Careers and professional development
Workshops and professional development courses
As well as developing important research skills, we recognise the importance of transferable skills such as communication, leadership and interpersonal skills which are valued by employers and will enhance your future employability.
As a postgraduate researcher, you’ll have the opportunity to attend a number of workshops offered by the University and our dedicated researcher training and development hub as well as through the University's Organisational Development and Professional Learning department (OD&PL). The training and development opportunities will be tailored to reflect the demands of your current project and future employment, in line with the researcher development framework, and will include workshops covering broad skills such as:
- research methodologies and data management
- writing research papers
- research methodologies
- strategy, project planning and management
- ethics and intellectual property.
Building your research profile
You’ll receive some funding to enable you to attend and present at conferences and research events. This allows you to meet and network with colleagues and peers from across the academic community at national and international events. All our PhD researchers are encouraged to attend and present a paper at the national academic conference organised by the Universities' Transport Study Group (UTSG), which takes place each January and requires abstracts to be submitted around six months in advance.
Links with industry
You’ll benefit from our close working relationships with a large number of key companies and academic institutions in the UK and overseas. You’ll have the opportunity to attend industry talks, seminars and conferences where you’ll meet and network with colleagues from industry and academia.
Careers advice and support
You’re entitled to use the wide range of services offered by the University’s Careers Centre which provides a range of help and advice to assist you in planning your career and making well-informed decisions along the way.
Graduate destinations
The range of careers open to you upon completion of your PhD is broad and not limited to academia, some of which are listed here:
- Systra Ltd - Associate Director
- University of Leeds - Senior Research Fellow
- Atkins Global - Transport Planner
- Waterborne Transport Institute - Associate Professional
- RBconsult Ltd - Managing Director
- Institute of Transportation Economics - Senior Researcher
- Center for Computer-Aided Design - Director
- NITI Aayog - Advisor (Transport)
- Ricardo - AEA - Air Quality Analyst
- Jaguar Land Rover - Human Machine Interface (HMI) Specialist
- Uganda Road Fund - Civil Engineer
- Trivector Traffic - Consultant