ASSW 2013

Arctic Science Summit Week 2013 in Krakow, Poland, was a great success this year and many talented early career researchers used this conference to present their research projects. The three best posters by early career researchers attending the conference were awarded Poster Awards. The winners were announced in the closing ceremony of the conference. Congratulations on behalf of APECS to:

- Alexandra Bernardova (Centre for Polar Ecology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czeck Republic): What is hidden in reindeer's droppings? A botantical and parasitological study

- Monika Kędra (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, Solomons, Maryland, USA): Organic matter sources and sinks in high Arctic fjord

- Jennifer Ann McGetrick (School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Canada): Expert Assessment of Geographic Information Science (GIS) for Health Communication in Natural Resource Development of the Canadian Arctic

The Poster Awards were coordinated by APECS with the help of Yulia Zaika, Gerlis Fugmann, Maja Lisowska, Julia Schmale and Alexey Pavlov. A special thank you from all of us to the many poster judges for taking their time evaluating the posters! All award recipients received free registration for the Arctic Science Summit Week 2015 in Japan! Thank you to the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the organizing committees for the Arctic Science Summit Weeks in Poland 2013 and in Japan 2015 for making these awards possible.

The Workshop

Prior to the science symposium at the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) in Kraków, Poland, APECS held a one day career development and thematic workshop on 16 April.

28 early career researchers from more than 10 countries and a large variety of research disciplines used the opportunity to learn about new approaches in conducting science, how to communicate their science to stakeholders, and to discuss about the global relevance of the Arctic.

6 mentors, representing natural and social sciences, indigenous people and the science-policy interface, gave talks and led the breakout groups in the morning and afternoon. Some of the discussed topics were:

·         What skills do we need to be successful scientists?

·         Tips and tricks for science communication.

·         How can we better engage stakeholders and local communities in solution-oriented science through mutual learning?

·         New developments in Arctic research.

·         The Arctic’s relevance in the Earth System.

In addition, our executive director gave an introduction to APECS.

At the end of an intensive workshop day, a number ideas and recommendations were discussed. Main outcomes from this event are:

·         APECS will nominate a representative for the MOSAiC project.

·         The indigenous people secretariat encouraged APECS to jointly do a field school or similar event in a local Arctic community.

·         It was recommended that APECS reaches out further into the global research community and uses upcoming opportunities to highlight the importance of including early career researchers in science and governance processes as well as organizations.

·         APECS was encouraged to develop an internship program. First organizations assured their support during the workshop and following science symposium.

For details regarding the program, mentors and attendees please click here.

Further APECS activities during ASSW

I APECS members were engaged in a number of additional ways in this year's Arctic Science Summit Week.

• More than 10 APECS members attended the working group meetings of the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) prior to the conference
• 9 APECS members served as early career co-conveners in all sessions during the science symposium
• On 17 April, APECS invited early career researchers to learn about APECS activities
• 3 APECS members received poster awards during the closing ceremony.