Expanding my knowledge at the 2025 Student Conference on Conservation Science

Alicia, who studies MSc Animal Behaviour: Applications for Conservation, shares her experiences at the 2025 Student Conference on Conservation Science (SCCS) in Cambridge.

This has been the first scientific conference I have been able to attend in person, and it wouldn't have been possible without the support of my Master's course leader and ARU.

The conference was very well organised, with talks and breaks between them. There were plenary talks chaired by experts in the field, and student talks where Master's and PhD students from around the world explained their ongoing research on different topics in conservation.

Students could also present posters of their research, and it was very inspiring to see what each student was working on and talking to them to learn more.

Getting hands-on

There were also different options of workshops to attend, where we learnt about a topic in conservation science and did practical exercises after that. These workshops provided us with skills that will be very useful as our careers in science progress.

Between sessions, there were lot of opportunities to talk to other students who had presented papers or posters. Last, but not less important, the conference also provided food and refreshments for all the attendees, and those times also were a great opportunity to engage in conversations with students and professors.

Finding inspiration and community

Overall, this was an unforgettable experience in which we created a flow of knowledge between all students, sharing our research, experience and ideas. The fact that we were coming from almost 50 countries meant that every one of us had our different ways of doing science and conservation, and our own concerns and experience of how conservation is done in our country.

This conference brought us all together for three days of talking about conservation, and I believed it created a sense of community. It gives hope for the future of conservation knowing that many students are developing all this research to help and do our bit for the future of the world.

Alicia studies MSc Animal Behaviour: Applications for Conservation at ARU in Cambridge. You can find out more about this, and other postgraduate courses we offer, at an Open Evening.