Alumni Relations

We like to maintain links with our alumni. If you have a story to tell about where you have gone onto since leaving Bristol then please get in touch with us: you can mail the office or contact individual staff members.

History of the CS department

In 2009 we compiled a short history of the Computer Science department as part of our 25th anniversary celebrations.

Alumni Office

To keep in touch please contact the Universities Alumni Office.

Some Former Bristol Computer Science Students

Here we present some of our ex-students who have gone on to bigger and wider things. We asked them to comment on how they thought Computer Science had helped them achieve what they have, and their time at Bristol.

	Adam Hale Managing Director at Russell Reynolds Associates. "Technology is a fundamental part of how every organisation performs business. There is also no role or function today which does not use technology day to day. A fundamental understanding of how technology works is hugely helpful in any role, and vital in many. A Computer Science degree gives that understanding. Bristol is a great place to study as you learn within a research environment, getting exposure to the latest technological developments."
	Mark Newall Senior Executive with Accenture. "When I graduated in Computer Systems Engineering in 1987 this was one of the very few courses in the country that offered the blend of computer systems engineering and computer sciences - this remains the case today. It served me very well at the time in terms of being a course I really enjoyed and it then helped open up the types of opportunities that have helped me rapidly achieve my career aspirations. Since then these courses have improved and developed year on year. In my role now as an employer of CS graduates, CS graduates from Bristol continue to have an special allure, bringing together the lustre of a top university and the quality of a superb course. I am proud to be a CS graduate from the University of Bristol."
	Stuart Green CEO of Zoo Digital Group plc. "After graduating in Computer Science with Mathematics from Bristol University I remained in the Computer Science department to study for a PhD which I completed in 1986. I subsequently co-founded a software company which became the worldwide market leader in its field. The skills of analysis, design and software engineering that I learned at Bristol were key to the success of that company and have been fundamental throughout my career. My current role is CEO of ZOO Digital Group plc, a developer of innovative software for video title production used by Hollywood studios and other video publishers and production companies.            Although I'm no longer directly involved in software product development, I still take a keen interest in the way our products are made and the individuals we recruit to work on them. Experience has taught me that graduates in Computer Science or similar disciplines are the foundation for innovation and software product development. Creating world-class software is not just a matter of producing lines of code. It requires a multidisciplinary approach and the application of engineering principles that arise through a combination of the right training together with applied experience. Computer Scientists are a special breed - their aptitude for creative thinking and application of sound engineering principles are the magic ingredients in any successful software company."
	Chris Green and Matt Hamilton Directors of Netsight Ltd "Shortly after graduating, we both started working for a small local web technology company. In the spring of 2001 we took over directorships of the company, and changed its focus away from 'commodity' web hosting and service provision, and towards the then more specialised area of content management. Netsight now provides a complete range of web services, from brand development, through design and build, to managed hosting - whilst retaining the ethos of a small, dedicated team. Most of the work we now undertake involves the creation of customised content and document management systems based on the open source platforms Zope and Plone.            There is no question that if we had not done our degrees at Bristol, we would not be doing this now. Whilst the skills we learned on the course were doubtlessly useful, it was the exceptional people we met whilst doing it, and the entrepreneurial drive of this city, that got us started on this path. The computer science department is one of our first ports of call for recruitment - about half of our staff is comprised of Bristol CS graduates. The reason for this is simple; Bristol CS graduates come to us not just with the right skills, but also with acuity, creativity and drive that we rarely see elsewhere."

Profiles of some more recent graduates are here.