Still have a few questions about the research assistant or dissertation expeditions?
We’ve put together this list of frequently asked questions ranging from signing up and what the expeditions entail, to fundraising and travel information!
Click any of the bullet points here to jump to a specific section of the page.
Yes absolutely! The only criteria we have for joining an Opwall expedition is an enthusiasm for wildlife and getting involved in conservation. To book onto an RA expedition, usually you do need to be 18 or over, but if you are 17 please do get in contact with us and we can talk about the projects you would be able to join with parental consent.
Our expeditions are made to be suitable for individuals at university level, however there is no minimum prior knowledge requirement. Our ecology courses are written to give volunteers a background to biodiversity and ecology, as well as location specific content. For all of our surveys you will also be trained by a team of survey leaders, so you don’t have to worry about having any prior qualifications.
We accept volunteers from all around the globe to our expeditions. Over the years, we have had volunteers join us from over 60 different countries. At all of our sites and materials are based in English, so a level of English is needed.
Our expedition dates for research assistants and dissertations go live in the September before the expedition summer. So currently you are able to book on for your chosen location and dates for 2024! Just head to our homepage, select locations at the top and your chosen project and see the options available and the reserve your place buttons.
If you are looking to book for 2025, you can pay your deposit to join our early access list to receive first look at the countries and dates available for 2025 before they are released in September.
For all of our locations except the UK, the bookings close on the 31st of March, however we only have a limited capacity per expedition, so once this option is full it will be closed. We recommend getting your expedition booked as soon as you are able, so you can spread out the payment amounts, and get your flights booked early enough to save on cost! The sooner you book your expedition, the sooner you can start fundraising and applying for grants too, and with a lot of grants having deadlines for their applicants you want to make sure you can apply for as many as possible.
For UK field courses, the closing date for each start date is 2 weeks prior, however it’s worth bearing in mind that if you book onto a UK field course closer than 2 months before the expedition, you will need to pay the full amount towards the field course.
This really varies between the countries and the expedition options, the best way to check the capacity for your preferred option is to give us a call and we can let you know how many people have already booked onto this option.
No, there’s no selection process, once you’ve submitted your booking form and deposit you’re part of the expedition!
The dates vary per country, but all fall between June-August. You can see the dates we have available for each of our sites here.
You can join our expeditions at any stage of your university life. Our combined RA expeditions are a great way to get a taster of both marine and terrestrial and a wide range of surveys to see what you enjoy (or don’t). If you know where your interest lie, then choosing a marine only or terrestrial only expedition is a great opportunity to further develop your data collection skills within that particular field. If you are in second year and thinking about your final year thesis, then our dissertation expeditions are perfect for getting a head start on your data collection the summer before your final year, and take advantage of the extra support our Opwall research team can offer!
All of our expeditions are set up with clear research goals in mind which then help to shape our conservation objectives and identify the needs for the area. We work with local communities and organisation’s to implement best practice projects and identify and potential alternative income sources. We ensure the volunteers who join us are contributing positively to data collection to help conserve the biodiversity hotspots we work in, as well as support the local communities. The surveys we carry out are designed to be as non-invasive as they can be, so that we can collect long-term temporal data without impacting the environment, whilst producing peer-reviewed papers highlighting the importance of these ecosystems, and support the protection of these unique areas.
Yes absolutely! At all of our sites we carry out habitat surveys, where we can then study the physical features of the environment and habitat, and use this to look at the relationship between the environment and the species which reside there, as well as human impacts. The data we collect enables us to look at spatial data across different habitats, sites and even across countries, and we ensure that our data collection is relevant for geography students as well as biology.
If you have a particular allergy or dietary requirement you are worried about, we would always recommend chatting to a member of our team to ensure that you find an expedition location which would be able to cater for this well. Although we try our best to accommodate all students, there are some sites where this is easier, or harder. Once you have booked onto an expedition, you will need to fill in your student portal with the information on any allergies, intolerances or dietary requirements, and if this is something our on site team will need extra information on, they will contact you prior to the expedition.
As we’re not trained medical professionals, it is vital that every participant visits their doctor or travel clinic at least 2 months prior to departure in order to get the latest advice on vaccinations and medications for the region. Some people are not able to have certain injections, so we cannot give blanket advice over which vaccinations you need. It is also worth checking the Travel Health Pro website or the Centres for Disease Control for up to date advice. This advice is based primarily on UK government guidance, and if local advice is preferred this should be sought separately.
