Our events bring together participants from across the conservation and technology sectors to learn new skills and gain insight into the big picture of the field. With episodes focusing on key areas of innovation in conservation technology, like machine learning, our events can help beginners engage with these tools and advance their own technological abilities, and help experts set their sights on how these tools can be even more effective in the future.

For WILDLABS, creating a virtual event like Tech Tutors and our Virtual Meetups means more than bringing a presentation to our audiences; it means sparking crucial  discussions, providing a space to address conservation tech’s urgent questions and address pressing challenges, and bringing people together to engage with experts and each other in a supportive, professional, and knowledgeable space that extends far beyond the confines of a computer screen.

“I love the virtual meetups and tech tutors. I also love how the WILDLABS staff go above and beyond to help facilitate and foster connections between different stakeholders. It’s elevated my research to a whole new level!” 

Anon Feedback, Community Survey 2020

We use expert facilitation to set our events apart

In a field crowded with virtual events, WILDLABS’ events shine thanks to our focus on creating engaging, interactive, and practical events that bring the best of in-person events to life on your own screen. Our audience is always at the center of the experience, allowing the opportunity for participants to add their voices to discussions with conservation technology experts in a welcoming environment where an open dialogue is encouraged. Each event features multiple ways to engage with speakers and each other, whether it’s through connecting with potential collaborators in the chat, sharing their own projects and expertise during and after the event, or asking their questions face-to-face with leading  experts in the field. 

We design events that answer real needs

Our event design process is based on ongoing community feedback, taking our events to the next level of engagement. With series built around addressing the questions, gaps, and challenges of our  community, WILDLABS’ events aren’t just lectures and panels - they’re opportunities to deliver  information and resources that support critical conservation technology work. And because our  audiences’ needs are at the core of our event design process, the difference in enthusiasm is noticeable  to participants and presenters alike!  

We keep momentum going

The experience doesn’t end when the recording stops. To ensure that our events have ongoing impact in  the community and provided what the audience needed out of the experience, we follow up with participants to help them connect with the community, bring active conversations onto our platform to reach an even wider audience, track collaborations and innovations that come out of  the connections made during events, and host post-event informal chats where participants share their own work and resources, brainstorm new solutions, and engage with other community  members in a supportive environment of their peers.  

‘I was really impressed with the community and with the way y’all ran the call. Every webinar or similar meetup I’ve ever been on was dead silence after the speaker, and it was a battle to get people involved; this audience was really excited to participate and asked lots of thought-provoking questions. Looking forward to working with WILDLABS more in the future!’

Dan Morris, Microsoft AI for Earth 

We showcase outstanding female speakers 

Since 2019, we have featured 46% female speakers across our event lineup, a significant achievement in a sector where male-only events are still commonplace. We can achieve this because our starting goal for organising any event is 50% gender representation. With this need for representation informing all aspects of the event planning process, we’re able to bring better gender diversity to our events than any other conservation tech platform. In 2022, we’ve set a goal to reach similar representation for the backgrounds of all our featured speakers, giving diverse voices and perspectives the platform they deserve in the conservation technology field.  

Check out our newest WILDLABS Virtual Meetups Series exploring the future of technology in movement ecology and laying the groundwork for our Tracking Progress research project.

To learn more about our upcoming events, visit the events calendar. 

Header image: ThreeWiseMonkeys