charge but have limited capacity.

Please register via Eventbrite by 12 September 2026 if you would like to attend the day programme events.

Group photo of the MBChB Class of 1974 standing on the steps of the Edinburgh Futures Institute

Alumni Dinner

Each weekend will also feature a formal dinner and ceilidh on the Saturday night. This will be held at the National Museum of Scotland. If you would like to join this exciting event and haven’t already signed up, please book now via ePay to secure your place.

October Alumni Weekend: Programme

Friday 2nd October

  • Time: 13:00 - 21:00
  • Location: McEwan Hall and EFI

Our Friday programme will feature talks exploring the Edinburgh Medical School today, with lots of time to connect with fellow graduates and the option to attend a public lecture in the evening.

Location: McEwan Hall

Our alumni weekend events will begin with registration and refreshments in the McEwan Hall Basement Foyers. Come along to meet other Edinburgh Medical School graduates and re-familiarise yourself with one of the most beautiful buildings on central campus.


Location: McEwan Hall

In this introductory talk, Professor Lorna Marson (Professor of Transplant Surgery and Chair of the Edinburgh Medical School 300 Steering Group) and other key staff members will update on recent developments at Edinburgh Medical School. Find out what has changed since your student days and learn about our exciting year-round activities to mark the 300-year milestone. Talks will be followed by a networking reception.

Book your place


Location: Edinburgh Futures Institute 

British Heart Foundation Desmond Julian Annual Lecture

Launched in 2023 to honour the legacy of Professor Desmond Julian, a pioneer in cardiology and founder of the first ever coronary care unit in Europe at Edinburgh Royal in 1963 and went on to be a BHF Professor before becoming Medical Director of the BHF in 1987.

The annual lecture celebrates excellence in cardiovascular research in Scotland and across the Globe. Previous lectures have been delivered by Prof Dame Anna Dominczak, Valentin Fuster M.D and Prof John McMurray. 

In 2026 we are delighted to announce Prof Keith Fox will deliver the 2026 lecture and we invite you to join us to celebrate his work and the contribution of the University of Edinburgh to advancement of knowledge in the field of cardiology over the years.

Book your place


Saturday 3rd October

  • Time: 10:00 - 16:30
  • Location: Edinburgh Futures Institute (plus optional tours)

On the Saturday, you will have the opportunity to join your preferred talks and activities in and around the historic Old Royal Infirmary – recently opened as the new Edinburgh Futures Institute. 

A formal dinner and ceilidh will be held on the Saturday evening at the National Museum of Scotland from 19:00 following the day programme (separate tickets required, bookings can be made via the link above).

Note: This is a parallel session - we invite you to choose and book your preferred session

Hear from our academic community about some of the fascinating research taking place at Edinburgh Medical School today.

Values, Culture, and Convergent Technologies in the Future of Medicine

Professor Kev Dhaliwal

Professor Kev Dhaliwal will explore how values and culture underpin successful multidisciplinary science and the development of transformative healthcare technologies. Drawing on experiences leading cross-disciplinary teams across medicine, engineering, and industry, he will discuss how the University of Edinburgh’s unique environment fosters innovation—from pioneering robotic lung technologies to pandemic preparedness through the Baillie Gifford Pandemic Science Hub and LifeArc Centre. His talk will reflect on lessons learned from team science, early-phase clinical translation, and the accelerating role of AI and convergent technologies in redefining clinical medicine for the next century.

Professor Kev Dhaliwal graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1999 with MBChB (Hons) and a First Class Honours degree in Microbiology. Following postgraduate training in London, he returned to Edinburgh to complete specialist training in Respiratory Medicine and now serves as a Consultant Physician in Infection and Tuberculosis at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Over the past 15 years, he has built a multidisciplinary research team advancing healthcare technologies in respiratory and critical care medicine. His work spans the Medical Research Council, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Innovate UK, and industry, developing first-in-human diagnostic and therapeutic tools. He co-directs the Baillie Gifford Pandemic Science Hub and leads the LifeArc Centre for Rare Respiratory  Diseases. His leadership focuses on values, collaboration, and translating technology to clinical impact.

Professor Kev Dhaliwal will be joined by another speaker as part of this research showcase session, to be confirmed.

Book your place


Note: This is a parallel session - we invite you to choose and book your preferred session

In this session, we explore how Edinburgh Medical School graduates have used their expertise to create positive impact. Two inspiring graduates will share their personal journeys since graduation, with time for Q&A.

Talks to be confirmed.

Book your place.


Note: This is a parallel session - we invite you to choose and book your preferred session

In this talk, alumna Miss Mhairi Collie will share reflections on combining work as a surgeon based in Edinburgh with volunteering in Africa, where she has helped women with untreated childbirth injuries for over 20 years. 

