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© Meha Kumar

Internships - Tsavo Research Centre

Each year, we select and accept up to 16 interns for a 4–10-week placement with our team at our Tsavo Coexistence and Research Centre, located in Sagalla Community, bordering Tsavo East National Park. This placement is designed for university graduates pursuing a career in conservation.

Over the last few years, we have had the pleasure of hosting interns from all over the world, including Kenya, the USA, the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Nepal, Brazil, and Germany.

The positions are highly competitive and we therefore encourage you to read the Frequently Asked Questions section below before applying to understand the process and available options. All applications should be sent to our Community Outreach Manager, Esther Serem, via [email protected], attaching a detailed CV and cover letter expressing your interest.

Frequently asked questions

All interns must be over 18 years of age, selection done based on fieldwork experience and relevant academic qualifications as listed on the CVs and cover letters. 

It is desirable for our interns to have graduated from a reputable university with a degree in zoology, biological sciences, environmental sciences, social science, or geography, with the intent of pursuing a career in these fields. Occasionally, we accept interns with specialty skills in beekeeping, conservation agriculture, and conservation education (relevant to African conditions).

Interns are expected to be physically fit and able to conduct fieldwork in hot and remote conditions, sometimes with long treks to some of our projects. We prioritize graduate students and only occasionally accept students nearing the end of their degrees if they have significant experience to offer.

We have up to 16 internship positions available in our Tsavo Coexistence & Research Centre annualy, and with application and selection done on a rolling basis.

We require interns to commit to at least 4 weeks, with 6-8 weeks being the ideal.

Interns support at least one project aligned to their experience, interests, and skills, but are also involved in other ongoing projects. Our projects in Tsavo are primarily focused on promoting human-elephant coexistence, and the interns therefore assist in the implementation and monitoring of various mitigation methods in the Human-Elephant Coexistence toolbox. These include beehive fences, beekeeping, conservation agriculture, conservation education and other community outreach projects. Additionally, we conduct elephant-focused research, such as monitoring the wildlife utilization of infrastructure like the standard gauge railway and other roads. 

After completing an internship with us, they provide us with their course details, the structure needed for their research project, and the topic area.

Please note that for formal MSc research projects, you will need to apply for a Research Permit with the Ministry of Environment (NACOSTI) and receive a letter of support from the Wildlife Research and Training Institute. This process can take 2-3 months and involves significant permit costs payable directly to both the ministry and WRTI.

We highly recommend that you first complete an internship with us to help develop your MSc project proposal, as it is highly unlikely that we would accept a proposal without first meeting you and observing your work in the field. We will not design a project for you, so visiting the field site is essential to develop a research proposal that will have a true impact.

Please note that the biggest constraint for an MSc student is the need to use our research and field work vehicles to collect data. This is not possible due to our other research and field work commitments. We recommend that MSc students fundraise to hire their own 4×4 for the duration of their fieldwork. This enables greater flexibility to conduct your research, and we can help you find a personal field assistant to assist with data collection.

We will only support MSc research proposals that are approved by our Scientific Advisory Board and that align with STE’s mission and research aims. Similar guidelines apply for PhD projects. If you wish to discuss a long-term research collaboration, please come and meet us at our Nairobi office.

International interns are required to cover the costs of their flights, medical insurance, country visas, transport to Voi, camp fees, and personal upkeep. For those who prefer to stay at our research center, we offer a subsidized full board accommodation for USD 30 (4,000 KES) per day. This covers food, drinking water, tented accommodation, laundry, security, desk space, internet access, and any equipment used to collect data. For those who prefer to have their accommodation outside our research center, a daily rate of USD 10 applies for their meals and other amenities.

Kenyan citizens do not have to raise funds for an internship, as a key part of our mission is to support and inspire Kenyans who are interested in pursuing a career in conservation. Save the Elephants, therefore, settles all the costs associated with internships for Kenyan citizens. 

A comprehensive list of recommended items to bring is shared with those who are accepted as part of the internship program.

Interns are required to write a report describing the activities undertaken during their internship. These reports should be submitted to their STE manager, along with any photos captured during this period, for our media library. MSc students are required to send a copy of their completed thesis with appropriate acknowledgements. 

In some cases, interns may end up helping our long-term researchers with data analysis or collection, and when we publish papers or reports based on this data, they may be listed as authors or acknowledged in these research papers. Several of our interns have returned for MSc or PhD fieldwork after a successful first internship. 

We remain grateful to all of those who go on to create awareness about our mission and work in their own countries upon their return.