Director, Prentice Eco Systems

A passion for space and the world around us, combined with the realisation of the world’s environmental problems led Philip Prentice to become an engineer.

Philip graduated from ANU with a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) Majoring in Environmental Systems in 2005 and now has over 10 years' experience delivering projects focused on stormwater management, flooding, integrated catchment management and aquatic ecosystems.

After graduating, Philip took up a role at national engineering consultancy, SMEC, where he managed the testing of a 1 to 60 scale model of Dartmouth Dam, investigated flooding of countries including Nepal and Afghanistan, among other large projects.

After six years working in the SMEC Melbourne office, Philip started his own company in Canberra. Prentice Eco Systems aims to assist in resolving environmental engineering problems.

Philip says that studying at ANU broadened his perspectives and that his honours supervisor gave him inspiration and encouraged him to think big and achieve more.

“ANU taught me to be more self-sufficient and to be able to find answers to questions even when I didn’t have the knowledge about a particular topic.”

Philip is passionate about looking for new ways to improve our local environment and its waterways and is committed to volunteering with community organisations to make water quality improvements.

He was previously the president of the Australia Water Association’s Victorian Young Water Professionals and has also worked for the Bureau of Meteorology.

His advice to others who aspire to study engineering is to “consider as carefully as possible what you are trying to achieve from any action, particularly those involving plenty of time like university.” 

“Getting a degree should be hard, you should be challenging yourself in as many ways and as much as possible.”

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