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Just starting your conservation tech career path? Our Early Career group is the best place to network, chat about your master's projects, and seek advice from your peers and those who have been down this path before! Join now to get to know community members and students from around the world!

discussion

Advice on an educational pathway to a career in conservation tech? 

Robin Doolin

2 July 2024 1:10am

Hi everyone!I'm a new Wildlabs member, and I'm seeking advice on transitioning to a career in conservation tech. I have a BSc in Wildlife Ecology and experience as a field...

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Agripina Cletus

7 July 2024 8:26am

Transitioning into conservation tech with a background in wildlife ecology and an interest in AI involves choosing between a bridge program to an MSCS and a second undergraduate degree in Computer Science.

  • Bridge Program (to MSCS): Pros include efficiency and flexibility for future program choices, but it may not provide as deep a CS foundation as a full degree.
  • Second Undergraduate Degree (in CS): Offers thorough CS knowledge and academic immersion but requires more time and cost.

Considerations:

  • Career Goals: Applied roles may benefit from a bridge program, while a second degree could be better for research or PhD aspirations.
  • Program Quality: Evaluate reputation, curriculum, faculty, and alumni outcomes.
  • Practical Steps: Research programs, consult advisors, and consider online options for flexibility.

Choose based on how well each option aligns with your career goals and preferred learning style.

 

 

 

 

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discussion

Thoughts on new MSc in Conservation Technology

Emma Higgins

24 May 2024 3:54pm

Hello everyone, We are in the process of developing a new MSc in Conservation Technology at my university and would welcome your feedback. If you would be willing to give...

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Stephanie O'Donnell

29 May 2024 12:44pm

Building on Frank's comments, I'd also think about including some conversation about the ethical use of technology - Trishant's talk at Tech Tutors a little while ago sparked a really important conversation here in our community, one that would be valueable to have with your students. 

Emma Higgins

25 June 2024 9:19am

Hello, 

Thanks for your comments both, and the information, this is really helpful. I agree correct use and validation is so important here. And thank you for the contact for Kate, the course looks really interesting. 

Thank you for your offer, Frank, I'll send an email through. 

 

Best, 

 

Emma 

Alistair Stewart

29 June 2024 6:15am

It would be great to address data collection, handling and storage. It starts with keeping good records of field deployments so that devices can be refound and helps at the time of analysis and reporting and so studies can be reproduced. Having an understanding of metadata standards for data types as these are often overlooked when projects are starting up. Knowing if there are existing databases or repositories for your data or if you will have to 'roll your own' (something more than an Excel spreadsheet, or at least knowing the potential pitfalls of relying on spreadsheets). That would be a great advantage when entering the workforce and working in this field.

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article

Tanzania Take Two: Kicking off our new cohort of Women in Conservation Technology Programme 2024 

WILDLABS Team and 2 more

17 June 2024 5:47pm

Last week, we returned from the opening workshop of our third Women in Conservation Technology Programme, hosted by the Research and Innovation in the Serengeti Ecosystem (RISE) Institute at the Grumeti Fund. This...

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Victoria Mkessa

17 June 2024 7:45am

I'm so grateful to be part of this amazing and impactful program. I can't wait to see what these brilliant young ladies are going to achieve in the near future.
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article

NEW PUBLICATION ALERT!

Consolata Gathoni Gitau

17 June 2024 11:33am

One of the most thrilling moments for any researcher is seeing their hard work published for the world to see. As part of the Women in Conservation Technology (WiCT) Kenya Cohort One, we not only learnt about the use of...

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Esther Githinji

17 June 2024 12:57pm

Congratulations Consolata!!! So exciting to read this :)
Sarah Maagi

17 June 2024 7:40pm

Many congratulation Consolata for such a milestone.
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article

Into Conservation: participating in wildlife research at Grumeti-Ikorongo Game reserves.

Sarah Maagi

15 June 2024 7:08pm

As an early career conservationist with a keen interest in utilizing GIS for monitoring wildlife species and their habitats, the WiCT program has served as a pivotal platform for my professional development. 

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discussion

Conservation Technology for Human-Wildlife Conflict in Non-Protected Areas: Advice on Generating Evidence

Amit Kaushik

22 January 2024 11:36pm

Hello,I am interested in human-dominated landscapes around protected areas. In my case study, the local community does not get compensation because they are unable to provide...

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Chavoux Luyt

4 February 2024 8:16am

Hi Amit,

The most important thing is that the livestock owners contact you as soon as possible after finding the carcass. We commonly do two things if they contact us on the same day or just after the livestock was killed:

  1. Use CyberTracker (or similar software) on an Android smart phone to record all tracks, bite marks, feeding pattern and any other relevant signs of the reason for the loss with pictures and GPS coordinates. [BTW, Compensation is a big issue -- What do you do if the livestock was stolen? What do you do if a domestic animal killed the livestock? What if it died from disease or natural causes and was scavenged upon by carnivores afterwards?]
  2. In the case of most cats, they would hide the prey (or just mark it by covering it with grass or branches and urinating in the area). In this case you can put up a camera trap on the carcass to capture the animal when it returns to its kill (Reconyx is good if you can afford it - we use mostly Cuddeback with white flash). This will normally only work if the carcass is fresh (so other predators would not be able to smell it and not know where it is yet), so the camera only has to be up for 3-5 days max.

