Workshops
RCUK 2024 will feature three workshops, hosted at London Zoo on Friday afternoon (29th November, 1-5 pm).
Attendance at workshops will be limited, please purchase a standard registration and use the following links to buy tickets for each workshop:
Marxan workshop
Science Communication workshop
CCOT workshop (Invite only to working group members)
Find more information on each workshop below. Attendees will be emailed by workshop organisers with final details closer to the time.
ECOP Uk Science communication and personal branding
Coretta Granberry at the Zoological Society of London
Description:
Effective communication is an extremely important tool in increasing your impact as a scientist. Science communication takes on many different forms, each which can reach a different audience or play into your specific skillset.
In this workshop, you will develop the necessary skills to communicate your science impactfully. We will go through multiple case studies of various events, activations, and methodologies. The group will then have a discussion centred around identifying your values and unique skills as a science communicator, and work through a few examples to create their own interpretations. This workshop is organized by the UK node of the Early Career Ocean Professionals programme.
What you’ll learn:
Target audience:
Early career researchers who want to develop communication skills, learn novel ways of sharing their work, and people with multi-disciplinary interests in science and art.
What you’ll need:
Pens and paper will be provided.
Your instructors:
Coretta Granberry is a marine science programme administrator at the Zoological Society of London who works to communicate a large body of scientific research to public and government audiences.
Other instructors are to be confirmed.
Description:
Effective communication is an extremely important tool in increasing your impact as a scientist. Science communication takes on many different forms, each which can reach a different audience or play into your specific skillset.
In this workshop, you will develop the necessary skills to communicate your science impactfully. We will go through multiple case studies of various events, activations, and methodologies. The group will then have a discussion centred around identifying your values and unique skills as a science communicator, and work through a few examples to create their own interpretations. This workshop is organized by the UK node of the Early Career Ocean Professionals programme.
What you’ll learn:
- How to identify your audience and tailor your message accordingly
- Develop skills to summarize complex topics
- Determine your values and objectives
- Learn from active practitioners on the positive impact of effective communication
Target audience:
Early career researchers who want to develop communication skills, learn novel ways of sharing their work, and people with multi-disciplinary interests in science and art.
What you’ll need:
Pens and paper will be provided.
Your instructors:
Coretta Granberry is a marine science programme administrator at the Zoological Society of London who works to communicate a large body of scientific research to public and government audiences.
Other instructors are to be confirmed.
Introduction to Conservation Solutions with Marxan
Professor Maria Beger at the University of Leeds
Marxan is a free, flexible conservation planning software and set of tools designed to support decision-makers in finding solutions to conservation planning problems. It supports users to explore scenarios and trade-offs, enabling more informed decision-making and better conservation outcomes. In the context of coral reef ecosystems, Marxan been used to integrate regional conservation priorities while meeting multiple objectives, and design transboundary MPAs and zoning plans. See https://marxansolutions.org/
What you will learn:
Key concepts: This workshop will introduce how the Marxan tool for spatial planning (https://marxansolutions.org/), can be used to understand complex conservation problems, explore trade-offs, and inform decision-making. Workshop participants will be supported in working through a case study ‘problem’ to apply what they have learned and to experience using Marxan.
Set up: The workshop will first introduce spatial planning and posing and understanding a conservation ‘problem’ (in a mathematical sense). A Micronesia case study ‘problem’ data set will be introduced, and participants will use this to work through the practical application of Marxan software. The session will conclude with time for in-depth discussion and questions.
Target audience:
This workshop is aimed at early career researchers and conservation professionals to introduce the use of Marxan for spatial conservation planning. We hope that you will leave the workshop with the understanding and skills to use Marxan to explore conservation problems using your own data.
What you will need:
Your instructors:
Professor Maria Beger is a marine ecologist and conservation scientist with complementary interests in coral reef ecology and spatial conservation prioritization. Her work involves integrating field data, spatial models and decision science to find conservation solutions that link theory and practice.
Other instructors are to be confirmed.
Marxan is a free, flexible conservation planning software and set of tools designed to support decision-makers in finding solutions to conservation planning problems. It supports users to explore scenarios and trade-offs, enabling more informed decision-making and better conservation outcomes. In the context of coral reef ecosystems, Marxan been used to integrate regional conservation priorities while meeting multiple objectives, and design transboundary MPAs and zoning plans. See https://marxansolutions.org/
What you will learn:
Key concepts: This workshop will introduce how the Marxan tool for spatial planning (https://marxansolutions.org/), can be used to understand complex conservation problems, explore trade-offs, and inform decision-making. Workshop participants will be supported in working through a case study ‘problem’ to apply what they have learned and to experience using Marxan.
Set up: The workshop will first introduce spatial planning and posing and understanding a conservation ‘problem’ (in a mathematical sense). A Micronesia case study ‘problem’ data set will be introduced, and participants will use this to work through the practical application of Marxan software. The session will conclude with time for in-depth discussion and questions.
Target audience:
This workshop is aimed at early career researchers and conservation professionals to introduce the use of Marxan for spatial conservation planning. We hope that you will leave the workshop with the understanding and skills to use Marxan to explore conservation problems using your own data.
What you will need:
- A laptop and a charger
- A Google Drive account with enough storage space for sharing the data sets
Your instructors:
Professor Maria Beger is a marine ecologist and conservation scientist with complementary interests in coral reef ecology and spatial conservation prioritization. Her work involves integrating field data, spatial models and decision science to find conservation solutions that link theory and practice.
Other instructors are to be confirmed.
Coral conservation in the overseas territories (C-COT) Working group meeting
The C-COT group brings together government departments, non-governmental organisations, and academic institutions from six Caribbean and Western Atlantic UK Overseas Territories (OTs); Anguilla, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Montserrat. This group fosters cross-OT and regional collaborations in order to share knowledge and resources to jointly tackle challenges facing coral reefs of the Caribbean and Western Atlantic UK OTs. Some of the group’s recent work has included developing a response strategy for addressing Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) and developing a regional Adaptive Management Plan for coral reefs.
The group recently released a C-COT Roadmap, which outlines the working group's priorities for the next 5-10 years, highlighting a strong interest in continuing in-person meetings and workshops. Additional priorities include strengthening connections with UK academic institutions. An upcoming in person C-COT workshop, along with the RCUK conference, will offer valuable opportunities to learn from past academic partnerships that have benefited UKOT members and to explore new academic collaborations, common areas of interest, and potential future partnerships.
C-COT is funded by the UK government and was recently supported by the Darwin Plus grant scheme. RCUK and ZSL are supporting this in-person working group meeting with a venue.
The group recently released a C-COT Roadmap, which outlines the working group's priorities for the next 5-10 years, highlighting a strong interest in continuing in-person meetings and workshops. Additional priorities include strengthening connections with UK academic institutions. An upcoming in person C-COT workshop, along with the RCUK conference, will offer valuable opportunities to learn from past academic partnerships that have benefited UKOT members and to explore new academic collaborations, common areas of interest, and potential future partnerships.
C-COT is funded by the UK government and was recently supported by the Darwin Plus grant scheme. RCUK and ZSL are supporting this in-person working group meeting with a venue.
