For over 300 years numerous scientific expeditions have visited the globally important islands and reefs of the Chagos Archipelago to improve understanding of the ecology of this unique tropical marine ecosystem.

The Chagos Information Portal

The Chagos Information Portal (ChIP) provides an unprecedented reference resource of research and conservation efforts conducted in the archipelago. This online library provides a user friendly, interactive and open access resource, comprising research papers, scientific expedition reports, datasets, photos, videos, and an interactive map.

The Chagos Conservation Trust

The Chagos Conservation Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to preserving the Chagos Archipelago.

Its mission is to promote and conduct scientific and historical research and environmental conservation work in the Chagos Archipelago with the aim to advance international understanding of its global environmental importance and ensure its protection for the wider public benefit.

The Expedition Timeline project intern

The Chagos Conservation Trust is currently seeking an enthusiastic intern with a passion for research and ocean conservation to curate material to produce an interactive media rich digital timeline documenting the history of applied research and conservation in the archipelago. This will include collating expedition reports, scientific papers and publications, images, videos, researcher profiles, blogs, social media feeds and maps.

In this interesting and exciting role where you’ll be improving your research skills, understanding of scientific expeditions and history of the Chagos Archipelago.

Objective: To develop a Chagos Archipelago expeditions database that will be used to communicate the historical and more recent research expeditions conducted in the Chagos Archipelago through an interactive timeline of expeditions – bringing the history of the Chagos Archipelago to the public in an engaging way.

Responsibilities:

• gather information on all expeditions from 1793 to 2017 using available resources and records
• liaise with previous expedition leaders to gather resources associated with each expedition, and collate for inclusion in ChIP
• collate associated papers, publications, images, videos, scientist profiles, blogs, social media feeds, maps, species associated with each expedition
• develop an expedition database documenting key information about each expedition to the Chagos Archipelago
• work with the CCT director

Remuneration: This is a paid internship for one month

Project deadline: 28th February 2018

Application process: Applicants should apply with a covering letter explaining why they may be suitable for the position by 19th January 2018. Please note that because of the short timeframe for this project applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and interviews may be conducted with shortlisted candidates before the application deadline. Please send covering letters to the CCT Director, helen.pitman@chagos-trust.org