Internship at FFI

FFI Vietnam Programme Internship Project

“Butterflies of Vietnam and their Role in Tropical Nature Conservation” announces the Intern candidate competition and invites the eligible volunteers to submit the required information.

Internship details

In 2016, funding is being provided by the Conservation Leadership Fund at FFI to support an internship on the “Butterflies of Vietnam and their Role in Tropical Nature Conservation” at the FFI Vietnam Programme. This is a paid internship which lasts for 6 months.

Aim:

This internship will provide training in butterfly systematics, ecology, and conservation. The successful intern will learn about the biology, systematics, and identification of tropical butterflies to train them for a career in biodiversity discovery and conservation assessment.

Internship objectives and work description:

The intern will undertake lab- and field-based training in:

• butterfly systematics, including taxonomy (naming) and species identification;
• biology, including adult morphology, butterfly life cycles, adult and larval foods and feeding, adult behaviour, seasonal and local migrations, and mimicry;
• ecology, including the study of habitats, population dynamics, and natural enemies;
• diversity Indexes, including their calculation and interpretation.

The intern will be mentored by the primary internship supervisor, Alexander Monastyrskiy, Dr. Sc. Biol. (Entomology), and the intern will work independently to study recommended scientific literature. Practical training in the field will be carried out regularly in protected areas near Hanoi (e.g., Ba Vi or Tam Dao National Parks) and other protected areas with different climates, topography, vegetation, and conservation needs where collections will be made.

Activities under the internship will include:

• Assist in curation of collections; spreading the dry butterfly material; arranging the collection; identifying species collected;
• Study of scientific literature and methods to work with scientific publications;
• Learning the Lepidoptera terminology used in the identification process;
• Identification of species collected during field trips;
• Studying methods of collecting, keeping and preservation;
• Helping in the production of a methodological guide for collecting butterfly material containing recommendations for particular forest habitat assessments and conservation;
• Writing and submitting a short article to the national or international Journal
• Reporting to CLP
• Visiting English language short-term course.

Intern candidate eligibility

It is expected that the intern will have the basic skills and knowledge necessary to successfully implement the internship. To be eligible for a Conservation Leadership Prpgramme (CLP) internship, the following criteria must be met:

1) Internship candidates should have no more than 5 years of paid conservation experience (excluding years spent pursuing an academic degree). Exceptions can be discussed on a case by case basis.
2) Be able to dedicate themselves full time to the internship for a period of 6 months.
3) Internships can not be paid employees of a CLP organization (FFI, BirdLife or WCS).
4) Former CLP interns are not eligible to apply

To participate in applicant selection process the candidates should submit their CV and a cover letter in English answering the questions below and include information on; 1. Name; 2. Home address; 3. Telephone; 4. Personal e-mail; 5. Skype name; 6. Date of birth; 7. Nationality.

Questions for cover letter

1. How many years of experience does the intern have working in the conservation sector (paid employment – does not include time spent pursuing academic degrees);
2. Explain any prior experience working with butterflies or invertebrates (this experience is not required to be a successful candidate);
3. Please indicate the candidate’s level of English (Basic, Intermediate, or Advanced) and describe skills in an English environment (e.g. spoken, written etc);
4. Intern personal statement: This section should be written by the intern. He/She should describe prior experience, future career goals and how the internship is expected to advance these goals.

Application form must be submitted to FFI Vietnam programme office via e-mail to [email protected] no later than 13th September 2016 with the subject line: Butterfly Internship