Sonya Bedford MBE
Trustee and 2018 CAT Graduate
Sonya graduated from CAT’s renewable energy MSc in 2018 and is currently Head of Energy at Stephens Scown LLP and a CAT trustee.
Career Pathways
Our graduates go on to a variety of jobs and opportunities using the skills and experience they've gained on our courses. They go onto make a real difference, helping to bring about the changes our society needs to create a more sustainable future.
Our postgraduate courses provide a flexible and hands-on teaching approach which allow students to develop the knowledge, skills and networks needed to work towards a sustainable future and create positive solutions to climate change.
To date over 2000 people have completed postgraduate awards at CAT. Students have gone on to make a real difference through a wide variety of careers and experiences, from architecture and energy management to environmental policy and land management.
Current CAT students and graduates also work across government, industry, charities and academia, with many running their own businesses or setting them up after they graduate.
Innovative businesses
Over 50 businesses and projects have been formed as a result of interactions and inspiration at CAT, with many of them developing from the community of students and alumni.
Examples include community energy innovator Repowering London, sustainable building materials specialists Adaptavate, Pamphilon Architects, hemp building specialists UK Hempcrete and renewable energy pioneers Dulas Engineering and Cambridge Solar.
Students have also set up charities and community social enterprises including Building Together, a design and build community interest company that designs buildings or structures for communities or organisations, using the members of that community to build.
Graduate Employers
CAT has regular contact with employers in the sustainability industry who are looking for employees with the knowledge and skills that CAT provides. We keep students and graduates up to date with opportunities from employers through our social networking platforms.
Graduates who have also set up their own businesses or are currently working in the sector also provide students and graduates with career opportunities.
Experts in their fields
Students join our postgraduate courses from a range of different backgrounds, with some already working in the sustainability industry or having experience working within community energy projects, ecological studies, climate action, sustainable building events and more.
This provides students with a broad understanding of a variety of careers and shows how they can apply their studies to their chosen fields. Many graduates also return to guest lecture at CAT as experts in their fields which provides invaluable networking and learning opportunities to current students.
Steve Cole
2019 CAT Graduate
Steve runs Addasu, where he combines his academic research with extensive experience in new-build and renovation projects in the UK (and Ghana) to offer informed, practical and appropriate training, advice and construction services.
Tom Robinson
2014 CAT Graduate
Tom is CEO of Adaptavate, an award-winning company rethinking and redesigning the way building materials are produced, used and disposed of. Along with another graduate of CAT he set up the company shortly after graduating.
Ffion Thomas
2019 CAT Graduate
Ffion graduated in 2019 from our Sustainable Food and Natural Resources course. She is now working towards a PhD focusing on agroecological approaches to managing ash dieback at the Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience at Coventry University.
Lizzie Wynn
2018 CAT Graduate
Lizzie has been practicing sustainable construction for over 20 years, on her own projects and as a consultant, designer and builder, in Wales and in Spain.
Karen Ridgewell
2018 CAT Graduate
Karen graduated in 2018 after taking the majority of her modules via distance learning. She is now a Senior Design Officer in the Climate Change team at Architecture & Design Scotland.
Samuel Kirby-Bray
2015 CAT Graduate
Samuel completed a Postgraduate Diploma at CAT in 2015. He is now the Climate and Carbon Support Officer at Shropshire Council where he focuses on buildings efficiency, implementing energy efficiency and renewable generation in both rural and built environments (primarily public-owned buildings) throughout the county.
Tiziana Di Ronco
2019 CAT Graduate
Tiziana graduated from CAT's Sustainable Architecture Part 2 course in 2019. Alongside her job as an Architectural Assistant, Tiziana is currently working on a collaboration project amongst practitioners in the industry, called RE-FABRICATE.
Jenny Howard Coles
2013 CAT Graduate
Jenny works as a Senior Development Manager at the Centre for Sustainable Energy (CSE) in Bristol. Before studying at CAT she worked as a freelance events manager.
Jake Attwood Harris
2015 CAT Graduate
Jake graduated from CAT in 2015, he now works as a Sustainable Design Advisor for the award-winning Hawkins/Brown architecture firm in London.
James Robb
2012 CAT Graduate
Graduating from CAT in 2012 James worked at a number of architecture practices as a sustainability consultant before moving into his current role at WSP as a Senior Sustainability & Carbon Consultant.
Kirsty Cassels
2016 CAT Graduate
Kirsty began Building Together CIC with fellow CAT graduate Robert Thompson after graduating from our Sustainable Architecture course. In 2019 Kirsty also won the Social Entrepreneur of the Year award category at The Scottish Women’s Awards.
Lucy Bird
2019 CAT Graduate
Before studying at CAT, Lucy had trained as a professional dancer and actress and volunteered on conservation reserves and community projects in South Africa and Malawi. After graduating with an MSc in Sustainability and Adaptation in 2019 she now works as a Freelance Sustainability Consultant.
Richard Fitton
2019 CAT Graduate
Sustainability in Energy Provision and Demand Management graduate Richard had a background in finance prior to studying at CAT. He now works for a social enterprise that provides financial advice to investments that have a positive impact on nature.
Sarah Warren
2019 CAT Graduate
Before graduating in the autumn of 2019 from our MSc in Sustainability and Adaptation Planning, Sarah was elected as a Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency and Neighbourhood Services at Bath & North East Somerset Council.
OPEN DAYS
Want to find out more about our postgraduate courses and the opportunities they offer? Join an Open Day to find out more and to talk to current students and staff from the Graduate School or get in touch with our team for more information.