Miss Mhairi Collie MBChB MD FRCS OBE is a consultant colorectal surgeon in the Academic Department of Colorectal Surgery in Edinburgh. Since 2001, she has regularly undertaken surgery in sub-Saharan Africa treating women with obstetric related injuries. She worked for Médecins Sans Frontières initially, then in 2003 co-founded the charity “Uganda Childbirth Injury Fund”.  This charity delivers surgical treatment for over 200 women annually.  Mhairi currently volunteers for it for 5 weeks per year in Uganda, Angola and Madagascar. She felt very honoured to be recognised with a distinguished service medal from RCOG this year. She has recently published a novel to raise awareness and funding for obstetric fistula, called “The Bright Fabric of Life”. 

Book your place


Note: This is a parallel session - we invite you to choose and book your preferred session

Meet our current Edinburgh Medical School students to find out how the student experience has changed. In this ‘speed-networking’ style session, you will have the opportunity to discuss a range of topics and compare experiences across decades. 

Book your place


Between the morning and afternoon sessions, there will be time to take part in optional activities at your leisure. Take this time to enjoy tours and displays, learn about student projects, share your memories and explore the future role of technology in teaching at our Edinburgh Medical School 300 ‘Digital Hub’.


In 2026, the graduating class of 1976 will be asked what aspects of modern medicine and medical education they could have foreseen when they graduated themselves, fifty years ago. This presentation will indulge in some forecasting, and blue-sky thinking, as to what medicine and medical education will look like for Edinburgh Medical School in 2076.  Our current students will then be at the end of their careers – they will be the recently-retired and professors emeritus of the 2070s. 

In this chapter of the 'Learning From Our History' public lecture series, we ask Dr Jeni Harden, lecturer at the Usher Institute, to imagine the ways in which medical education will evolve over the next fifty years, and we also ask two of our current students to present their own vision of how the profession they are just entering might change by the end of their careers.

Book your place


The first professor of general practice in the world was appointed in Edinburgh, and this session will offer a history of academic general practice and primary care in the city.  Before the Royal Infirmary was built all physicians were generalists, and attended patients in their own homes; this session will take the audience through these earliest efforts at community medicine, through the story of the 19th century dispensaries for the poor, into the twentieth century, the establishment of the academic discipline of general practice, and showcase some of the exciting research being conducted today.

Speakers to be confirmed.

Book your place


Additional Saturday activities (various time slots, booking required):

During the day on Saturday, you will have the option to visit the Anatomy Lecture Theatre and Anatomical Museum. Due to limited capacity in the venue, we are offering hour-long slots throughout the day and ask that attendees come at their allocated ticket time. 

If you are interested in joining, please indicate your preferred time slot on the Eventbrite booking form. We will be in touch closer to the time to confirm your space:

  • 9:00 – 10:00
  • 10:00 – 11:00
  • 12:15 – 13:15
  • 13:15 – 14:15
  • 16:00 – 17:00

Book your place


Are you interested in sharing your memories and perspectives on single-use medical plastics? Take part in one of two focus group sessions led by student researcher Danielle Farrow to contribute your views and learn about the work of her interdisciplinary team, After the Single Use.

After the Single Use is a bold global cooperative across four continents that promises to develop a new field of critical humanities, and social science research on medical plastics and circular healthcare economies. Through combining ethnographic and archival research with experimental methods from art, design informatics, environmental advocacy, and participatory research, the team aims to expand and transform methodologies to tackle the interdisciplinary challenges of environmental change and contribute to understandings of healthcare waste as a historical and social issue.

Danielle Farrow is a PhD student taking an ethnographic perspective on the transition away from single use plastics in the Scottish NHS and seeking to further our understanding on how concepts of value, disposability, use and reuse shift over time.

Find out more about After the Single Use

  • 12:30 – 13:15
  • 13:30 – 14:15

Book your place


Sunday 4th October

  • Time: 10:00 - 14:30
  • Various locations depending on selected options

Our final day of activities features a variety of optional tours. You can choose to explore areas of the city and central campus through booking guided tours, or to rediscover Edinburgh at your own pace. We will also be sharing details about local exhibitions which you might like to attend prior to the weekend.

Please indicate your interest in the following tours via the Eventbrite booking form and we will be in touch to confirm available slots closer to the event:

  • Medical and Surgical History of Edinburgh tours
  • Student-led tours of central campus
  • Pleasance Gym tours
  • Main Library tours

Indicate your interest

Alumni Weekend questions

Find out more about our Alumni Weekends in 2026, what you can expect on each weekend and answers to any queries you may have on our Frequently Asked Questions page. If you have any further questions, you can contact the Edinburgh Medical School 300 team at medicalschool300@ed.ac.uk.

Explore the wider 2026 events programme

Alongside our dedicated alumni events, we are planning a series of year-round activities and lectures which are open to all. Find out about the wider Edinburgh Medical School 300 programme through checking our events listing.

This article was published on