Geography
Andrew Muirhead
Public Health Specialist
Since graduating from the University of Portsmouth I have worked for the National Health Service, and for the most part as a Public Health Specialist in Derbyshire. I am currently in the role of Senior Analyst, and lead on the intelligence function of Derby’s Public Health Team. I am also a lead for GIS in the public sector across the city. The statistical, research, and of course GIS skills that I learnt during my time studying in the Department of Geography have all proved incredibly useful in my role. While I studied and thoroughly enjoyed physical geography, even elements of my brief insight into human geography have proved valuable – particularly in understanding cultures and the economic and political influences on inequalities in society's health and wellbeing. I have also found that my greater understanding of the physical environment, while not always obvious, has influenced me in my role. For instance, in tackling home energy efficiency issues and fuel poverty, and the impact of the UK's winter climate on the care of the elderly. Even environmental hazards such as flooding and waste management are of concern to us. Not to mention the odd earthquake that I have experienced whilst living up here! More recently, my undergraduate Degree in Geographical Sciences has enabled me to embark on a postgraduate Master of Public Health qualification, and once complete I am hoping to take on more strategic roles in the discipline in the future. The Derbyshire Peaks may not be the Colorado Rockies, but they evoke some fantastic memories of 3 years that I would not wish to have spent any other way
Olivia Burgess
Marine Policy & External Relations Advisor
MSc Coastal and Marine Resource Management
I work with the Policy Manager to develop key marine policy messages (internal and external) for each of the marine business areas (including offshore wind, wave and tidal, marine minerals, cables and pipelines, coastal, CCS and Natural Gas Storage) and develop communication routes for Policy to be interwoven into the marine estates business workings. I manage the interface between The Crown Estate and DECC/BIS/RDAs/Devolved administrations for offshore wind delivery and manage the delivery of projects as required by the business (such as UK Offshore Wind Supply Chain Events).
Particular aspects of my geography course have been very useful for this role, especially organisational and presentation skills. You learn a lot in a very short space of time and have to be able to manage your time effectively to keep on top of it all. You are encouraged to work in groups and present findings, we gave poster and PowerPoint presentations whilst on the course. I particularly enjoyed engaging with current affairs of the marine world. Understanding the full breadth of emerging legislation, policy and issues that affect coastal and marine resource management were vital for me moving into a career in this field. I had a great time studying at Portsmouth: interesting modules, great lecturers and brilliant city.
Philip Marlow
Technical GIS Officer
I am a 'Technical Officer' in Hampshire County Council's Asset Management Group. My job is heavily GIS-oriented. I am principally responsible for Highway Network Referencing. This means I create and maintain street records and look after the county street maps, including our Local Street Gazetteer (LSG), which is a statutory requirement. This is essential for all internal highway processes such as highway inspection (potholes etc), maintenance and coordination of street works. We also look after the list of streets maintainable at public expense, which is used for the purposes described above as well as public enquiries - mostly from personal search companies (i.e. when purchasing a house). I have also taken on responsibility for the maintenance of Highway Inspector's PDAs, and administering their inspection regimes, e.g. creating inspection routes. My skills and experience have led to involvement in system procurement and tendering. I am also a local software 'champion' for our Highways system and provide a high level of GIS support to my team and department. I regularly attend meetings with colleagues across Hampshire, in neighbouring counties, and in London. I found my job through the Hampshire Jobs website (http://www3.hants.gov.uk/hampshire-jobs). I was interviewed following my experience at the University of Portsmouth and a brief stint at Havant Borough Council over the summer as part of their beach nourishment project at Hayling Island. All valuable experience and fun, too! Particular aspects of my geography course have been very useful for this role. GIS units gave me extremely valuable knowledge and experience of the importance of GIS and how it is used in various organisations. I use ESRI ArcGIS every day as part of my job and I certainly would not have been given this position without such experience! I use databases, such as SQL (Oracle) daily. I learned this during my time at Portsmouth after completing the third year module 'Spatial Databases: Programming and Application'. When studying at the University of Portsmouth, I particularly appreciated being able to choose the majority of my classes. This meant that I was able to study topics that interested me and suited my learning style. I also enjoyed the flexibility to choose my own independent study and have it develop as I wished.
