Postgraduate Diploma in Wildlife Conservation Practice - deadline 21st Sept 2009

[Jorgelina Marino]

Dear colleagues,

 

We invite applications for the WildCRU's 2010 Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice.  This newly established eight month full-time course is designed to enhance the skills of conservation practitioners, teaching the field, analytical, planning and reporting techniques necessary for effective conservation research and action.

 

Developed through a donation by the Kaplan family and supported by the Panthera Foundation, the course focuses on survey and analysis methods commonly used in the study of felids and other mammals in the developing world.  Students will take modules on wildlife ecology and behaviour; monitoring skills including camera-trapping, radio-tracking and line transect surveys; GIS analysis, and population management.  Unifying threads running through the course are the global and human dimensions of biodiversity conservation.  Students will learn how to plan field surveys and understand the theory behind the techniques, allowing them to adapt these to their own situation, and to critically appraise their own and others' work.

 

Teaching methods will focus on problem-solving, case-studies and hands-on practice, and students will complete two small research projects, for which they can use their own data if available.  The transferable skills section of the course includes giving verbal presentations, reporting to scientists, donors and the public, and writing proposals and grant applications.

 

Students benefit from the world-class conservation expertise of the WildCRU at Oxford University, and its network of collaborators.  The diverse mix of nationalities, cultures and experience, of both the diploma candidates themselves and the WildCRU as a whole, enhances peer-learning and broadens understanding of the roots of conservation issues, and potential solutions.

 

The course will run from February to September 2010.  Students will take a one month online preparatory course from their home countries, followed by seven months of residential training at the WildCRU's Recanati-Kaplan Centre in Tubney.  These custom-built facilities just outside Oxford allow access to departmental and university resources in the city.  Students will be accommodated on site, and will have associate membership of Lady Margaret Hall, an Oxford college with which WildCRU has a long history.

 

We will accept up to 10 students in 2010, and applications are particularly welcomed from candidates working in developing nations.  Suitable candidates are early-career field conservationists, working with government agencies or NGOs, who will return to their home countries after the course to implement and disseminate their new knowledge.  Candidates without a degree are considered, but must demonstrate an equivalent amount of experience gained in the field.  It is important that applicants are competent in English in order to gain the most benefit from the training; please see the diploma website for details of the level of fluency required.  Varying levels of sponsorship are available to cover the course fees, living expenses and international travel, and are awarded on the basis of financial need.

 

The formal deadline for sponsored places is 21st September, and the final application deadline is 20th November 2009, for the course commencing in February 2010.  We advise candidates to apply now, to ensure that all documents and recommendation letters are received before the deadline.

 

For more information on the course, including the curriculum and how to apply, please see the diploma website (www.wildcru.org/diploma), email wildcru...@zoo.ox.ac.uk, or contact the course coordinator and lead tutor, Dr Lucy Tallents on the number below.

 

Please encourage your colleagues to apply, and forward this email to anyone who might be interested.  We at the WildCRU wish to maximise access to the vital skills taught on this course, and need your help to reach those working on the front-line of conservation, who will benefit the most from this training and have potentially the greatest impact on biodiversity conservation.  Thank you.

 

Best wishes,

 

Lucy

 

Dr Lucy Tallents

Coordinator, PG Dip in International Wildlife Conservation Practice WildCRU, Zoology Dept, University of Oxford

 

Recanati-Kaplan Centre

Tubney House, Abingdon Road

Tubney, Abingdon OX13 5QL, UK

T +44 (0) 1865 393125

F +44 (0) 1865 393101

M +44 (0) 7763 378147

www.wildcru.org/diploma