Ruben analyses conservation conflicts through a critical, sociological lens. He is a vocal advocate of transdisciplinarity and aims to bring ‘the local’ back into conservation research and practice. Originally from Germany, Ruben is a keen surfer who chose Scotland as much for its teaching and research excellence, as for its stunning coastlines and world-class waves. Ruben holds an MA in Politics and International Relations and an MRes in Social Research from the University of Aberdeen and he is currently working towards his PhD in Sociology within the Institute of Conflict, Transition and Peace Research (ICTPR) at Aberdeen. During his undergraduate, he interned and later consulted for a global anti-poaching project by the German Federal Enterprise for International Development (GIZ). This gave Ruben a deep understanding of the challenges encountered in combating poaching and the illegal wildlife trade across sub-Saharan Africa and instilled in him the desire to inform conservation management and decision-making through innovative, ethnographic research.