July will be a busy month for a few GfGD members – as they undertake geoscience-development based placements with a variety of hosts. Below we introduce you to the three students, and give them the chance to say a few words about the opportunity they’ve been given. Each student will be preparing a report on their placement, which will be made available on our website. All future placements will also be advertised here.
Name: Julian Templeton
University: Lancaster University
Placement Host: Humanitarian Futures Programme/British Geological Survey (1-5th July)
Placement Themes: Disaster Risk Reduction, Science Communication, Seismic Hazards
Julian says…“I am delighted and feel very privileged to be offered this placement and look forward to working with the Humanitarian Futures Programme and British Geological Survey as well as reporting back to GfGD. I believe the placement will enable me to gain first-hand experience of the communication and analytical skills needed to make a difference to current resilience issues. It will also allow me to build upon my experience and help lead me in the right direction, providing a good foundation of knowledge for going into a PhD. Working with the HFP/BGS will help me in further learning about areas of DRR and how organisations actively involved in DRR operate and aim to create a more resilient society.”
Name: Dawn Brooks
University: Imperial College London
Placement Host: Tearfund (1-12th July)
Placement Themes: Water Management in Bangladesh
Dawn says… “When I found out about being selected for the internship at Tearfund I was so excited! Getting any work experience with an overlap of international development and earth science is quite hard, let alone a placement to do with water resource management (which is what I want to go into after my degree). I hope my internship gives me an opportunity to apply what I have learnt so far in my degree, allows me to learn about an aspect of water resource management I don’t know much about and also gives me a useful insight into how I can use my degree to work in the international development sector.”
Name: Amy Wright
University: University of Durham
Placement Host: CAFOD (15-19th July)
Placement Themes: Disaster Risk Reduction
Amy says… “I’m delighted to have been provided with the chance to undertake this placement considering the lack of opportunities for geoscience undergraduates to gain relevant work experience in the development sector. In addition, I am currently in the process of applying for master’s programmes in hazard and risk, with the view to gaining a job in hazard and risk management, and the ability to obtain an insight into this type of work is invaluable.”
