Conservation needs a new generation of solvers.
Transforming conservation requires a massive new influx of talent with a blend of expertise that includes engineering, finance, marketing, and more. Our university partnerships are our initiative to build a multi-disciplinary tribe of solvers that don’t take “extinction” as an acceptable outcome. Through lab partnerships, university partnerships, and support for conservation innovation events, we inspire a new generation of conservationists and solution-seekers.
Conservation Futures Toolkit
The first iteration of our Conservation Futures Toolkit provides an open, interdisciplinary curriculum focused on conservation innovation and creative-problem solving with the vision to equip aspiring leaders with the tools to create trailblazing solutions to address the climate and extinction crisis.
The toolkit builds on inputs from 45 conservation, business, and technology faculty and practitioners from 10 institutions -- including Conservation International, EarthHacks, Conservify, Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation, College of William and Mary, Duke University, and many more.
Lab Partnerships
We have partnered with the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC to develop advanced technologies in tagging, monitoring & enforcement, and drone technology for the oceans.
We have also partnered with the University of Washington in Seattle, WA and Virginia Tech creating a Genetics & Molecular Engineering Lab to support technology development.
Our partnerships with the University of Maryland and the Carnegie Mellon Human-Computer Interaction Institute help fuel the development of the Digital Makerspace.
University partnerships
Together with George Mason University, Duke University, Arizona State University, and with support from partners and funders The Moxie Foundation, we are developing a new curriculum and exploring building academic programs & degrees to support Transforming Conservation, including the newest environmental graduate school – the GMU Smithsonian School for Conservation.
CONSERVATION TECH CLUBS & hackathons
We have worked with and sponsored Duke University (Blueprint) and Virginia Commonwealth University (EarthHacks) for incredibly popular conservation innovation, design, & engineering competitions that are already spinning out real-world enterprises.
Keeping with the DIY ethos of the conservation technology community, Conservation X Labs developed a DIY Kit for students interested in creating conservation technology organizations.
The guide provides resources for students familiar with and completely new to conservation technology, and focuses on enabling students to create conservation technology clubs.
