Tasmania runs on renewable energy and is a global pioneer in hydroelectricity. As the only university in the state, our students enjoy unrivalled industry access and opportunities.
Bunfu Yu graduated with a Master of Planning in 2019 and won a national award in the Outstanding Student Project category. The Hong Kong-born graduate now works as a land use and environmental planner at Entura, the consulting arm of Hydro Tasmania.
“Born overseas, bred locally – that’s how I describe myself to most people,” she says. “My family wanted a better quality of life for my sister and I that wasn’t marred by the continuous hustle and bustle of a major city. I’ve been in Tasmania since and have loved every minute of it.”
Science doesn’t just involve being locked away in a lab doing experiments. Our degrees allow you to explore the Tasmanian landscape and find your passion.
After completing the Bachelor of Science, Bunfu studied an Honours degree in air-sensitive chemistry, where she learned that she preferred to be outdoors.
“Studying a degree does not just teach you about the subject matter, it also teaches you about yourself” says Bunfu.
I learned that I wasn’t a lab person. I needed interaction with the environment and with people to keep me motivated.
Bunfu says she wasn’t someone who could look at the same thing for months on end. There are many skills that Bunfu learnt, such as critical thinking, data analysis and technical writing, that she stills uses to this day.
“I’ve always been interested in big-scale things like built form and had always thought about being a part of that change. With that in mind, I enrolled in a Master of Planning at (the University of Tasmania) knowing that I didn’t want to be a scientist,” she said.
I now work with engineers and surveyors among many other professionals, and it is awesome! I learn new things every day and come to appreciate how other people’s expertise fit into my projects.
Bunfu vising a power station.
While Bunfu is humble about winning a Planning Institute of Australia award, she’s glad the spotlight has been thrown on the importance of energy planning.
“It shows the value of academic research in providing insights into industry and vice versa. I was inspired to research energy planning after thinking what a sustainable future means from the lens of the planning discipline.
“Through my research, I was able to identify gaps within the literature, and subsequently found similar gaps within the industry.”
Geography, planning and spatial science courses allow students to learn about the unique attributes of the landscape of Tasmania.
Our unique World Heritage Wilderness areas and diverse island places provide a rich living laboratory to study biodiversity, geodiversity, and urban and regional communities.
Bunfu says she definitely recommends the University of Tasmania.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere that (the University of Tasmania) provides, which goes beyond the mere aesthetics of the campus or classrooms.
“Being a smaller university, I was able to get help from lecturers rather easily as they didn’t have as many students to look after. I also felt the entire vibe was more relaxed – and not in a way that’s bad for studying – it was actually the opposite, I found it to be more effective and made studying more enjoyable.”
Find out more about the Master of Planning now.