APECS News

The 2025 edition of the "Antarctic Education Workshops" was executed by the Outreach Unit of the Faculty of Sciences. This initiative featured the participation of members from APECS Uruguay and students from the University of the Republic. These workshops aim to build a bridge between high-level scientific research and the school community, reaffirming Uruguay's commitment as a consultative member of the Antarctic Treaty.

APECS had a strong presence at this year's Arctic Frontiers conference, held 2-6 February in Tromsø, Norway. APECS was visible through its partnership with the Arctic Frontiers Student Forum, speaking engagements of APECS members (related to their own areas of expertise), and sessions where APECS Executive Director Sarah Strand represented the organization. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN body for assessing climate science, produces comprehensive assessment reports that guide global climate policy. Early-career researchers can contribute to this process through expert reviews of draft chapters. Apply here by Monday, 23 March 2026 (23:59 UTC-12) to participate in the early-career group review of the First Order Draft (FOD) of the Working Group I (WGI) contribution to the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report (AR7), The Physical Science Basis. 

After nearly a year of collecting stories from across the polar community, Tales from the Poles has just been released, a collaborative ebook bringing together voices from both the Arctic and Antarctic.

This project is the result of a partnership between UK Polar Network (UKPN) and APECS Netherlands, who worked together to compile diverse perspectives, experiences, and reflections from researchers and community members connected to the polar regions.

The 6th China Polar Youth Forum was successfully convened by APECS-China from January 28 to 30, 2026, at Sun Yat-sen University’s Zhuhai Campus. Under the theme “Gathering Youth Wisdom, Shaping the Polar Future,” the event gathered over 300 early-career scientists and graduated students from more than 100 universities and research institutions across China, creating a dynamic platform for exchange, collaboration, and inspiration in the field of polar science.

The 6th China Polar Youth Forum

APECS is seeking an additional Council Chair and a Social Media Coordinator to join the Council leadership team from March to the end of the term (September 2026). 

On the 15th of November, the XVI APECS Portugal Workshop was held at Centro Universitário de Lisboa, Lusófona University, under the theme "Mission Polar: What’s Hot in Polar Science". This workshop was held in conjunction with the Portuguese Polar Conference, which was on the 14th of November.

Picture by Lucas Bastos

Ikaarvik receives 2025 APECS Canada-ASA Mentor Award!

In recognition of their significant contributions to connecting local Indigenous communities and southern early career researchers, Ikaarvik has been awarded the 2025 APECS Canada-ASA Mentor Award at the 2025 ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting.

Picture by Shelly Elverum

We are deeply grateful to the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) for hosting the APECS International Directorate and subsequently an APECS Project Office over nine years, and for AWI's invaluable support shaping global activities with, by and for early career researchers (ECRs). 

The final EU project in which the APECS Project Office at AWI/in Potsdam was involved was Arctic PASSION (July 2021-December 2025). Among the project's highlights were the APECS & Arctic PASSION Sharing Circle event for early career professionals and Arctic youth, the coordination of ECR engagement within the project, and various activities for external ECRs, such as the Online Seminar & Dialogue Series. 

The APECS International Directorate will be closed 15 December 2025 through 11 January 2026 due to winter holidays of its staff members.