Chris Shipway

Chris Shipway progressed from college to work as a Transport Planner for Jacobs, a global company providing technical professional services covering industries such as engineering and construction.

The former Emerson Park student’s specialism is traffic modelling; the mathematical modelling of transport systems using computer software to simulate traffic behaviours.

This role builds on the skills Chris developed at Havering Sixth Form and at the University of Exeter, where he achieved a First Class Honours Master of Mathematics (MMath) degree.

Chris moved to Exeter to attend university and enjoyed the Exeter lifestyle so much that he stayed there to live and work when he completed his degree.

The A Levels that Chris studied at College were Maths, Further Maths, Geography and English Literature, and although Chris studied Maths at university, it was his passion for Geography that led him to choose Transport Planning as a career.

In his day to day work, Chris develops traffic models which allow him to predict how traffic patterns may change in the future, and to estimate the economic benefit of a transport intervention.

In February 2018, Chris was awarded the CIHT South West Peter Swain Emerging Professional of the Year for the South West, pictured, recognising how he has gone above and beyond in the profession in his work for the CIHT and as a Transport Planner at Jacobs.

Chris’s advice to current students is to have a hobby that is different from your studies or work. He said: “This gives you a form of escapism from the pressures of everyday life and also makes you more rounded and employable. While I was at university I joined the Dancesport Society where I learnt to dance salsa.

“I believe it is the soft skills that I developed from dancing that has helped me in job interviews just as much, if not more so, than my academic profile – and dancing has also given me the opportunity to travel to Nice, Warsaw and Berlin to attend salsa congresses.”