News

Diploma Student Bilal Mustafa elected as a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London

Bilal, a zoologist  from Pakistan, and currently a student in our Postgraduate Diploma in International Wildlife Conservation Practice, has been elected as a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London (FLS). It is a real honour for a young professional to join such an esteemed society, whose illustrious members include the likes of Carl Linnaeus, Alfred Russel Wallace, and Charles Darwin. As a fellow, Bilal will  have access to one of the world’s richest natural history libraries as well as the libraries of other Burlington House Learned Societies. He will also be entitled to use FLS as a suffix after his name.

A product of the 18th-century enlightenment, founded in 1788 the society is the oldest extant biological society in the world and is historically recognised as the venue for the first public presentation by Charles Darwin of the theory of evolution by natural selection on 1 July 1858

“Since the moment Bilal arrived at Oxford I have been enthused by his boundless enthusiasm and his knowledge of Pakistan’s natural history. He is particularly interested in the historical perspective of our relationship to wildlife and nature. His charm and ability to network and engage with other scholars will guarantee Bilal makes the most of his time at WildCRU.”
Professor Claudio Sillero, Director of the Diploma

You can find more about the society here https://www.linnean.org/the-society

Bilal can be found on social media @itswildbilal