Lorna Bacon
Geo-Environmental Consultant
I am a Geo-Environmental Scientist and have been working as a site chemist for eight months. I am currently working on a £1.2 million landfill remediation job. My role involves the sampling, testing and validation of soils, water and air quality in an attempt to remediate the area in preparation for residential development. I plan to move towards sustainable management in the near future to follow on from my current position at site. Every aspect of my Physical Geography course has been beneficial at some stage since graduating from Portsmouth. In particular, I consider the unit entitled “Applied Soil Science” to be the reason that I have been able to work for the past year and a half within an Environmental Consultancy as I had built up a general understanding of geological processes. Units in “Paleoecology and Paleoclimatology” and especially “Fluvial Geomorphology” introduced me to a new aspect of geography that interested me and the possibility of future career paths. I can honestly say that my time at Portsmouth University was the one of the greatest experiences of my life and I look back with nothing but fond memories. There is absolutely nothing I would change. My course was thoroughly enjoyable and I got to see things that I have only ever dreamt about like the Northern Lights and the top of the Rocky Mountains. The lecturers are phenomenal at both teaching and understanding all their students on a one-to-one basis and I still have communication with many of them. I will never meet a nicer collection of people than those I met at University.
Christopher Falconer
Water Efficiency Advisor, Essex & Suffolk Water
My role holds a wide range of responsibilities, most important of which is to project manage large scale water efficiency schemes to assist the company meet its regulatory targets set by OFWAT. This involves developing in-depth project plans, organising numerous staff members, analysing any data collected using statistical calculations, and finally reporting the findings in a technical manner. Secondary to project management, I am responsible for liaising with, and persuading large commercial customers to take part in water efficiency incentives. Although some of the time this can prove particularly tricky, I have been lucky enough to work with a wide range of commercial customers and have witnessed the benefit that upgraded appliances, coupled with behavioral change, can have in ensuring a sustainable water supply. Alongside these two main aspects of my job I also carry out other day-to-day tasks including website design, data analysis, report writing and advisory services. The most beneficial skill I developed during my time studying geography was the ability to identify the many environmental issues the UK currently faces. It was this way of thinking which positioned me strongly to ascertain an environmentally themed career afterwards. The ability to think critically and write complex, well-structured reports and essays has undoubtedly enabled me to thrive within a high level technical job straight out of university. Also, the strong data analysis skills I gained from the geography course, including the ability to identify relationships within data sets and establishing cause and effects, continues to be a valued asset in my day-to-day working life. I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 years at Portsmouth. The BSc Geography course was interesting and engaging throughout. At some stages it was extremely challenging and required a great deal of hard work, however this just made it even more rewarding once I had finished. Without any doubt I would not be in the position I am today without the continued help and guidance from the geography department’s lecturers, not only during my undergraduate study, but after I had graduated as well. At Portsmouth I always had the assistance I needed to gain the best possible degree I could, something that I will always be grateful to them for! My time at Portsmouth was truly unforgettable
Gary Pike
Postgraduate
I am a postgraduate student in the Geography Department at Portsmouth. I am in the 2nd year of a 3 year PhD study of the influence of topography on microclimate in Northern Finnish Lapland. This position entails designing and implementing a 3 year research project and producing a written thesis for examination at the end (think of it as a 3 year dissertation). The nature of my study means that I am collecting data from the field so a fair portion of my time is spent organising and conducting trips to my research site at Kevo, Finland. The bulk of the remainder of my time is taken up with, as in any other postgraduate study, desktop work! Other commitments include assisting undergraduate studies, both in the classroom and in the field. I enjoyed studying at Portsmouth so much I haven’t left yet! I studied BSc Physical Geography from 2005-8 followed by an MSc in Geographical Information Systems in 2008-9. Then I took the PhD position. What I found to be the most useful aspect of the geography course was the variety of skills taught and developed over the 3 years. These covered everything from report writing, (self) motivation, communication and presentation skills, to field techniques and team working.
Carla Moffet
Risk Management
I am a Senior Vice President at a large risk management intermediary in the City of London. I work within the UK Broking department managing accounts for large UK and international clients - servicing their risk management needs through reinsurance and capital market solutions. It’s a demanding business and keeps me on my toes! I think the ability to work independently, developed as part of my course, has helped me no end (in particular my work on my thesis). The blend of scientific humanities-based subjects also provided me with a more 'balanced' view. I came to Portsmouth unable to use a computer and I left with the ability to walk straight into a GIS job! I never intended to go to Portsmouth (I transferred from Bristol University) - but instantly settled in and made lots of friends and useful contacts. I still keep in contact with some of my former tutors and lecturers.