The National Centre for Biological Sciences(NCBS-TIFR), Bengaluru, launches a new initiative— the Indica School of Field Ecology and Conservation, generously supported by a grant from the Murty Trust.
We live in a time of unprecedented environmental change, with ecosystems under growing pressure from climate change, habitat degradation, and biodiversity loss. Now, more than ever, we need a new generation of ecologists and conservation leaders equipped to tackle these challenges head-on.
While several master’s and PhD programs in ecology and conservation have emerged across India over the past decade, many still lack access to field facilities for hands-on training.
The Indica School aims to address this gap, providing immersive, field-based training for PhD students and early-career researchers, conservation practitioners, and forest managers.
The courses will draw on two decades of experience from the community-driven Master’s program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation anchored at NCBS and will be conducted at our dedicated field stations in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh and Coorg, Karnataka and in other filed locations in partnership with IISER Thiruvananthapuram, Kuvempu University, etc.
The school will focus on teaching field methods for ecological and wildlife studies. The course will be largely based on field-based instruction, supplemented by lectures. The students will learn field techniques to quantitatively study ecological parameters in the field. The school will give equal emphasis on research ethics and integrity, code-of-conduct and compliance to national and international rules and guidelines on biodiversity and wildlife. By combining rigorous science with real-world exposure to India’s rich ecological landscapes, the Indica School aims to nurture interdisciplinary thinking, hands-on skills, and deep engagement with pressing conservation issues.
We are extremely grateful to the Murty Trust for their generous support in making this initiative possible.
Indica School webpage: https://www.ncbs.res.in/academic/indica-school
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