A course for both Bachelor and Master in Physical Geography at Marburg University
In order to assess how animals and plants react to environmental changes, spatially and temporally high-resolution information on their species composition, numbers of individuals and possible reactions and interactions is required. Efforts are therefore being made to increasingly replace traditional survey methods with automated monitoring and to collect information directly at the study sites using sensors. This course aims to provide an insight into this rapidly developing field and the various ecological, technical and data-related aspects involved. Its primary objective is to cultivate critical thinking skills and foster discussions among students.
Intended learning outcomes
At the end of this course you should be able to
- Know the most important components and sensor types
- Understand the requirements of a monitoring system
- Describe basic codes for controlling the sensor
- Describe the basic concepts of data acquisition, storage and analysis
- Evaluate the limitations of different methods
- Document the steps required to build a sensor box
- Independently acquire and apply new technical skills and tools
MSc students should also be able to plan, develop, and present a project to improve one aspect of a Proximate Sensor.
Setting
This course will take place in a synchronous setting in presence in room F 14 | 00A19 with the options of visiting real-world examples of proximate sensors around the city.
Preliminary Syllabus
The course encompasses 13 sessions from 15.04.2026 to 15.07.2026. Subject to changes.
| Session | Date | Aim | Content |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basics | |||
| 01 | 15.04.2026 | First things first | How the course works and a general introduction |
| 02 | 22.04.2026 | Conceptualization & principles | What aspects are important for auromated monitoring? |
| Basics | |||
| 03 | 29.04.2026 | Hardware basics | How does the hardware components interact? |
| 04 | 06.05.2026 | Software basics | How software manages everything |
| 05 | 13.05.2026 | AI basics I | The basic idea of AI in analysing biodiversity data |
| 06 | 20.05.2026 | AI basics II / Analysing | Analysing data generated by automated monitoring |
| DIY | |||
| 07 | 27.05.2026 | Project outlook + Gitlab | Develop your projects in groups |
| 08 | 03.06.2026 | Project week/BionicBlitz | |
| 09 | 10.06.2026 | Project group work | work on your project |
| 10 | 17.06.2026 | Project group work | work on your project |
| 11 | 24.06.2026 | Project group work | work on your project |
| 12 | 01.07.2026 | Seminar + Feedback GL | present your project |
| 13 | 08.07.2026 | Seminar + Feedback GL | present your project |
| 14 | 15.07.2026 | Wrap up | Time for questions and feedback, individual projects problems, goodbye |
Team
