Matthew has recently taken on the leadership of WSP’s Earth & Environment business in Australia. He was previously Director, Geotechnical and Tunnels – and has been with WSP for 13 years, working from offices including Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane and Auckland.
He’s a people person and a family man who loves the Arsenal football club, watching and playing soccer, and travelling to new places. He still gets a buzz out of tricky Lego, so he’s clearly an engineer right down to the core.
“I started engineering to make a difference to our communities,” he says. “I wanted a career that would make the world a better place by solving problems, with a great mix between indoors and outdoors and plenty of interaction in team environments.”
Since those beginnings, he’s been able to find constant variety and a plethora of opportunities in his career. “You can do so many things in this industry and you are only bound by what you want to put into it,” he says. “I love working with the Earth & Environment team as it cuts across all sectors and markets and every day is different with a great mix of real-world problem-solving and working with clients,” he says.
Matthew accepting the Young Professional of the Year award at the Engineers Australia Queensland Centenary Gala in 2019, and Matthew with his children, avid Arsenal supporters
Changing the world, one project at a time
Matthew is still driven by his longstanding passion to change the future for the better and leave a positive legacy. At WSP he's doing this by helping clients and communities achieve their sustainable infrastructure, energy and mining goals.
“Our clients, just like us, want to see real change in our society and to build a stronger tomorrow for our kids,” he says. “This is an exciting time as we have all the tools and skills to help our clients solve some of the world’s most complex challenges, tackle climate change head on and build a resilient future.”
As an example, Matthew highlights the team’s work on Inland Rail. “Inland Rail aims to improve supply chain efficiency through the establishment of freight rail tracks. Once complete, it will connect Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
“It’s a unique opportunity with far-reaching implications for future generations and contributing to a project of this magnitude was a rare and significant experience."
Matthew says that the team has many and various opportunities in the pipeline, and has the diversification of disciplines, depth of expertise and global reach to push the boundaries of technical excellence and deliver practical, Future Ready solutions.
Matthew with the WSP team who are working with Fortescue in the Pilbara region undertaking Grout injection works.
A focus on people
Matthew now leads a team of over 1,200 technical specialists delivering geotechnical, tunnelling, environmental, geo-environmental engineering, engagement, and end-to-end solutions across the project lifecycle.
He’s keenly aware of the skills challenges facing the industry and the engineering profession, so developing WSP’s people and nurturing young engineers are high on his agenda.
He notes that the number of engineers currently entering the workforce is less than the number of experts who are retiring or are soon to retire. “This loss of experience and increasing skills shortage is a real problem for the industry,” he says.
“One of my key focuses is to continue to cultivate our team’s expertise, so that we have the right number of people with the right skills to solve all our client’s problems. I would like to see the industry build closer connections with universities to encourage students into engineering and related disciplines, so that we can grow a deeper pipeline of people to help with today’s challenges.”
He believes that by creating opportunities for people to learn and grow, WSP will be better able to continue delivering innovative, high-end technical solutions to solve problems and ultimately build better communities.
From left to right: Ashley Griffiths, Principal Engineering Geologist, Kerry Liang, Matthew Uidam, Managing Director Earth & Environment and Andre-Martin Bouchard, Global Director – Earth and Environment, and Global Executive Director – ESG.
Passion and purpose, with a bit of fun too
His advice to those in the early stages of their career is to identify what drove them to become engineers or scientists, and then harness that passion, translate it into goals, and pursue new opportunities.
“Remember that this journey can change at any time, just as life does. Take a chance, have fun, and always remember why you started your career in the first place,” he says.
