Night at the Museum - Report from APECS Oceania's ECR networking event on 14 August at the SOOS Symposium 2023
Early-career and established Antarctic scientists joined forces and undertook an adventurous treasure hunt set in the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) as part of a networking event on the opening day of the SOOS Symposium. The museum generously opened its doors for an evening of mingling and teamwork among researchers from all kinds of disciplines and career stages; the last specimen of Tasmanian tigers, Southern Ocean seabirds, and the unique fauna and flora of Australia’s southernmost island were the backdrop of the event; each early-career participant was tasked with inviting a senior researcher to the event to encourage discussions at all levels of experience and introduce new perspectives to longstanding conversations. Issues raised during the first day of seminars and panels were at the forefront of the attendees’ minds, with conversations ranging from declining penguin populations to edge-cutting instrumentation and climate change.
TMAG’s Director, Mary Mulcahy, opened the networking event with a heartfelt message for action and collaboration among scientists, institutions, and the public. APECS’ sponsorship of the event contributed to a successful evening, which hopefully sparked new ideas and bridged some gaps among different generations of Antarctic scientists.
Text & photo by Ilaria Stollberg
