Summer School
WildDrone Summer School
22-26 September, 2026 - University of Konstanz, Germany
The aim of the WildDrone summer school is to bring together multiple disciplinary approaches to wildlife conservation practice. We want to equip young scientists with a unique combination of multidisciplinary skills for drone-based ecology and wildlife conservation. The WildDrone summer school is a one-week intensive training course focusing on questions in conservation ecology while incorporating novel research in drones and computer vision technologies. This course will be a forum for presentation and discussion of theoretical and practical issues of drones for conservation fieldwork applications.
About the programme
The programme will feature a mix of presentations and tutorials by leading researchers to expand your knowledge and to take the opportunity to form networks with academics and students from different fields. The WildDrone Doctoral Candidates will be presenting the latest results of the WildDrone project throughout the week in interactive poster sessions that are open for all attendees interested in presenting their work.
The summer school is organized by the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB) and the WildDrone project, and will take place at the University of Konstanz.
More information
- Organisation
- Practical information
- Programme (coming soon)
- Registration
Confirmed speakers
Dr. Aamir Ahmad, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems and University of Stuttgart
Aamir Ahmad’s research interests include robotics and AI for ecology and biodiversity conservation, aerial robotics, multi-robot systems, deep reinforcement learning, formation control, aerial vision, localization, target tracking and simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM).
Alejandro Jarabo Peñas (joint work with Prof. Anders Christensen), PhD student, SDU Drone Center, NAMUR
Alejandro Jarabo Peñas gives a hands-on tutorial on integrating LLMs in robotics and drones.
Dr. Angela Albi, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPIAB) and Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz
Angela Albi studies predator-prey dynamics between blacktip reef sharks and fish schools using drones, and works on AI tools for studying animal behavior and monitoring wildlife.
Dr. Sam Penny, Bristol Zoological Society
Sam Penny is a wildlife ecologist with a focus on applied conservation techniques in tropical environments.
Dr. Hemal Naik, Center of the Advanced Studies of Collective Behaviour, University of Konstanz and Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPIAB)
Hemal Naik study behaviors ranging from social learning to mate-choice in wild animal groups using computer vision & AI with terrestrial and aerial cameras.
The list is being updated continuously…