This is not really high-tech, but can be very useful to not only establish which predator was responsible (or if a predator was responsible), but also to record all the evidence for that.

Aaron Kennedy

13 June 2024 8:58pm

Hey Amit, 

This is a great question; from our work, we've seen people do a couple of things. We've even seen people using Ring doorbell footage in urban areas as evidence. 

The best thing we've seen is matching the community needs with existing infrastructure: 

  • Are there existing cameras you can leverage, like the doorbell cameras? 
  • Can public participation monitoring service this, i.e. public submitted photos and videos? 

It also totally depends on the wildlife species you're working with, the interaction, damages, etc. If you've found any good solutions, let me know. I'd love to share that information with our clients here who have constant bear problems. 

 

Kim Hendrikse

14 June 2024 9:09am

In that case, you might want to keep an eye on the project from @Lars_Holst_Hansen 



 

Read "I have been working hard on this camera based polar bear alarm with Kim… | Lars Holst Hansen | 17 comments" on

I have been working hard on this camera based polar bear alarm with Kim… | Lars Holst Hansen | 17 comments

I have been working hard on this camera based polar bear alarm with Kim Hendrikse and other collaborators including Zoologisk Have in Copenhagen - where the system is now beeing tested. I hope to field test it at Zackenberg Research Station next year. | 17 comments on LinkedIn

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discussion

VIHAR-2024 deadline extension, June 30th (Interspeech satellite event) 

Marius Miron

5 June 2024 10:30am

Dear Wildlabs community,The submission deadline for VIHAR-2024 has been extended to June 30th, 2024. VIHAR-2024 (https://vihar-2024.vihar.org) is the fourth international...

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Alex Rood

5 June 2024 3:05pm

Thanks for sharing this @nkundiushuti ! I think this post would be better suited as an event, that way it will show up on the WILDLABS event calendar page. Let me know if you have any questions on how to make an event post! You just click the +Post button in the top right corner, then click "event."

Marius Miron

7 June 2024 8:29am

hi Alex!! I already posted the event, I just wanted to posted an update: the deadline was extended. 

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article

New WILDLABS Funding & Finance group

Frank van der Most

5 June 2024 3:24pm

WildLabs will soon launch a 'Funding and Finance' group. What would be your wish list for such a group? Would you be interested in co-managing or otherwise helping out?

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Alex Rood

5 June 2024 4:14pm

This is great, Frank! @StephODonnell, maybe we can try to bring someone from #Superorganism (@tomquigley ?) or another venture company (#XPRIZE) into the fold!
Paul Edonga

6 June 2024 1:38am

I find the group to be dope, fundraising in the realm of conservation has been tough especially for emerging conservation leaders. There are no centralized grants tracking common...
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Link

GENZ in STEM Episode 10: Conservation technology, the meaningful career you may have never heard of

Alex Rood

28 May 2024 6:09pm

WILDLABS team members Alex Rood and Esther Githinji sit down with the GENZ in STEM podcast to share resources on how to get started in conservation tech.

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article

A Year of Supporting East African Conservation Technology: Lessons on How You Can Amplify #Tech4Wildlife

Esther Githinji

29 April 2024 10:52am

It has been an extraordinary year supporting and growing the regional East African Conservation Technology Community at WILDLABS. We've made great strides and unlocked exciting opportunities for our community as we...

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Alex Rood

3 May 2024 4:14pm

Congrats Esther! Can't wait to continue working together.
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careers

Ecologist Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Alex Rood

23 April 2024 4:32pm

The incumbent will develop models and metrics that can be used to shape conservation policy using multiple data sources including camera traps, movement data and citizen science concerning the diversity and...

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discussion

Introduction and Networking

Loveness L Mutungi

22 April 2024 9:37am

Hello Wildlabbers,I'm Loveness Lamuel Mutungi, a female Tanzanian and a 2023 graduate from Sokoine University of Agriculture with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences...

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Esther Githinji

22 April 2024 10:46am

Hello and welcome to WILDLABS @loveness :) 

What a great intro to what you are doing and interested in pursuing! I'd like to help direct you to our resources page, where you can check out multiple open career and academic opportunities from across your region that are posted regularly by the community. Find our Resources page linked here. 

Which specific areas within conservation/conservation technology are you most interested in at the moment? We have over 32 specialised groups in our community you could explore here to help guide you as you go along your career journey :) 

Best wishes! 

Loveness L Mutungi

23 April 2024 12:41pm

Hello Ms Esther👋

Thank you for taking your time to reply to me with such helpful response.

I'm interested in conservation technology such as camera traps, GIS and Remote sensing, tools like EarthRanger, wildlife tracking collars, Data collection apps. I've already joined the groups just after reading your response and I'll keep visit the Resources Page to find more opportunities.

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funding

Peoples Trust For Endangered Species

Henry Rees

22 April 2024 2:57pm

PTES will be accepting new applications for Conservation Insight Grants in 2024. The deadline for applications is Sunday 25th August at 23.59 (UK time). Applications will be assessed at a meeting in mid-October and...

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