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SAEON students and senior scientists build connections for the future
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- By the Interim Committee of the SAEON GSN
The SAEON Graduate Student Network (GSN) held its second Workshop at
Skukuza in the Kruger National Park from 31 October to 2 November 2006.
Overall, 23 students participated in the Workshop, including one
international student from the USA LTER (Long Term Ecological
Research). The students were from diverse disciplines such as ecology,
marine science, maths/statistics and socio-economics.
The first day was opened by a plenary presented by Prof Tim O'Connor
(SAEON Observation Scientist), who gave an excellent talk comparing
extrinsically versus intrinsically driven ecological systems. The rest
of the day was dedicated to student oral presentations. Each student
was given the opportunity to present their research project, followed
by some time for questions. The relaxed student atmosphere provided a
good opportunity for students to become comfortable with presenting
their work and also to learn about research in other ecological fields.
The South African National Parks (SANParks) donated two books ("The
Kruger Experience" by Du Toit et al.) to the best student
presentations: Well done to Anisha Rajkumar and Tony Knowles!
The second day consisted of a presentation on Savanna Ecology and a
field trip, presented by Dr Mike Peel (Agricultural Research Council)
and his assistants, John Peel and Jakes Jacobs. We were given a very
good introduction into general savanna ecology and the field trip to an
experimental exclosure just outside of Skukuza gave us time to become
familiar with the benefits of long-term exclosure-type research. The
day was rounded off with a Science Communication Workshop presented by
Marina Joubert (Southern Science). She highlighted the need for better
communication between scientists and the public and taught us some of
the techniques to achieve this.
Johan Pauw (Head: SAEON) opened the second day and brought us up to date on the do's and don'ts for obtaining research funding. This is very useful information for helping young scientists make a success of future funding applications. The rest of the day involved a socio-economic field trip to Agincourt, an organisation based in the Bushbuckridge region just outside Kruger Park. Dr Wayne Twine (Wits University) and his colleagues at Agincourt presented some of the long-term research conducted there. It mainly concerns collecting human population demographics data, which has very important implications for assessing aspects such as human healthcare planning, gauging human impacts on biodiversity and deciphering the complex interactions between AIDS and conservation.
The Workshop was intense and all students left having learnt something new. An emphasis was placed on networking and building connections with students and senior scientists during breaks, which is one of the core aims of the student network. We could, of course, not leave Kruger without a game drive, which provided some spectacular sightings.
The Graduate Student Network would like to thank SAEON for their major financial support and all the speakers for their valuable contributions, also to Jackie Deacon and team for their fantastic catering.
The Workshop was a resounding success and the committee looks forward to the next major event - an International Student Symposium in Cape Town during 2007.
(For more information, please go to Graduate Student Network)
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