17 Feb Promotion of the Profession: Ecological Consultancy Lecture at Oxford Brookes University
BSG Ecology Senior Ecologist Phil Chapman presented a guest lecture on Life as an Ecological Consultant to third-year undergraduate students at Oxford Brookes University on the BSc course in Animal Biology and Conservation. BSG Ecology contributes annually to this course as one of a series of guest lectures by external speakers from across the spectrum of environmental consultancy.
Phil’s presentation provided an overview of what life as an ecological consultant is like, he was able to share his thoughts on the rewards and challenges of the profession as a whole and how it is changing. He explained how the role relies on good transferrable skills in communication, analytical thinking, writing and technical abilities. The second half of the lecture focussed on three project examples Phil has been involved in, all of which involved unusual situations or challenging problems to solve, the students were then invited to discuss how they would have designed solutions to the problems.
Following the talk Phil met with several of the students to provide support and advice on their group dissertation projects, which the students are working on with real-world clients.
Adam Symons, Environmental Lecturer at Oxford Brookes and the course co-ordinator said:
“Phil from BSG Ecology came in and told the students all about the work he does, and how he got into Ecological Consultancy. The students found it really interesting, and were especially pleased that Phil could stay on and talk to each of the student groups about their projects. Phil was able to provide new insight to their projects, and guidance on how to go about their work”
Further information with regard to what we look for in a potential graduate level recruit is here: What Are We Looking For In A Graduate Ecologist?