Herpetology Summer School

Dates: 1–25 August 2027
Duration: 25 days
Capacity: Maximum 50 participants
Fee: USD 1,000 + applicable tax
Route: Jakarta → field/research locations across Java → Yogyakarta
Followed by: ACH 2027, 26–29 August 2027, The Alana Yogyakarta Hotel & Convention Center

The Asian Herpetology Summer School 2027 is conceived as an intensive international training program for undergraduate and graduate students, early-career researchers, and young professionals seeking comprehensive practical exposure to modern amphibian and reptile research.

Unlike a conventional short course, the Summer School is intended to combine classroom teaching, laboratory training, museum and collection work, field research, scientific analysis, conservation practice, and direct mentorship from experienced Asian and international herpetologists.

The program would begin in Jakarta on 1 August 2027. The course would then move progressively through Java and conclude in Yogyakarta on 25 August, allowing participants to transition directly into ACH 2027 the following morning.

The curriculum covers the complete herpetological research pathway, including amphibian and reptile diversity and natural history, field identification and survey methods, ecology, behaviour, reproductive and population biology, taxonomy and systematics, morphology, integrative taxonomy and species delimitation, zoological nomenclature and ICZN principles, museum and natural-history collections, molecular systematics, phylogenetics and DNA-based approaches, biogeography and evolution, GIS and spatial ecology, statistical analysis, conservation biology and IUCN Red Listing, wildlife trade and CITES, human–herpetofauna interactions, snakebite and venom research, scientific writing and presentation, research ethics, and responsible field practice.

Participants should not spend 25 days simply listening to lectures. A substantial part of the program should involve practical exercises and direct application of methods. For example, a field survey could subsequently become the dataset used during statistics, GIS, ecological analysis, scientific writing, and presentation exercises. This creates continuity across the Summer School rather than treating every subject as an independent lecture.

Field component

Java provides an unusually useful training landscape because participants can experience contrasting ecosystems within a relatively manageable geographic area. The field component can expose participants to combinations of lowland habitats → agricultural landscapes → urban/peri-urban systems → karst → hill forest → montane forest → volcanic landscapes → freshwater systems.

Field sessions would include day and night surveys, habitat assessment, standardized data collection, photography, identification, ecological observations, biosecurity, ethical handling, and discussion of conservation threats. The objective is scientific field training, not recreational animal collecting.

Laboratory and museum component

Participants would receive practical exposure to the transition from field observation to scientific evidence, including specimen examination, morphology, measurements, photography, tissue/sample concepts, molecular workflows, phylogenetic interpretation, natural-history collections, type specimens, cataloguing, and biodiversity databases. Visits and collaboration with relevant Indonesian universities, museums, BRIN facilities, research institutions, and laboratories were envisaged as an important component.

Scientific communication

A major outcome should be that participants learn how to transform observations and data into science. The latter part of the Summer School should therefore emphasize research question → data → analysis → interpretation → manuscript → presentation. Participants would receive training in scientific writing, preparing figures and tables, structuring manuscripts, selecting journals, peer review, research ethics, presentation design, public speaking, and responding to scientific questions.

Final transition into ACH 2027

The timing is one of the strongest aspects of the concept:

1–25 August
Asian Herpetology Summer School

26–29 August
Asian Congress of Herpetology 2027

30 August–2 September
Optional Post-Congress Biodiversity Expeditions

Summer School participants therefore arrive at ACH already knowing one another and having spent almost a month working with researchers from different Asian countries. Instead of entering the Congress as isolated students, they enter as an established international cohort.

By completing the Summer School, participants should be able to:

1. design a basic herpetological research project;
2. conduct standardized amphibian and reptile field surveys;
3. collect and manage scientifically useful field data;
4. understand fundamental taxonomic and systematic approaches;
5. interpret morphological, ecological and molecular evidence;
6. apply introductory statistical and spatial approaches;
7. understand conservation assessment and major threats to Asian herpetofauna;
8. work responsibly with wildlife, collections and scientific data;
9. prepare research for scientific publication;
10. deliver an effective scientific presentation; and
11. establish professional relationships with researchers and students from across Asia