APECS News

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.

The Arctic Congress Bodø 2024 (May 29 - June 2, 2024) will be the combination of three events: the UArctic Congress, High North Dialogue and the 11th International Congress of Arctic Social Sciences (ICASS XI). The Arctic Congress Bodø 2024 Programme Committee creates the session call and puts together the conference programme (e.g. the academic plenaries and parallel sessions). We are currently looking for one APECS representative to be actively involved in this committee alongside our Executive Director, Sarah Strand.

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 Indian Sector Regional Working Group (SOIS RWG, http://www.soos.aq/activities/rwg/sois).

The APECS International Directorate has doubled in size this winter!