APECS News

In an extremely connected world like the one we live in today, mass communication has become the dominant drive in our society. Today's global digitalization makes possible the large-scale propagation of countless pieces of information and often, unfortunately, the propagation of false and non-fact-based news.

Within this framework, the scientific world is slowly realizing that in order to keep up with the new generation, it is essential to disseminate its scientific findings to a wider public. Today's scientists can no longer afford to remain within the four walls of their laboratory, with their nose in Excel tables or in the microscopes, but must learn to communicate.

Most young scientists, and fortunately many of their supervisors, have understood this. Today, most researchers spend countless hours on different social media platforms or personal websites (and/or blogs), disseminating the outputs of their studies and defending the importance of any small scientific progress in their own field.

In this context, polar research does not make a difference. The Arctic and Antarctic are ecosystems as remote from our society as they are important. Home to many species of organisms and important rare elements, the two poles are also the two regions most affected by dramatic environmental changes caused by climate change.

Since the Belgian expedition to Antarctica 150 years ago, Belgium has been at the center of international affairs concerning the South Pole. In recent years, like other countries in Europe, Belgium has also shifted its gaze towards the Arctic, where the compass of the technological future is now focused.

The 3rd China Polar Youth Forum Successfully Held in Beijing!
The 3rd China Polar Youth Forum, organized by APECS China and hosted by the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, was successfully held at the Second Floor Conference Hall of the Meteorological Science and Technology Building of the China Meteorological Administration from June 13th to 15th, 2023. More than 200 experts, scholars, and students from over 50 universities and research institutions across China participated in the event. Representatives from the Polar Research Office of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration also attended the forum.

The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and the Scientific Committee Antarctic Research (SCAR, https://www.scar.org/) are looking for an early career scientist (ECR) to join the SCAR Equality, Diversity, Inclusion Action Group (EDI-AG). While experience in EDI is not required for the position, applicants should have an interest in and enthusiasm for addressing EDI in SCAR and the wider community. The ECR participant will attend SCAR-EDI-AG meetings and will be responsible for assisting the group to achieve their goals. 

For specific questions on this position, please contact Inga Beck (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). The position will be for 2 years and is non-salaried.

We are now inviting all APECS members to join our activities as members of our Project Groups for the new APECS term starting 1 October! This is one of the easiest ways to get more involved in APECS and to contribute in a way that is best suited to your interests and skills. Hosting meetings, taking notes, research, writing, graphic design, social media posting, sending emails - these are just a few examples of the ways you can contribute to APECS project groups.

Each year APECS seeks to recognize and honor the efforts of its mentors within the international polar scientific community. The APECS Mentorship Award is designed to recognize the time and energy that mentors devote to Early Career Researchers (ECRs), and their efforts to build a community of support. APECS will award a mentor who works with the ECR polar scientific community (including Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine areas).

The United States Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (USAPECS) will be hosting a “Launching Your Online Science Persona” webinar on Thursday, July 20, 2023, from 10:00 am-11:00 am AK/2:00 pm-3:00 pm EST. This virtual panel focuses on strategies for getting you and your research out to the public through the use of social media, other online platforms (e.g., ranging broadly from ResearchGate to YouTube), and communication with traditional media sources. The event will include short discussions from early career polar researchers that actively communicate their work through these methods with a question-and-answer session following.

From 22-25 May 2023, Arctic PASSION held its second annual General Assembly in Baveno, Italy and APECS – a partner of this EU project – contributed. During the event, project partners had the opportunity to get to know each other personally, to exchange information about current progress and further steps of the project, and to create new crosscutting links. In the framework of Arctic PASSION, APECS is responsible for education and training activities, such as online seminars and dialogues, and one in-person event for early career professionals and Arctic youth in October 2023, called the Sharing Circle. 

The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS, http://www.soos.aq) are looking for an early career scientist to join the SOOS Southern Ocean Air-Sea Flux Capability Working Group (SOFLUX CWG, https://soos.aq/activities/cwg/soflux).

An in-person IASC/CliC workshop on Arctic-midlatitude climate linkages will be held at the University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK, on 11th -13th September 2023. The organising committee is seeking two Early Career Researchers to be sponsored by IASC to attend this event by providing travel expenses (economy travel and lodging).