Progress and Impact

The Women in Conservation Technology (WiCT) program aimed at exposing young career women in the conservation space to the technological aspect of this field. It was also geared to building confidence in the adoption and use of technology in wildlife research and conservation. 

My experience in this program has been nothing short of massive growth in professional and career development. I got this award at the on start of my career in wildlife research and at a time I was looking for opportunities to grow my technical skills in conservation. I got to learn about the diverse range of technology used in wildlife protection, monitoring and research. Specifically getting to understand the use of mobile Apps in data collection and analysis came in handy as I was able to transfer the knowledge to community scouts that I worked with during my time at the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. I was able to improve my writing and pitching skills from the broad content delivered on scientific writing and grant writing for proposals in which I was able to secure a grant with Idea Wild. 

My passion is in designing and implementing conservation projects that address conservation challenges in the grassroots. This requires me to be in a position of influence to additionally contribute to policy changes and creating practical frameworks in the conservation space. From the WiCT mentorship I became highly motivated to pursue a masters degree in the United Kingdom. I used the seed money to pay for application fees and the IELTS English test. In this efforts, I was able to get admission to the University of Kent to pursue MSc Conservation Biology, a course that encompasses both leadership and technical skills in wildlife research. On the same I was awarded the prestigious Chevening Scholarship Awards which is covering my tuition fee and living expenses in the UK. The WiCT programme is exactly what I needed to realise and get a clear picture of my specialization in the conservation space. I look forward to completing my MSc and return to Kenya to apply my skills and make an impact in my community.