Maxim Koshkin works in Kazakhstan for the national nature conservation NGO ACBK and is involved in its research, conservation and educational activities. The proposed 1-year Fellowship will help Maxim to attend the MSc in Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of East Anglia. After completion of 6 months of taught units, Maxim will conduct his own MSc research project on steppe conservation in Kazakhstan, linked to various current ACBK and Darwin projects. Maxim will also contribute to ACBK’s conservation education programme, which aims to fill the generation gap in nature conservationists in Kazakhstan by training promising university students.