Transportation is an essential part of everyday life.

When I moved back to Myanmar after

studying in the UK, the majority of my hardship came from not being able to commute to the
central business district safely and easily. I am unable to drive due to my anxiety disorder
and therefore I rely on the public transport system and active transportation. I believe that
these methods of transport leave a smaller carbon footprint compared to private
transportation. However most of the developing countries such as Myanmar have poorly
planned public transport systems which cause people to travel by car privately, resulting in
city pollution. This can also be seen in countries such as India and Bangladesh. Quality of
life in the cities of developing countries are below average due to the lack of development in
transport planning.

When the pandemic happened, the environmental issues improved from most people
staying at home. However, it is impossible to maintain the good changes when things go
back to normal. This is when I learned the importance of transport planning. When working
on my degree in Architecture, I have learned methods of problem solving, place-making and
sustainable construction planning. Therefore I consider merging my knowledge on
architecture with transport planning. Even though the two subjects need different working
methods; in my observation, they have the same basic principle. Although some modules
such as place making and sustainable energy are not new to me, I have to expand my
knowledge on modules like transport policy and transport data collection. Transport planning
won’t be an easy subject for me to transition into. However I am very passionate about it and
excited for the future that it holds.

Being familiar with the UK education system, I decided to go back to the UK instead of
studying abroad in an unfamiliar environment. However, I wasn’t very fond of Manchester’s
weather during my undergraduate years. Therefore, I have a preference for universities in
the south. The University of Hertfordshire was one of my top choices because it is close to
London and the Transport planning course that is offered seems very prominent. Since I am
completely new to the research methods and software usage, I am glad that the university
offers access to NVivo and SPSS. Moreover, there are more options such as placement and
research. From my master degree, I would like to gain a high chance of employability in the
UK and Europe’s Transport developing industry.

The year 2021 has been very difficult for me and I have to turn it around and move forward
with my plans. In five year, I would like to be working as a public transport developer/ officer
for developing countries, planning an easier and better mode of public transportation for
everyone and increasing their quality of life by reducing the environmental side effects. I
believe that everyone deserves to breathe in fresh air no matter how poor or corrupted their
country is. Therefore, I would like to play a role in providing people with a more sustainable
method of living. I understand that a master degree won’t be the solution to all my problems.
However, I believe that this will be the first step towards my career goal.