What do mussels, a beach in Arbroath and international law all have in common? All contributed to get a recent graduate of the University of Abertay Dundee into a high-flying job…
Andrew Staines received his PhD this summer after completing three degrees at Abertay, starting with the School of Contemporary Sciences and moving into the university’s internationally acclaimed Urban Water Technology Centre.
His work looked at how to monitor water quality on beaches and successfully implement EU legislation. One of his techniques involved placing cages of mussels in the waters as a way of checking the water was clean – as the shellfish filter and detect impurities.
Andrew now works at the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) as the Senior Policy Officer for Research and Futures, managing the agency’s research budget and leading work on research quality. Because of Abertay’s flexible approach to postgraduate learning, he was able to combine full-time work with finishing his PhD.
Dr Staines said: “It always grabs people’s attention when you say your university research involved watching mussels work on a beach! But this novel technique is just one helpful way of testing water quality and looking at how practical tools can be developed to improve the environment.
“Studying at Abertay gave me the chance to do real, applied research from a very early stage, and to get important work experience with SEPA. From there, I made vital contacts with industry professionals and secured a really challenging, enjoyable job.”
He added: “What really helped me throughout my studies was the practical focus – Abertay is really geared up to get students into work, and to get them relevant work experience while they study.
“As a smaller, specialised university Abertay has a real close community feel to it. Students have direct access to lecturers and technicians all the time, everyone knows each other’s names, and there’s a strong feeling of working together. Abertay was a great experience for me, and I regularly recommend it to friends and colleagues.”
Water professionals looking to progress their careers, as Andrew has done, can now undertake a part-time postgraduate course at Abertay, delivered by flexible learning online.
The MSc Urban Water Planning consists of a series of modules on subjects like flood planning, sustainability and water drainage, which can be taken individually and gradually built up to a full MSc qualification.
Further information is available at the Urban Water Planning course page or by contacting uwtc@abertay.ac.uk
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