American Society of Primatologists holds special symposium Celebrating 25 years of Field Training on Tinjil Island, INDONESIA

A special symposium celebrating the 25^th anniversary of the field training program on Tinjil Island was held this past June 2015 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Primatologists. Training program founder, Randy Kyes (Univ. of Washington) spoke about the history of the Tinjil field course which is conducted in collaboration with the Primate Research Center at Bogor Agricultural Univ., Indonesia. Field course alumni (from the UW study abroad program International Field Study Program-Indonesia) reflected on their experiences in the program and how their participation has influenced their career trajectories. Symposium presenters (alumni) included: Katie Hawkins, Francisca Vidal-Garcia, Justin McNulty, Carissa Leeson, Matthew Novak, and Katie Hinde.

The Tinjil Island field training program was established in 1991. In 1995, the UW study abroad program (IFSP-Indonesia) was created to bring together students from both the U.S. and Indonesia for the month-long field course on Tinjil that focuses on primatology, conservation biology and global health: “Field Course in Conservation Biology & Global Health: At the Human-Environment Interface.”