APECS International Mentorship Award

APECS encourages ECRs around the world to nominate mentors who deserve this recognition. We ask APECS members, APECS National Committees, and Project Groups to nominate a person who has been an outstanding mentor to them or their (project) group or committee throughout their career. In 2026, a single award will be handed out.

• Who can nominate?

  To be considered, a candidate must be nominated by one or more current/former student(s), peer(s), and/or colleague(s), APECS member, committee (e.g., National Committee), or Project Group. Self-nominations will not be accepted. Members of the award committee are not eligible to nominate candidates.

• Who can be nominated?

  To be eligible for this award, the candidate must have contributed significantly over a period of several years to the mentoring and fostering of ECRs involved in research in the Polar or Alpine regions or the wider Cryosphere. This award may be awarded to mentors from a variety of sectors, including academia, industry, the public sector, etc. Eligibility is not limited to those directly connected to APECS.

• Nomination Procedure
  

  Nominations must be provided in English. It must be submitted via the online nomination form by Monday, 1 June 2026, at 23:59 GMT and must include a nomination letter and at least two support letters (each 3 pages maximum). Additionally, the nominee's CV can be added. Please note that the deadline won’t be extended.

  Please note: it is not required that the nomination letter address every question on this list, but the more information given, the easier it will be to assess the nominee's potential for an award.

  Nomination letter highlighting the nominee’s mentoring of ECRs, addressing categories such as:

  1. The range of mentees the mentor has supported.
     To the best of your knowledge, please provide details on the (approximate) number of students/mentees the nominee has had (i.e. undergraduate students, graduates, postdocs, engineers, technicians of laboratory and others), the career stages and paths of these mentees, as well as the types of polar and/or cryosphere-related research or work the students/mentees are involved in. You may also wish to provide information about the mentor’s community, including how welcoming it is to new members.
  2. The time commitment and availability of the mentor.
     Please describe the mentor's time commitment to mentoring (research discussion, motivation, career guidance, discussions, etc.) and their availability to mentees.
  3. Mentoring activities, guidance, and networking support.
     Please describe how the mentor has supported your professional development and involvement in the broader international research community. Include specific examples of their mentoring efforts, such as:
     • Activities and opportunities provided: Fieldwork, conferences, meetings, leadership roles, community engagement, or other initiatives.
     • Guidance and professional support: How the mentor has contributed to your career growth, skill development, or professional opportunities.
     • Networking and community building: Ways the mentor has encouraged connections with peers, integration into the polar/alpine research community, or other relevant networks.
     • For each point, please provide the duration of your collaboration and describe the particular benefits you and/or other Early Career Researchers have received. Specific examples and details are highly encouraged to illustrate the mentor’s impact.
  4. Describe the mentor’s involvement in APECS. 
     • If you know,  please list specific examples of the mentor's involvement in the APECS community, either as a member of APECS or as a mentor to other members and national committees. 
  5. Include any additional information that you consider important to share.
     • Please provide information about the mentor's activities that you consider important to the overall assessment that do not fall under any of the above categories. This may include participation in mentor panels, workshops, or webinars, as well as examples of what makes their mentoring approach original, innovative, or exceptional. Specific examples of actions taken by the mentor are encouraged if available.

• Review

  All submitted nominations will be reviewed by an Award Committee that possesses no connection with the nominees.

• Criteria

  The Award Committee will assess each mentor in each category between 0 and 3 points. The maximum total number of points is 21 (across 7 categories). Points are assigned to the following:

  1. Variety of mentees the mentor has supported
  2. Time commitment and availability
  3. Opportunities provided (e.g., field work, conferences, meetings, leadership opportunities, community interactions)
  4. Career guidance and support
  5. Helping ECRs with networking
  6. APECS involvement
  7. Additional information (e.g., mentor panels, workshops, webinars, originality of support/mentoring, etc.)

• Decision

  In order to fully recognize mentors' participation in early career research and APECS activities, one award will be handed out. The award winner will be publicly announced during the SCAR conference in August 2026 (where they will receive the award trophy in person if attending the conference) as well as on the APECS website and other APECS communication channels (mailing list and social media).