APECS News

The end of January was an eventful yet rewarding time for the APECS International Directorate, with two back-to-back conferences: the Arctic Youth Conference (AYC) from 24-26 January, followed by Arctic Frontiers from 27-30 January.

Are you overwhelmed by the number of Arctic organizations and the relationships between them? Join us for Arctic Dimensions, a side event of Arctic Frontiers organized by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS). This event will explore frameworks of Arctic governance and research coordination and will provide an opportunity for early-career individuals to connect with each other and engage with individuals working in this arena. The event will include an interactive quiz and a panel discussion with speakers representing a few of the many dimensions of Arctic governance and research. The panelists will reflect on their career paths, their engagement with Arctic governance, and what inspires their work.

In coordination with the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), Antarctic Science Ltd. is running a webinar to help potential applicants of 2025 Antarctic Science International Bursary. This bursary runs every year and is for up to £6000 to support PhD or early career researchers to extend the scope of an existing research project. More details here: http://www.antarcticsciencebursary.org.uk/. A great opportunity to get top-up funding for that exciting idea of yours!

The International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (PA2F) in cooperation with APECS are excited to announce the recipients of the 2025 IASC Fellowship Program.

Ten successful early career researchers were identified for all available fellowships. APECS coordinated the application and review process; recommendations from APECS based on the peer review process were delivered for final selection to the IASC Working Group Chairs. The reviewers were impressed by the excellent quality of the applications.

At COP29, the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) hosted three sessions dedicated to addressing the urgent climate challenges faced by the planet’s polar regions. These events brought together a diverse group of early career researchers, Indigenous knowledge holders, senior scientists, and industry leaders to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and explore actionable solutions. The sessions highlighted the importance of integrating traditional knowledge with scientific research to develop inclusive strategies for climate resilience. Participants shared insights, stories, and strategies, emphasizing the need for cross-sector partnerships to tackle the multifaceted impacts of climate change on the Arctic and Antarctic.

The APECS International Directorate will host a workshop during the Arctic Frontiers conference 2025 that will also be open to ECRs that are not registered for the conference. Mark your calendars for Thursday, 30 January 2025, 13:30 - 15:00 to join us at the Fram Centre in Tromsø and stay tuned for more information on the workshop's program that will be shared in early January.

Do you want to share your polar fieldwork experience with fellow early career researchers? Are you currently preparing to conduct polar fieldwork for the first time? Apply now to join APECS in developing training material for users of polar research infrastructure!

As part of the POLARIN project, APECS is inviting early career researchers to contribute to the development of training material (e.g. guidebooks, knowledge articles or visual summaries) on the usage of polar research infrastructures. We envision participating individuals to dedicate 40-60 hours in total, distributed from February to August 2025. You will be working collaboratively in groups with other early career researchers, coordinated by the POLARIN work package team, to shape the scope of the resources and create training content that will be published and openly accessible through an online training platform, hosted by APECS. Your contribution as authors will be publicly acknowledged.