Southampton

As a major global consultancy, the opportunity to work overseas or on a range of projects is not just available to experienced staff.

My first year of working at Motts as a transport planner, fresh from a BSc Geography at Southampton University, has seen me undertaking a variety of projects located both in the UK and Gulf countries of the United Arab Emirates as well as Qatar.

I spent four months earlier this year living in Abu Dhabi, working on the high profile Abu Dhabi Surface Transport Masterplan project. Motts is producing a transport masterplan for the whole of Abu Dhabi, a rapidly expanding city of around one million people.

This involves planning a metro rail system, a high-density public transport system, and major modifications to the road network, as well as establishing the legal and financial foundations that are required to turn the plan into reality.

I find myself doing tasks I never expected to be doing as a recent graduate, from producing- and presenting to government officials- maps of the future Abu Dhabi transport network, to organising parts of a public consultation process.

UK-based work is also similarly varied, with the Southampton transport team involved in projects ranging in scale and scope from planning for transport during the 2012 Olympics, design of the A3 Hindhead tunnel, and creation of travel plans for local developments such as hospitals and schools.

All in all, it’s been a busy start, but I have enjoyed what I’ve done so far and look forwards to more in the future.

Southampton itself has a great deal to offer. A large city with a great range of shops, pubs, restaurants and other entertainment. On top of this, there are great links to London and all over the South thanks to the M3 and M27, not to mention international travel opportunities thanks to Southampton airport.

Richard Pemberton
University of Southampton
BSc (Hons) Geography
Joined in 2007
Works In Transport