MSc Renewable Energy and Resource Management graduate Rhys Jones is a Research Fellow at the Sustainable Environment Research Centre (SERC) where he designs, undertakes and reports on scientific experiments in the field of converting waste to valuable products.

"Undertaking a Masters in renewable energy was a huge benefit to my career. My undergraduate degree was in Geography, and whilst the course was enjoyable, I had no intention to find work in that field and went to university for the experience only. It wasn't until after I graduated that I started to develop a keen interest in renewable energy and low carbon technologies.

The Masters covered many different aspects of renewable energy technologies, including some I was not aware of. This gave me a broad yet in depth understanding of the global energy and resource scenario. What's more, the standard of teaching and the level of expertise of the teaching staff was excellent.

During my time on the course, I spent a five-week placement with Edwards Diving Services, an underwater engineering company. Their MD, Paul Edwards, was very interested in the retroactive installation of water turbines in existing artificial watercourses, so part of my work was investigating the viability of installing turbines to the existing Cardiff Bay Barrage, which later formed my dissertation.

Being constantly challenged to understand and report on a number of different topics really prepared me for working in the industry.

Immediately upon graduating, I was offered a job with Exenergy, an energy efficiency company.

Using the knowledge I gained during my postgraduate studies, I went on to undertake a PhD at USW in bioenergy, which directly led to my current position.

Working in a rapidly changing industry like renewable energy is both challenging and exciting. The best part of it is creating something that has never been done before."