Goodbye conservation biologists

BSc Conservation Biology final year 2013-14.
(Photo: Wai Yi)

Yesterday, we said goodbye to the latest generation of conservation biologists. With the presentation of their final-year project posters, they are now free to live the rest of their lives! Some will be going on to further study (masters courses and PhDs), while others are already having interviews for conservation jobs. A few are not planning any further than a long holiday to recover from their final exams. There are even plans to write up some of the project work for publication in international journals.

The staff would like to wish everyone the best of luck in the future. We will get a chance to catch up on the latest news at graduation in September.

In some ways, it's like watching turtle hatchlings heading down the beach and off to a new life at sea. Just like the turtles, we hope to see them back again in the future (if only to say hello). Unlike the turtles, we don't expect many of them to get eaten by predators before they even reach the water. Sometimes it's good to be human...

Final-year project conference 2014

Max Ward receiving his prize for the best poster
in the final session of the conference. Photo: Jane Beal

Yesterday, we held the final-year project conference. It is the last formal activity on our degree programmes. Each student presents a poster which summarizes their research project. Staff and students can see what everyone else has been up to over the last year and can ask the author questions.

There were prizes for the best posters (voted for by the other students). The winners were: Jessica Alsopp, Max Ward and Chris Kernaghan. Well done to them!

The day ended with wine and nibbles, and various groups headed off afterwards to continue their conversations into the evening. 

In future, we hope to open this event up to the public, to showcase the impressive range and quality of research projects carried out by our undergraduates. Watch this blog for details...