Curriculum
The WildDrone doctoral training curriculum is defined in the grant proposal and includes a range of activities, many of them credit-bearing for doctoral candidates required to collect ECTS credits. All activities are open to all DCs, and the Summer School will be open to wider attendees.
Initial training
In month 9 (September 2023) of the network (the first month of most doctoral candidates' PhDs) a week-long induction was hosted by South Denmark University.
| Type | Module | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| S1 | Drone operator training | 1 |
| T1 | Drones for nature conservation basics | 1 |
| T2 | Ethics and innovation workshop (1/2) | 1 |
| T3 | Science communication workshop | 1 |
| T4 | Data management plans | 0 |
| R1 | Internal research kick-off meeting | 0 |
| S2 | Wadden Sea national park fieldwork workshop | 2 |
e-learning
Doctoral candidates undertook self-paced online training to build interdisciplinary skills.
| Type | Module | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| S3 | Wildlife ecology and conservation | 3 |
| S4&5 | Multidisciplinary Computer Science | 3 |
Periodic reporting and planning
Doctoral candidates and the wider WildDrone consortium assembled periodically for funder reporting and planning. In month 15, alongside the Brussels reporting meeting, DCs and academics participated in a day-long workshop to form 'collaborative clusters' to coordinate and undertake interdisciplinary WildDrone projects. These clusters continued remotely and at further in-person events.
Year 1 training
In month 21 (September 2024) doctoral candidates assembled in Bristol for further training and planning.
| Type | Module | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| S7 | Drone technology workshop | 2 |
| T5 | Ethics and innovation workshop (2/2) | 1 |
| S8 | Computer vision workshop | 2 |
| T6 | Presentation, didactic, writing workshop | 1 |
| R2 | Internal research review update | 0 |
Fieldwork
DCs undertook tailored training at their home institutions and on field placements to support their specific fieldwork. DCs undertake fieldwork secondments as required by their specfic projects. In month 26 (February 2025) the first Fieldwork and Ecology Hackathon was held in Ol Pejeta, Kenya, where DCs undertook intial field trials. The second Hackathon will take place in month 36 (February 2026) for final demonstrations and data capture.
| Type | Module | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| S6 | Individual fieldwork training | 0 |
| S9 | Fieldwork and ecology hackathon | 3 |
| S13 | Nature conservation practitioner hackathon | 3 |
Summer School
The WildDrone Summer School was held at the Max Planck Institute for Animal Behaviour in Konstanz, Germany, in month 33 (September 2025), and was followed by the annual research review update. DCs also reflected on their individual PCDPs (Personal Career Development Plans) and their future plans.
| Type | Module | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| S10 | Summer School | 5 |
| T7 | Career development & entrepreneurship | 1 |
| R3 | Internal research review update | 0 |
Future events
| Type | Module | ECTS |
|---|---|---|
| S11 | Field work internal dry run | 0 |
| S12 | Wadden Sea event | 0 |
| R4 | Final research review workshop | 0 |