Courses and Workshops

Gubbi Labs offers specialized training from time-to-time based on specific user requirements. There are also possibilities to design tailor-made training sessions or organize focused workshops based on need and requirements. In pursuance with this, Gubbi Labs is offering the following courses:

  • Bisle Frog Watch
  • Primer in Methods and Ecological Research (PRIMER)

Bisle Frog Watch: Amphibian Workshop at Bisle

Bisle Frog Watch is an annual workshop cum outreach event supported by Gubbi Labs in association with Bisle Kappe Team. This falls under Project Ashoka under the GLRF research agenda.

A workshop for three days 21st to 23rd June August 2024 was conducted at Bisle for 15 enthusiastic participants including non-academics. Bisle is located near Sakleshpur of Hassan district, Karnataka that is part of the Central Western Ghats. The workshop had field visits, hands on training, lectures and interactive sessions. Similar workshops have been conducted in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

PRiMER: Primer in Methods and Ecological Research

The Primer in Methods and Ecological Research (PRiMER) is a certificate course designed and offered by Gubbi Labs to provide experiential learning on how to appreciate and pursue research in Ecology. This is a unique intensive programme aimed at inspiring participants and impart essential skills to be an ecologist.

Ecology is a unified field in biology, which over the years has transcended boundaries of subjects like physics, chemistry, mathematics, and social sciences. From being a mere observational and natural history-based domain, ecology has progressed to enable the understanding of complex ecological processes and behaviour. This course will enable the participants to venture into fields of natural history, environmental biology, and theoretical ecology. This course is specifically designed for students and professionals alike. The training we impart during this course will be helpful in carrying out objective research across various disciplines as well.

PRiMER exposes participants to the basic skills such as the art of asking research questions, project planning and management, hands-on training in census, sampling and monitoring techniques, ecological statistics, remote sensing, mapping (GIS, spatial analysis and modelling), science communication (presentations, writing scientific papers and popular articles) and writing grant proposals. It will also expose participants to soft skills such as effective leadership, adaptive management and highlight the importance of working in teams.

PRiMER is equivalent to a two-credit course with over 40 hours of contact teaching. It will be facilitated by faculty members comprising an expert panel of ecologists and research scientists, with extensive experience in the field of ecology. Core faculty members include Dr Sudhira HS, Dr Gururaja KV, Dr Seshadri KS, Ms Vidisha Kulkarni and Ms Ramya Badrinath. We will also draw upon insights and relevant skills from other subject experts.

Broad themes in dealt in PRiMER:

  1. Introduction to Ecological Research: Fundamentals of research; planning and management of independent research; literature review; seeing the big picture and framing objective. The course will provide hands-on exposure to a mind-mapping tool (Freemind) and reference manager (Mendeley®).
  2. Ecological Statistics: Fundamentals of data collection, database management, and exploratory analysis; nature of data and data types (parametric and non-parametric); data visualization; descriptive statistics; diversity indices; probability distributions; statistical hypothesis testing; choosing and using appropriate statistical tests. Introduction to tools for statistical analysis viz., Biodiversity Pro®, PAST®, R and RStudio™.
  3. Mapping and Modelling: Fundamentals of mapping and remote sensing; use of navigation gadgets (Garmin eTrex 30; Smartphone-based tools); geospatial analysis; species distribution modelling; geo-visualization; hands-on training in making maps. Tools exposed: QGIS®, MaxEnt®, and Google Earth Engine.
  4. Ecological Census and Monitoring techniques: Fundamentals of field data collection techniques; hands-on training in sampling techniques such as line and belt transects, point, quadrat, time-constrained, audio-visual encounter surveys; mark–re-capture techniques and camera trapping. Usage of automated data collecting devices (acoustics and weather monitoring).
  5. Communicating Research: Fundamentals of science communication; the art of storytelling; the nuances of presentation skills and techniques, writing scientific and popular articles, and research grant proposals. Basics of science journalism; developing a communication message; writing a press release; pitching to reporters and giving effective sound and video bytes.

The PRiMER provides you with the tools necessary to synthesize field observations, analyse data, interpret, visualize and report findings in a succinct scientific framework. This intensive field course will be beneficial to aspiring students of biology, researchers, forest managers, teachers, environmental management consultants, nature enthusiasts, and photographers. The training and skill sets inculcated in PRiMER are necessary tenets for a career in ecology and helpful in trans-disciplinary research. The last edition was conducted from 16 Jan 2023 to 22 Jan 2023.