Jorge Thompson

I graduated from the MSc Environmental Monitoring, Research and Management programme at Loughborough in 2022. Since April 2023, I have been working for AECOM as a Graduate Water Consultant based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. I am based within the modelling team and currently my work is focused on network modelling for Anglian Water as part of the Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) framework looking at improving current Integrated Catchment Management (ICM) sewer network models with the aim of decreasing the overall number of Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) spills into water courses.

I have also helped on fluvial modelling and sensitivity testing on the river Erewash, and with the civil engineering team on site visits to Mansfield, where AECOM are designing retrofitted Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) for Severn Trent Water as part of the £76 million Mansfield sustainable flood resilience project.

The MSc programme I undertook was fundamental in helping me secure this role, as not only did it broaden my academic knowledge within a wide variety of environmental issues, but also bridged the gap between academia and industry. Modules like Geospatial Risk Modelling for Management and GIS for Environmental Management opened my eyes to how I could develop my passion for the subject into the career path I am now on. Key skills I learned, like utilising a wide variety of GIS tools and applying numerical modelling, are directly linked to the work I currently carry out on a day-to-day basis. Other modules like Tools for River Research and Management underpin my personal knowledge on why my work in reducing CSO spills is so imperative for the overall health of the world around us.

While at Loughborough, I enjoyed the wide variety of modules which were on offer, which allowed people to gain insight into a lot of real-world environmental issues, leaving a lot of options open for personal interests to be developed into dissertation projects and ultimately many different avenues post-graduation. I also found sessions with the careers team very helpful when applying for roles, especially seminars with people within industry and outlining possible options after graduation.

I would advise future students to make good use of the careers team, as it really made me aware of options out there and was a big help in getting me a job I am passionate about here at AECOM.