APECS News

The APECS International Directorate will be closed 13 July - 3 August due to summer holidays of its staff members. 

APECS members and partners should note that assistance with regular activities (e.g. Zoom bookings, website postings) will not be available during this time.

APECS wishes everyone a lovely summer (in the Northern Hemisphere)!

Photo by Anastasia Nelen on Unsplash

Do you want to contribute to APECS and be a part of our Council? Applications for Council Leadership and Project Group Leader positions are now open! 

The 2023-2024 Council term is from 1 October 2023 through 30 September 2024. APECS Council members value the international networks they develop through the Council, as well as the recognition and accomplishments they gain through their work. 

Are you interested? Find out more about the different APECS Council roles and how to apply on the Apply for Council webpage.

Here is your chance to get a temporary position on the APECS Council Leadership before the opening of next term's election! We are looking for two people to replace two Council Co-Chairs (CCCs) until the end of the term (30 September 2023). Note that this position requires a high degree of commitment (around 1 hour/week), so before applying you should ensure that you will have the time to fulfill the responsibilities of this role.

From 20-21 April, this term’s Executive Committee (ExCom) and Executive Director gathered for a two-day meeting at the University of Coimbra in Portugal, one of the oldest universities in Europe.

The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and the Southern Ocean Observing System (SOOS) are looking for an early career scientist to join the SOOS Observing System Design Capability Working Group (OSD CWG) as APECS representative.

On the 19th of April 2023, ahead of the Executive Committee in-person meeting, the APECS event “Portugal in Polar Science: Breaking the Ice” was organized at the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Coimbra, Portugal.

We are inviting all APECS members to join our activities as members of our Project Groups! 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.

APPLY for the APECS Executive Committee to help shape our organization and influence the future of polar research!

The elections for the 2023-2024 APECS Executive Committee will be held during May and June 2023 for the term from 1 October 2023 to 30 September 2024.

Application deadline: 24 May 2023 at 23:59 GMT

The Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) 2024 is inviting Early Career Co-Chairs (ECCs) to engage in the upcoming AOS that will be held from the 27^th - 29th March in Edinburgh, Scotland. 

The Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) is a biennial summit that aims to provide guidance based on the best available knowledge for the design, implementation, coordination and sustained long-term operation of an international network of Arctic observing systems. 

The role of an ECC at the AOS 2024 is to contribute to the planning of the summit, help record and distill the conversations happening in the working groups sessions at the summit, and contribute to the working group reports and final products. There will be one ECC per Working Group. The aim is for meaningful engagement in the work of the Working Groups, supporting the Working Groups in planning and drafting deliverables, and including a different perspective in setting the agenda. 

Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) is an important venue for Arctic research coordination and collaboration and is organized annually by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), one of APECS’ key partners. ASSW 2023 was held in Vienna, Austria from 17-24 February. APECS is typically active at ASSW, but this year was especially busy after online-only editions of the summit in 2020 and 2021, and a smaller, hybrid edition in 2022. The event gives APECS leadership the opportunity to engage with the wider polar and alpine community and collaborate in-person. In addition, APECS leadership members take the chance to have informal meetings with representatives from APECS National Committees (NCs) and partner organizations.