Alex Skofteland is undertaking an MSc in Biodiversity, Conservation and Nature Recovery (School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford) and is completing her research project with Dr Lauren Harrington at WildCRU. Her project is focused on wildlife tourism in Svalbard, looking at what role wildlife plays in the tourism industry during a time of global change. During the project, she is conducting interviews with stakeholders in the tourism industry and providing tourists with questionnaires to examine if wildlife is a key component within the industry.

Beyond her research around wildlife tourism, she remains interested in polar conservation more generally – including human-wildlife interactions, protected area management and the impact of climate change on biodiversity. With a bachelor’s degree in palaeontology from the University of Portsmouth, Alex likes to use her knowledge of deep time to offer new perspectives on contemporary environmental challenges.