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"I've had a great experience... learning new skills and doing things that I probably would never have done if I hadn't changed course and decided to work in this area of study."
Josh studied Maths before embarking on the Risk and Disaster Science MSc at the UCL Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction. Now finishing his PhD in the department, Josh talks about his experience on the MSc and how it prepared him for his future studies.
- Transcript
Hi everyone, I'm Josh Anthony. I'm a final year PhD student at the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction. I'm currently in the Somerset levels in Southwest England surveying ancient river systems and trying to learn about the development of this historically flood-prone landscape. Before coming to IRDR I studied mathematics at the University of Sussex but I ultimately decided that I wanted to hone more specific skills that would help me work with the natural environment and hazards, and that's how I ended up doing a Master's in Risk and Disaster Science at IRDR. And it was on this programme that I learned how to conduct research. So for my Master's thesis I looked at emergent volunteer groups from the first wave of the 2020 pandemic and now I'm doing something completely different in my PhD. I'm using geophysics to study ancient river systems that were buried hundreds or thousands of years ago and trying to learn about what happened to them in the past and potentially what else could happen on this landscape in the future and using that to inform modern flood risk management. So doing these surveys sometimes I'm pumping electricity into the ground and measuring the resistance to it, sometimes I'm hammering the earth with a big sledgehammer and measuring the vibrations and creating images of the subsurface and I also get the opportunity to manage field assistants so in this instance it's my dad who's helping me.
Yeah.
Yep all right well done.
And I often have to herd cattle to keep them away from our very expensive physics equipment. And aside from academics and my research, the department has also given me the opportunity to edit their blog so I've had a chance to develop my media skills and help to improve the brand of the department. So all in all I've had a great experience of learning lots of new skills and doing things that I probably would never have done if I hadn't changed course and decided to work in this area of study.
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