Wildlife Forensic Science Honours Program
by Riva Pocha and Alethea Vaz
The national and international illegal trade in wildlife has grown tremendously over the years. The need for educated, knowledgeable professionals and lay people working in the field is a critical resource in the protection and conservation of these endangered species. The Wildlife Forensic Science Honours Program aims to help bridge the knowledge gap in wildlife protection, conservation and crime investigation. During this introductory program, students will learn basic crime scene investigation protocols and specific analytical techniques for Wildlife Crime Investigation. This program will be conducted by trained forensic consultants and will involve interactive sessions with both lectures and practicals. The learning outcomes will be evaluated through the investigation of a ‘Mock Wildlife Crime Scene. Students will be expected to process the crime scene, evaluate the available evidence, analyse the items and reconstruct a case file of results obtained from the investigation. At the end of the program, students will be presented with a hypothetical, virtual case and will be expected to draft a forensic report compiling their scientific conclusions and recommend the relevant wildlife laws.
No. of Credits: 1
Online lecture course
Eligibility: Interdisciplinary – FY, SY, TY B.Sc/B.A/BMM/BMS
Course Fee: Rs. 1000/-
Number of classes per week are negotiable and can be discussed at the start of the course. The program will be conducted over 15 hours, on eight successive Saturdays in this and the next the semester from 3 pm – 5 pm.
Tentative starting period: January 2021
Principle Skills in Wildlife Filmmaking
by Harshit Singh (Alumnus of the department, MA in Wildlife Documentary Production)
“Principle Skills in Wildlife Filmmaking” – An interdisciplinary course to understand practices involved in wildlife film production and how it involves combining the ends of science and media to create films that are successful and hold meaning to both the entertainment industry and the relevant causes of wildlife and scientific learning. The course would involve a combination of lectures and practical sessions that lead up to students creating, based on choice, a 30-second long wildlife action sequence on a macro or botanical life forms, and a script for both the 30 seconds story sequence and a 3-minute short film, to be graded upon.
The course will be taught online through a discussion with students on the platform of their choice between – Discord, Google Meet & Microsoft Teams and the assignments and resources will all likewise be shared online via Google Classroom. Grading and assessment for students will be done on the basis of two assignments – one with practical engagement and one on the basis of scriptwriting and analytical skills.
No. of Credits: 1
Online lecture course
Access to one’s own cameras would be ideal, if not, then for completion of designed assignments at home – the access to a Phone with Camera capabilities is essential.
Eligibility: Interdisciplinary – FY, SY, TY students of Biological Science and BMS
(Minimum 5 and Maximum of 15 students)
Course Fee: Rs. 1000/-
The scheduling of the course would best be plotted out with the students.
Tentative starting period: January 2021
Digital Marketing & Branding
by Yamina Sayed (Alumnus of the department, now an Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of Digital Future Solutions a Digital Marketing Company, in the field for last 5 years, honoured as Top 100 youth Digital Marketing Professional present by Zoom, Most Influential Global Marketing Leader)
No. of Credits: 2
Online lecture course
Eligibility: Interdisciplinary – FY, SY, TY B.Sc/I.T./B.A/BMM/BMS
Course Fee: Rs. 1000/-
Preferable days in the week – Tuesdays and Thursdays
Tentative starting period: January 2021
A course on Bioacoustics will be announced soon.
Department Co-ordinator: Sujata Deshpande sujata.deshpande@xaviers.edu
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St. Xavier's College (Autonomous), Mumbai 
Wildlife Forensic Science Honours Program
by Riva Pocha and Alethea Vaz
The national and international illegal trade in wildlife has grown tremendously over the years. The need for educated, knowledgeable professionals and lay people working in the field is a critical resource in the protection and conservation of these endangered species. The Wildlife Forensic Science Honours Program aims to help bridge the knowledge gap in wildlife protection, conservation and crime investigation. During this introductory program, students will learn basic crime scene investigation protocols and specific analytical techniques for Wildlife Crime Investigation. This program will be conducted by trained forensic consultants and will involve interactive sessions with both lectures and practicals. The learning outcomes will be evaluated through the investigation of a ‘Mock Wildlife Crime Scene. Students will be expected to process the crime scene, evaluate the available evidence, analyse the items and reconstruct a case file of results obtained from the investigation. At the end of the program, students will be presented with a hypothetical, virtual case and will be expected to draft a forensic report compiling their scientific conclusions and recommend the relevant wildlife laws.
No. of Credits: 1
Online lecture course
Eligibility: Interdisciplinary – FY, SY, TY B.Sc/B.A/BMM/BMS
Course Fee: Rs. 1000/-
Number of classes per week are negotiable and can be discussed at the start of the course. The program will be conducted over 15 hours, on eight successive Saturdays in this and the next the semester from 3 pm – 5 pm.
Tentative starting period: January 2021
Principle Skills in Wildlife Filmmaking
by Harshit Singh (Alumnus of the department, MA in Wildlife Documentary Production)
“Principle Skills in Wildlife Filmmaking” – An interdisciplinary course to understand practices involved in wildlife film production and how it involves combining the ends of science and media to create films that are successful and hold meaning to both the entertainment industry and the relevant causes of wildlife and scientific learning. The course would involve a combination of lectures and practical sessions that lead up to students creating, based on choice, a 30-second long wildlife action sequence on a macro or botanical life forms, and a script for both the 30 seconds story sequence and a 3-minute short film, to be graded upon.
The course will be taught online through a discussion with students on the platform of their choice between – Discord, Google Meet & Microsoft Teams and the assignments and resources will all likewise be shared online via Google Classroom. Grading and assessment for students will be done on the basis of two assignments – one with practical engagement and one on the basis of scriptwriting and analytical skills.
No. of Credits: 1
Online lecture course
Access to one’s own cameras would be ideal, if not, then for completion of designed assignments at home – the access to a Phone with Camera capabilities is essential.
Eligibility: Interdisciplinary – FY, SY, TY students of Biological Science and BMS
(Minimum 5 and Maximum of 15 students)
Course Fee: Rs. 1000/-
The scheduling of the course would best be plotted out with the students.
Tentative starting period: January 2021
Digital Marketing & Branding
by Yamina Sayed (Alumnus of the department, now an Entrepreneur, Founder & CEO of Digital Future Solutions a Digital Marketing Company, in the field for last 5 years, honoured as Top 100 youth Digital Marketing Professional present by Zoom, Most Influential Global Marketing Leader)
No. of Credits: 2
Online lecture course
Eligibility: Interdisciplinary – FY, SY, TY B.Sc/I.T./B.A/BMM/BMS
Course Fee: Rs. 1000/-
Preferable days in the week – Tuesdays and Thursdays
Tentative starting period: January 2021
A course on Bioacoustics will be announced soon.
Department Co-ordinator: Sujata Deshpande sujata.deshpande@xaviers.edu
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