Alumnus Tim Rault-Smith graduated from the University of Exeter in 1990 with a BSc in Computer Science and is now an angel investor and business adviser in the fast-growing electric vehicle sector. We caught up with him recently to discover more about his life at Exeter, his career and what inspired him to get involved with our Exeter Leaders programme.
When Tim studied at our Streatham Campus in Exeter, he was based in Lopes Hall for his first two years of studies. It was a time where B.B King played at the Great Hall, novelist John Le Carré was awarded an honorary degree and by the end of the 1980s student numbers had gone from 3,400 to nearly 5,200.
Remembering his Exeter days, Tim says: “It was a great campus. I served on the Lopes Hall committee as treasurer for the second year which gave me the chance to learn a bit of teamwork, marketing and help organise a summer ball. I was involved in other societies which involved music, including a rag week Blues Brothers float where I played bass (pictured above). My course was also pretty good, particularly as the study of Computer Science was new at the time.”
After graduating, Tim worked in a variety of IT and Software companies using the skills from his degree both in-house and on a consultancy basis. He was drawn to this area of work as he had been programming since the early 80s when home computers broke into the public consciousness. He shares that “the course and my career in the computer industry was a natural development. Just a few years after graduating, I left a steady job to work as a freelance technical instructor which led after a few years to a job at a Silicon Valley manufacturer. There I consciously moved into different services roles every few years to broaden my experience, and I was perfectly positioned after nearly 10 years to join a software startup which turned out to be successful!”
During the three decades Tim has been working in this sector the industry itself has seen many developments, changes and challenges. Recent alumni and upcoming graduates are well placed to apply the latest knowledge, innovation and solutions to this field in the years ahead. We asked Tim what his advice would be to those looking to work in this area and he said: “In any field, actively observe people, and learn empathy: understand other people’s points of view. Don’t assume a large company is the best way to get opportunities: be prepared to work for a small company, or for yourself, or start one. And align your work with your values. Lastly, if you’re in a technical role, try as much as possible to understand what’s going on ‘under the hood’.”
Alongside, or as part of building their careers, alumni, such as Tim, play a significant part in helping Exeter achieve our strategic aims. So as part of our chat with Tim we wanted to learn about ways that he has been working to make the world a greener, healthier, and fairer place, personally or professionally.
Reflecting on three companies in his portfolio Tim said that his work supporting projects such as these three below are part of how he connects with the University’s Strategy 2030 tagline: ‘Together we create the possible’.
- 3ti makes freestanding electric vehicle charging units with a solar canopy and can be delivered on a lorry and installed in any car park with access to an electrical grid connection.
- Yum Bug is a startup which produces food ingredients made from crickets! Insects are eaten in many countries around the world, and are high in protein, as well as very low in carbon emissions.
- Tech Educators is a further education provider which works with councils to identify individuals who can be taught IT skills to take them out of unemployment and into a good job with healthy career prospects.
We’re very proud and grateful for Tim’s work in these areas and it’s been wonderful to also have had this support and expertise as part of the first cohort of our new community giving initiative this year: Exeter Leaders.
The Exeter ‘Leaders Circle’ was launched this summer and aims to bring together an exclusive community of likeminded individuals, who generously support the University with donations of £1,000 to £10,000 within an academic year. Members of our Leaders circle also play a vital part in supporting our university wide mentoring and student support schemes offering time and expertise to enhance the learning experience of our students to support the next steps along their journey at Exeter and beyond.
In his words Tim had been inspired to get involved in the programme as “Education in the modern world is a challenging place. There are huge pressures to make life-shaping decisions at a young age, and at the same time, there are multiple options available to young people as an alternative to university. Lifelong learning is at last becoming accepted in society. Adding higher education sector funding challenges on top of this, I wanted to help with advice at both the individual and the institutional level, hoping to help keep the University of Exeter relevant to current and future generations.”
We can’t wait to hear where Tim’s journey takes him next!
If you’d like to find out more about how you can be part of the Exeter Leaders Circle community, please email Vic Drinkwater, Development Officer (Leadership) on v.drinkwater@exeter.ac.uk and she would be delighted to share further details with you.