Online interactive internship

A new program designed to enable learning key wildlife and research skills from afar.
( Key skills include learning otter ecology and behaviour, analysing camera trap data, writing a literature review and science communication. )

Modules


Module 1 (Literature review - 2500 words) :

Topic: Biology and Behaviour of the Smooth-coated otter (Lutrogale perspicillata) ( plus an option of some other topics to choose from )

Aim:
1) To collate all the know information that there is published on the subject.
2) Pinpoint the data gaps and questions that need to be answered in the future
3) See if there are any significant differences reported in the behavior and biology of the species in different parts of its range.

Module 2 (Learning Otter behaviour through data analysis) :

Topic: Behavior analysis of the Smooth-coated otter by looking at camera trapping footage.

Aim: 1) Learn to identify and characterize different behaviors presented
2) Convert qualitative information into quantitative data
3) Create an ethogram based on 1) and 2)
4) Collate the data and present key findings

Eg. Of questions that can be answered include:
·Interactions between pups and family members.
·Disturbances at the site.
·Resting Behaviour
·Behaviour differences during different sets of seasons

Note: You will present your study design on the last day of the program to the whole team.

Module 3 (Science communication) :

There will be one presentation on a scientific topic over the course of the internship, about halfway through your internship (about 7 mins long). This will be on a webinar style as a Pecha Kucha. Topics may range from environment, wildlife, ethics or outside of the immediate scope. There will also be a team activity on creating a mini social-media feed on a topic. The idea is to learn to communicate science effectively to a general or a specialized audience, be able to research on topics outside of the scope of regular work and build opinions based on data.

* Please note some specifics of the modules may change depending upon the interests of the intern and the scope of requirement of Wild Otters.

Guidance


1. The internship will be overseen and guided by Dr Katrina Fernandez, Director at Wild Otters and a member of the IUCN Otter Specialist Group, who will be available for direct interaction with the interns every week.

2. Each intern will be assigned a Research Associate who will oversee their work and clarify doubts on a day to day basis (recommended time is to touch base with RA atleast 3 times a week.)

Training sessions


1. There will be a total of six to nine sessions by the Wild Otters team (on weekdays) over the course of 3 weeks. These will cover Otter Ecology, Field Methods, Mangroves, Conflict, Science Communication, Illegal Trade and Professional Development/Jobs and anything else that may be needed.

2. Wild Otters will be making available a repository of not only raw data for analysis but a library of resources including research papers and reports for the purpose of the internship.

Certificate


1. A certificate will be provided to all interns who complete the program successfully.

2. Any future recommendation is solely dependent on the performance of individual interns.

Time Expectations

This is a part time program, where you work at your own pace. But still its good to have an idea of the time involvement, and you expect approximately the following over 3 weeks :
1. 8 sessions from the Wild Otters Team (about 1.5 hours each) = 12 hours
2. 12 hours of independent work per week = 36 hours
3. Intern presentations or Sci communication activity = 3 hours

So approximately, this should work out to about 50-51 hours over 3 weeks (ofcourse most of it is not on a schedule, so you can do when you have time.) Please note we'll like you to attend atleast 70% of the sessions by the Wild Otters team LIVE (there will be recordings made available of any you miss), so you can interact with the teams in a fruitful manner.


Beyond the internship

We encourage interns to continue our collaboration and joint work even after the training ends. This could be by :
1. Joining one of our projects, or us helping you with your own project
2. Joining hands for outreach or awareness efforts
3. Any other means of creating value.

Registration

The program will commence in batches, the next available batches will be held from 14 Feb - 6 Mar, 2022 and 14 Mar - 4 Apr, 2022. Please note there will only be a maximum of 6 interns per batch.

The cost of the program is INR 12,500 / USD 197 / GBP 149 / Euro 165 depending on the currency/country of payment. Payment transfer details are listed here.

For registration or any queries, please write an email to kshitij@wildotters.com.