During the IPY Oslo Science Conference, the two APECS initiators, Jenny Baeseman and Hugues Lantuit, showed how fun and work can be combined in an imaginative and energetic evening function. The APECS reception enabled early-career researchers to meet senior scientists in the relaxed atmosphere of a speed-dating event that was followed by a witty "news" presentation by Jenny and Hugues who took a step into the future of IPY 5.
This refreshingly humorous and, at the same time, thoughtful reflection of the contribution of early-career scientists and APECS to polar research set the scene for a delightful evening.
The APECS reception provided also the opportunity to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of the Arctic, the International Antarctic Institute and APECS, which represented a symbolic gesture towards the willingness of these three organisations to collaborate even more closely in the future.
Finally, the past and present APECS Executive Committee members and various Council members seized the chance to thank the APECS Director, Jenny Baeseman, in public for her incredible dedication, commitment and tireless efforts that helped APECS to grow into an internationally recognised early-career polar researchers' organisation.
