Harrison Institute, UK | Capacity-building and training

CAPACITY BUILDING

Since 2001, the Institute has helped raise over $2.3 million in external grants and invested heavily in training scientists and students in Asia and Africa.

Institute staff have been the project co-ordinators of four UK government funded Darwin Initiative projects and the project manager of one EU Erasmus+ project (MuEuCAP). They were also founder members of BCA (Bat Conservation Africa) and SEABCRU (Southeast Asian Bat Conservation and Research Unit).

Paul Bates is a scientific advisor to WABNet (Western Asia Bat Research Network), which seeks to promote an understanding of bats and the transmission of coronavirus.

BAT CONSERVATION AFRICA

Several students have subsequently won scholarships to study further in Europe and elsewhere. Two, Dr Pipat Soisook from Thailand and Dr Vu Din Thong from Vietnam, have been awarded the highly prestigious Spallanzani Award, in 2016 and 2018 respectively, by NASBR (North American Society for Bat Research) for the quality of their research and publications.

TAXONOMIC MONOGRAPHS

SUPERVISION OF STUDENTS

Institute staff have successfully co-supervised more than 20 MSc and PhD students from Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UK, Vietnam, and Zambia.

Several of the MSc students have subsequently won scholarships to study for their PhDs in UK, Europe, China and Japan. Two, Dr Pipat Soisook from Thailand and Dr Vu Din Thong from Vietnam, have been awarded the highly prestigious Spallanzani Award, in 2016 and 2018 respectively, by NASBR (North American Society for Bat Research) for the quality of their research and publications.

HOSTING AND CONTRIBUTING TO CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

Institute staff have promoted, hosted and contributed to numerous international conferences and workshops in the UK, Asia and Africa.

The Institute helped instigate and was co-host of the first Southeast Asian Bat Conference and the First Southeast Asian Ornithological Congress (both now regular meetings).

In 2019, it was co-host of the 18th International Bat Research Conference, which took place in Thailand and included over 400 delegates from 50 countries.

Many workshops have included practical training in aspects of biodiversity research and conservation, especially relating to bats, rodents and birds. These have been based in Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and Zambia.

These training programmes have not only focused on scientists and students but also those actively working in conservation, such as rangers, national park staff, and ecotourism guides.

DEVELOPING A NEW CURRICULUM

Institute staff were also part of a successful European team (from Austria, Germany and Spain), which worked with Myanmar colleagues to develop a new curriculum in environmental protection for the Myanmar university sector. This project (MuEuCAP) was funded by the European Union's Erasmus+ programme and focused on the universities of Mandalay, Myeik and Mawlamyine.