More than 100 attendees gathered at Discovery Point this evening for this year’s Innes Duffus Memorial Lecture, where Dundee’s own Chris Van Der Kuyl delivered a lively, reflective, and often humorous account of the journey that took him from a schoolboy at St Saviour’s High to one of Scotland’s most influential figures in technology and entrepreneurship.

Chris traced the arc of his life against the backdrop of Dundee’s transformation from a post industrial city to a global centre of digital creativity. With his trademark blend of wit and insight, he explored how the 1980s personal computer revolution didn’t just shape his own future — it helped catapult Dundee onto the world stage.

He opened with memories of growing up in Dundee during the era of the ZX Spectrum, BBC Micro, and the explosion of home computing. For many in the audience, these anecdotes sparked a wave of nostalgia. For him, they marked the beginning of a lifelong fascination with technology — one that would eventually help define the city’s modern identity.

He spoke about the curiosity, experimentation, and sheer joy of early coding, painting a picture of a generation empowered by machines that were primitive by today’s standards but revolutionary in their impact. Dundee, he argued, was uniquely positioned to seize that moment, and its young people did so with gusto.

One of the evening’s most memorable threads was a candid retelling of his time performing with his band, Big Blue 72. Long before he became synonymous with Scotland’s tech sector, he was a musician with a genuine shot at a record deal.
A near signing — one that Chris joked may have sent him touring the world on Carnival Cruises — almost diverted him from the path that would later reshape Dundee’s digital landscape. He now looks back on that moment with humour, acknowledging that while the disappointment felt real at the time, it ultimately nudged him toward a different kind of success.

The audience delighted in the idea that Dundee’s computing renaissance might have been deprived of one of its key architects if the music industry had made a slightly different call.

Throughout the lecture, Chris returned to the theme of Dundee’s unique trajectory. The city’s embrace of computing in the 1980s, he argued, wasn’t just a historical footnote — it was the foundation for everything that followed: the rise of the games industry, the growth of digital media, and the emergence of a new generation of tech innovators.

He spoke passionately about the future, too – the opportunities in AI, immersive technologies, and digital education, and the role Dundee can continue to play on the global stage. His message was clear — the city’s best chapters may still lie ahead.

Thanks to everyone who came along, to those who donated towards the Ninewells Cancer Charity and to Chris for delivering an excellent lecture. It’s safe to say something pretty cool DID come out of the Computer Science Department at Edinburgh University.

Now, if only I could feed The Baby in Yellow his bottle of milk before bed…..