Imogen Piper

Current Employer/Organisation Name

Buro Happold

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

I graduated from Exeter in July 2022, and after a period of time travelling I began working at Buro Happold as a Graduate Ecology Consultant within the Nature and Biodiversity Team. I completed the graduate scheme in September 2025, and have been working as an Ecology Consultant within the team since. I was able to take a three month secondment to my company’s office in Saudi Arabia in 2025 which was a great experience and definitely a career highlight so far.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

Whilst studying BSc Geography at Exeter I had the opportunity to select modules from difference disciplines, some of which included ecology, biology, and marine science modules from the BioSciences course. This opened my eyes to ecology as a career, and I haven’t looked back! I really enjoy the element of my role which includes ensuring the ecological risks and concerns with developments are dealt with in a practical way to reduce impact on the nature environment.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

Geography Society
Surf Society
Hockey

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

I absolutely loved my degree programme, and the biggest highlight for me was the third year field trip to Iceland. The quality of teaching throughout the programme was also incredible – staff were engaging and supportive, and the course was relatively small meaning it was easy to build good relationships with peers and teaching staff.

What did you most enjoy about studying here?

I loved my time at Exeter! For me it instantly felt like home, and the smaller nature of the city made it feel like a real community among the students.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

I was drawn to the location of Exeter within the South West of the UK, particularly the access to the coast and to Dartmoor National Park. I also loved the feel of the campus at Exeter, and that the campus is a close walk into the city, something that is often rare with campus universities. I was drawn to the course because I really liked how diverse the range of options of modules were, giving a really holistic understanding of various topics, but also allowing us to specialise more in one area if we wanted to.

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

Being able to add ‘with Applied GIS’ to my degree title has really helped me in my career so far. As an Exeter alum, I often find my knowledge of GIS is higher than my peers from other universities. I find that the quality of teaching across my degree programme has set me in really good stead for my early career, particularly due to the range of assessment types using during my degree.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

Apply to as many graduate schemes as you can find, reach out using LinkedIn to people currently in those roles, and make sure your CV showcases how well your degree has set you up for the role.

What are your plans for the future?

I would love to stay within the Ecology and Environment industry, and I hope my next role will allow me to undertake more field work including surveys and site assessments. I am undertaking my Divemaster qualification later this year (on a sabbatical from my current role), and hope to be able to gain some experience in marine ecology and conservation over this time to help expand my career prospects going forward.