Your schedules whilst on site with us are pretty packed, as we want to make sure you get the most out of your time on site with us, but there will be time for downtime when you are at both of our sites! Usually your day will consist of 2 practical’s/surveys, 1 lecture and 1 evening activity.
Absolutely! Whilst we are affiliated with PADI or SSI at our marine sites, dive qualifications from other recognized dive agencies are accepted (i.e. BSAC, RAID, CMAS, NAUI etc.). These need to be at least equivalent to PADI Open Water Diver or above.
As long as you have a full Open Water qualification, you do not need to retake the course. On-site your first dive will be a refresher dive! Your Instructor/DM will go through some of the basic theory again, be on hand to remind you how to assemble and dis-assemble your gear and run through some skills at the start of your dive. Once you’ve completed the refresher skills, the rest of the dive will be spent practicing buoyancy and getting comfortable being in the water again! If you are feeling nervous about diving again after a long time out of the water, please chat to the staff on-site and they will help to ease any worries or concerns.
As soon as you book your place on an expedition, you should log on to your Opwall portal and complete the medical questionnaire. After completing this you will either be a) medically cleared to dive b) required to see a doctor or c) required to see a dive medic. Getting a medical check is on a case-by-case basis as it is determined by the answers you give on your medical history & conditions. If you have any questions, feel free to email diving@opwall.com.
After you have completed your medical questionnaire on the portal (and gotten any medical checks required to be cleared to dive), you can sit back and wait until you receive an email from us with instructions on how to register an account with PADI (or SSI if you are heading to Madagascar). This should be a couple of weeks before your expedition start date. Once you have made an account with PADI/SSI, you will need to add a photo to your profile and download your eLearning materials on a device that you will bring with you on expedition. Detailed instructions will be on the email we send. You will learn all the theory on expedition with our dive instructors, however having the learning materials downloaded on your device is a must as most of our sites do not have reliable WiFi.
False. Although diving is often labelled as an ‘extreme sport’, you will soon learn that the best divers are calm and relaxed in the water, and swim slowly. You don’t need to be the next Adam Peaty or Rebecca Adlington, you just need to pass two basic swim tests and demonstrate that you can:
Float or tread water for 10 minutes without the use of any flotation aids.
Swim 200 metres (or 300 metres with mask, fins, and snorkel) without stopping. There is no time limit, and you may use any swimming strokes you wish.
Don’t worry, you are definitely not expected to buy all of your own equipment! You will be able to hire equipment onsite (with the exception of a wetsuit/rash vest) or alternatively you can bring your own kit. If you wish to buy equipment beforehand, such as a mask and snorkel, check out our dive gear blog for some helpful tips. Remember to read your kit lists very closely as the requirements for each of our marine sites differs slightly.
Unfortunately, you cannot complete both of these courses simultaneously, there just aren’t enough hours in the day or days in the week!! Both of these courses are brilliant and fun and exciting, but they are also time consuming and tiring, you physically and logistically can’t do them both at the same time. Your Open Water Course will take the full-week and you will have the chance to complete a fun dive at the end of your week to mark your achievement! If you want to learn to dive and participate in some marine surveys whilst on-site, you will need to be at the marine site for a minimum of two weeks.
At all of our marine sites there is the option to go snorkelling whilst on expedition. You can participate in one of our Reef Ecology Courses and complete all of the in-water practicals snorkelling!
Individuals do need to book their international flights separately, however we do have a travel company which we work with who would be able to help you. ISON travel are able to provide you with a quote for flights that get you to the designated airport by the dates needed for your expedition if you would like them to, however you are also welcome to book your flights independently of them.
Once you have booked your flights and uploaded these onto your portal, we will send you out a quotation for your internal travel which is how you get from the airport to the research site. We will organise this journey for you, however it is something that is paid for at a later date than the expedition fees as it can vary depending on your site/country and flight information.
Our expedition dates and options are released in the September before the summer, but we can accept a general booking for 2025 expeditions to give people an opportunity to start fundraising and begin preparing earlier and receive early access to our dates and locations available. In September you will receive our brochure and early access booking form, to give you first choice of what we have available! – this is a great way of ensuring that you get your first choice of what you want to do, whilst also being able to kick start your fundraising as you will have a place confirmed!
Of course! You are not limited to one expedition, and we do often have volunteers who will come away with us as a research assistant, and then for their dissertation the following year. For all volunteers who join us in the field, we do also offer promotional roles the autumn after they join us in the field to help spread the word of Opwall to others, and in return they receive free Opwall merchandise and earn a huge discount off a future expedition!
