{"id":117,"date":"2023-12-13T11:07:16","date_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/?p=117"},"modified":"2023-12-13T11:07:19","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T11:07:19","slug":"meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our world-leading environment and sustainability research underpins a wide range of postgraduate programmes. In our\u00a0Meet our Alumni<\/strong>\u00a0series we hear from graduates of our MSc courses within the Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability and learn about their experiences at the University of Exeter, Cornwall. Today we hear from Bri Pickstone who graduated from our MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability) course in 2023.\u00a0Bri is now a PhD student on the Environmental Intelligence Centre for Doctoral Training in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Exeter<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


First off, please give us a bit of background about what made you choose to study Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability) with us at the University of Exeter in Cornwall.<\/strong>
When completing my BSc in Marine Biology and Ecology, I developed a keen interest in statistics, coding, and spatial analysis. I then became a Science\/ Biology teacher, where I taught some coding and statistics, and my interest in this area continued to grow, especially on how these skills can be applied to solve environmental problems. I then knew it was time to return to study. However, I wanted to find a course that put data into context, which led me to the University of Exeter, Penryn, offering an Applied Data Science course in Environment and Sustainability. The decision to enrol was influenced by the program\u2019s commitment to integrating data science principles into real-world applications, as well as the environmental ethos and close-knit community of the Penryn campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


What did you enjoy most about studying methods to understand data and modelling tools for solving challenges?<\/strong>
During the course we took a module that gave us the opportunity to engage with industry professionals to try and solve their data challenges. We would then present our findings to the industry and hear the varying ways each group solved the problems, seeing the diverse perspectives and approaches to solving data problems. This collaborative environment not only enhanced my technical skills but also fostered a deeper appreciation for the versatility and creativity needed in leveraging data to solve real world problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Do you have any advice for anyone thinking of applying to any of our programmes in Applied Data Science at the University of Exeter?<\/strong>
Although the course is offered to those without a coding background, and the modules within Term 1 allow you to develop these skills, I did find it beneficial having some prior knowledge of the basics of coding. I would look at taking some short (free) beginner courses in coding before you begin in R or Python. Also, be sure to pick a dissertation topic that is of high interest to you, as it makes those final few months a lot easier and motivates you to keep working on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Graduate School of Environment and Sustainability brings together experts from across the spectrum of earth and life sciences, engineering, humanities, social sciences and business. Our programmes are all designed with a focus on developing solutions to global challenges and creating a better future for our planet and its people.<\/em>\u00a0Help lead a global Greener, Healthier and Fairer revolution by studying one of our world-leading, interdisciplinary Masters degrees here at the University of Exeter, Cornwall.<\/em>\u00a0See our Masters programmes here<\/em><\/strong>.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our world-leading environment and sustainability research underpins a wide range of postgraduate programmes. In our\u00a0Meet our Alumni\u00a0series we hear from graduates of our MSc courses […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":779,"featured_media":119,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,15],"tags":[5,17,11],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMeet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023 - Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023 - Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our world-leading environment and sustainability research underpins a wide range of postgraduate programmes. In our\u00a0Meet our Alumni\u00a0series we hear from graduates of our MSc courses […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-13T11:07:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-12-13T11:07:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2034\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1093\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ls920\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ls920\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/\",\"name\":\"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023 - Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-13T11:07:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-13T11:07:19+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1c94c57221d77bdbc0d1fa30876adb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg\",\"width\":2034,\"height\":1093},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/\",\"name\":\"Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog\",\"description\":\"Students and Alumni tell us about life studying in Cornwall\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1c94c57221d77bdbc0d1fa30876adb\",\"name\":\"ls920\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3b33356a2a78e8a28cd575f08ea21a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3b33356a2a78e8a28cd575f08ea21a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ls920\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/author\/ls920\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023 - Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023 - Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog","og_description":"Our world-leading environment and sustainability research underpins a wide range of postgraduate programmes. In our\u00a0Meet our Alumni\u00a0series we hear from graduates of our MSc courses […]","og_url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/","og_site_name":"Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog","article_published_time":"2023-12-13T11:07:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-12-13T11:07:19+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2034,"height":1093,"url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"ls920","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ls920","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/","name":"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023 - Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg","datePublished":"2023-12-13T11:07:16+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-13T11:07:19+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1c94c57221d77bdbc0d1fa30876adb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg","width":2034,"height":1093},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/2023\/12\/13\/meet-our-alumni-bri-pickstone-msc-applied-data-science-environment-and-sustainability-2023\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Meet our Alumni: Bri Pickstone, MSc Applied Data Science (Environment and Sustainability), 2023"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#website","url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/","name":"Graduate School of Environment & Sustainability Blog","description":"Students and Alumni tell us about life studying in Cornwall","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#\/schema\/person\/1f1c94c57221d77bdbc0d1fa30876adb","name":"ls920","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3b33356a2a78e8a28cd575f08ea21a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f3b33356a2a78e8a28cd575f08ea21a9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ls920"},"url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/author\/ls920\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/361\/2023\/12\/Photo_Bri_Pickstone-min-e1706611915256.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/779"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117\/revisions\/121"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/gses\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}