Megan Rose Monkman
Current Employer/Organisation Name
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?
Since leaving Exeter, I have spent most of my time working as the Energy and Carbon Analyst at the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) within the Net Zero team. My role was wide ranging, covering carbon reporting, modelling, auditing, policy, and communications. I led the carbon accounting of BAS’s scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, producing reports for internal stakeholders, government, and the public.
I was responsible for energy management and analysis across BAS’s entire operational footprint, including the Cambridge headquarters, the Antarctic research stations, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, and BAS’s aircraft. I also developed and implemented BAS’s energy auditing procedures, carried out data and thermal modelling, and managed metering systems across the estate, including project managing the metering expansion on the Cambridge site.
Alongside the technical work, I contributed to policy development, supported feasibility studies and business cases, and served as the project manager for Climate4Change, BAS’s culture change programme. In that role, I produced creative engagement materials, undertook culture mapping, and designed evidence based behaviour change interventions.
I represented BAS at both the NERC Environmental Professionals Group and the NERC Environmental Sustainability Group, and was an active member of the Neurodiversity Network, the EDI Network, and the Innovation Champions community.
Most recently, I have joined the London Borough of Tower Hamlets as the Sustainable Energy and Water Officer. In this new role, I am working to support the borough’s ambition to reach net zero by 2045. With 50,000 new homes planned over the coming years, ensuring the right low carbon, resilient infrastructure is in place is essential. As part of the new Future Energy and Water Systems team, I’m helping to plan and coordinate energy and water networks that can meet growing demand while supporting a transition to a cleaner, more efficient system. Our goal is to advance a whole energy systems approach, integrating electricity, heat, smart technologies, and water management in ways that maximise benefits for local residents.
Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?
I have always liked making things. Especially if the things I am making are for other people. I say making things, which I appreciate is a broad category as the things I like to make have always changed and cycled. I love sewing, paper craft, woodwork, drawing but also things like singing, photography, coding, writing. I just love making things.
It’s also fair to say that I am, as some would put it, neurospicy. It started with dyslexia, then dyspraxia, then ADHD and now autism. They say you’ve gotta catch em’ all. Neurodiverse people often have a very strong sense of right and wrong. So, when I learnt about the consequences of fossil fuel emissions in school, it felt obvious that we needed new ways to make energy. And as I said, I love to make things.
So, I got my A levels in Maths, Physics and Spanish, I maintain that this was the most stressful period of my life. And with my ABB, the wonderful Exeter University said they would have me. Off I went to study Energy Engineering in Cornwall.
In short, I chose this career because I want to help, and because I am deeply worried about our collective future.
In a World Economic Forum workshop, I was once asked what I wanted to be remembered for. While others said scientific breakthroughs, I said I wanted to be remembered for the parties I’d thrown. It sounded a little blithe, but I meant it earnestly: what is the point of fighting for our planet if not so that we can experience joy? That philosophy shapes how I lead change. I’ve learned that creativity, imagination and humour are often more powerful than policy when it comes to inspiring action.
And that is my favourite part of my work, the creativity, the fun and the hope. Climate anxiety can feel paralysing, but there is no better antidote than being part of the solution. Ultimately, I wish to convey that, though it’s cliché, I’m simply a stressed little gay finding a way to make the world a little more slay every day so we can all be okay.
Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?
I was a part of the chorus a cappella choir, the renewable energy society and the debate society.
What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?
The thing I enjoyed most was how accessible and supportive the lecturers were. I live in Cambridge now and have many friends who studied at the infamous institution. When I ask them what makes Cambridge special, they say it’s the one‑to‑one time they get with academics. That always makes me feel incredibly lucky, because my cohort at Exeter was so small that I felt I had just as much meaningful one‑to‑one time with my lecturers.
On top of that, I got to learn amazing practical engineering skills. I also loved how interconnected the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences was. There were countless opportunities to interact with students in both the years above and below me, I even ended up living with students a year ahead. That created a genuine culture of natural mentorship and made the whole environment feel exceptionally supportive.
It’s hard to pick a single highlight because the programme offered so many great modules, events and trips. I also had my fair share of panic attacks in various faculty offices, especially in my tutor Dr Ian Ashton’s. Undiagnosed and untreated ADHD is a wild and very emotional ride at university, but everyone in the department, especially my tutor, made me feel extremely safe. But if I had to choose, my favourite memories are the small, everyday moments in the lab: working on coursework while Dr Adam Feldman sat with us and shared stories from his career, or when Dr Justin Hinshelwood would wander over and ask what we were working on. Everyone in the department made me feel like they were genuinely happy I was there, and that was wonderful.
What did you most enjoy about studying here?
I think the thing I loved most was the small campus environment and the ease with which you are able to meet people in different courses. It was also incredibly beautiful and a frequently return to visit. I mean, how lucky was I to get to study in a holiday destination? If I’m being super honest, the cost of living was also very nice. Moving from the west of England to the east of England post-graduation was a shock to the finances.
Why did you choose to study at Exeter?
I was inspired to apply after seeing Dr Adam Feldman give a talk when I was at an open day at the Streatham campus. He spoke with such passion and excitement, and when I asked what it was like to live in Cornwall, he spoke about it so poetically and with some much love. And he was right both the university and the region itself are unlike anywhere else I’ve ever lived. I can see why so many of my friends never left.
What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?
As strange as it sounds, one of the most important things I learnt at university was learning how to learn. I mean this in the sense of I had to shift into actively researching and pulling out relevant information from huge quantities of sources rather than learning from a strict curriculum. In practical terms, the other most important skills were advance excel modelling, Python, MATLAB, the engineering software’s and qualifications I got. I also think the soft skills such as time management and interpersonal skills I developed both through the programme and through the societies, I was a part of were absolutely essential in securing future employment. The most useful skill in my career so far has been the ability to talk to people.
What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?
I don’t know what advice would be useful beyond that you need to make yourself stand out, so take every opportunity you can, because no matter how small a role on a committee it was, it will look good on your CV. People who either weren’t in societies/clubs or didn’t have a student job will find it harder to prove on a piece of paper that they are a nice person to work with. Sustainability is super competitive at the moment, there should be more jobs because the situation is so dire, but the job market doesn’t seem to have caught on to that fact yet.
Sustainability can feel challenging because the system isn’t designed for rapid change, but your voice, ideas and energy matter. Remember, you don’t need a job title with “sustainability” in it to contribute meaningfully. Every industry will need to decarbonise, and professionals in HR, finance, farming, publishing, and healthcare, to name a few, hold huge power to rethink how everyday work is done. Sustainability professionals help guide and shape policy, but we need people embedded everywhere who are thinking creatively about how their everyday work can be done more ethically and sustainably. Most importantly, keep joy at the centre of what you do. This field can feel heavy, but adding fun, colour, humour, art, puzzles, or creativity can transform how people engage. When you spark interest in others, the ideas they generate will surprise you, and often be better than anything you could have imagined alone.
What are your plans for the future?
just want to keep being as happy as possible and to keep making new things.