All of our dissertation expeditions are at least 6 weeks to ensure you are able to collect enough data for your thesis. Prior to the expedition you will have meetings with your Opwall supervisor to determine your question, and put together a proposal before you head out to the field! During your first week on site you will go through all the training required to complete your data collection, whether that’s jungle skills in our terrestrial site or your open water diving course at a marine site. You will then work with your onsite survey leader to carry out your data collection over the following 5 weeks. You will have a series of check in’s to make sure everything is going well and to ensure you have everything you need to write up a great thesis when you get home!
Yes, a number of our projects are suitable for masters level, however we would recommend talking to our research team to decide which is the best for you and for that level! The key difference with masters dissertations is that your thesis hand in is much sooner after your expedition than an undergraduate dissertation, so we work with you to make sure that you have everything you need as soon as you are back from expedition and support you with the write up before it’s due in.
Yes, you can find the expedition fees for out expeditions here
All of our expedition fees are based on the number of weeks you are joining, and are a standard across all countries, however it is worth noting that the internal travel costs, and international flights will vary so please bare this in mind when choosing your expedition! To see any additional costs please navigate to the expedition page of your choice, and look at the ‘Costs to Consider’ tab.
Your expedition fees cover your food and accommodation on site, any training you have on site including our ecology courses and any dive training. The fees also go towards paying science equipment for the surveys you are carrying out, such as mist nets, or transect tape. You can find out more information about the break down of volunteer income here.
You can either opt for a monthly or instalments based payment schedule which will be sent in your confirmation email. Monthly instalments are of an equal size, commencing on the 20th of the month after your booking, with the final payment due on 20th May. For instalments, 10% of the expedition fee due 150 days prior to your start date, 20% of the expedition fee due 110 days prior to your start date, and then the remaining balance due 8 weeks before your start date. If you are booking within 8 weeks of your intended departure date, then we require full payment.
If you decide to cancel more than 185 days before the expedition, then you will be able to receive a full refund minus our £75 admin fee. If you decide to cancel closer then this there will be a cancellation fee which can be found in section 4.4 of our terms and conditions here.
You do however, also have the options to transfer to a different country with cheaper travel options, reduce the time you are joining us on expedition or transfer your expedition to the following year.
Yes, you can transfer your booking to the following year up until the 1st of April. If you decide to transfer after the 1st of January, you just need to ensure you have paid 20% of your expedition free to secure your transfer (all of which will still go towards your expedition).
Yes, you also have up until the 1st of April to make any changes to the length of your expedition or location. You can increase or decrease your expedition length capacity allowing, and just need to contact our team to confirm the change.
Yes absolutely. Some grants, councils or companies may even want to donate to this part of your expedition specifically in the form of a travel bursary.
Depending on the application process at your university, there is a chance that the Turing Scheme could cover a large part of your expedition, even all of the costs. You should speak with your university’s careers service or global opportunities department for more information on what you may be eligible for and how to apply.
We categorise fundraising in to 4 main sections: grants and sponsorship, fundraising activities, Easyfundraising and working for it. We are able to offer advice on all of these aspects of fundraising, and also show you case studies from past volunteers.
Once you have reserved your place on an expedition by paying the deposit you will be sent an email containing your virtual fundraising pack that contains all of the information you will need to get started with your fundraising journey! We will also invite you along to one of our fundraising advice sessions where you will have the opportunity to speak to a member of our fundraising team.
Operation Wallacea is not a charity, and is a limited company, however the reason for this is due to the model in which we organise our expeditions. As we work in a range of countries in often quite isolated rural areas, we have contracts with organisations and communities within these countries, who organise the logistic on the ground, including things like food, vehicle transfers, accommodation and infrastructure. As you can imagine, in some of these rural areas, the Opwall expeditions are a very busy period for them, so will require a large amount of pre planning and organisation from them, which means we are sending these in country partners payments prior to the season.
As charities have a lot more regulations and restrictions when it comes to income and outgoings, for us to provide the financial support to the organisations and communities we work with, we operate as a limited company. However we do have a sister charity The Wallacea Trust who lead and manage the analysis of the large scale biodiversity data we collect, work with academics to publish the findings from this research and develop conservation strategies for the areas we work in.
Although Operation Wallacea are a company, apart from paying our overheads such as UK staff salaries, any small amount of profit goes back into the projects and the communities that we work with.
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