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Individual Council Members
First-time applicants who want to join the 2019-2020 Council as an “individual Council member”, please fill out this application form.
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National Committee / Partner Representatives
If you are nominated by an APECS National Committee or partner organization to represent them on the APECS Council, please fill out this nomination form.
The chair of your National Committee / partner organisation also has to send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to confirm that you will be their representative and that they will ensure that there is regular communication with their NC / organisational rep throughout the term.
In order to have an efficient and size-manageable APECS Council, please note the following restrictions:
- National Committees can nominate maximum 2 representatives
- Partner Organizations can nominate only 1 representative
If more members of your National Committee would like to be involved in the APECS Council, please recommend that they apply as individual Council members.
Apply for Council
Do you want to get active in APECS and be part of the APECS leadership?
Applications for the APECS Council 2019 - 2020 term - running from 1 October 2019 through to 30 September 2020 - are being accepted now!
The APECS Council has two categories of members:
- Individual Council members (any APECS member who wants to serve on the APECS Council as an individual)
- Representatives from APECS National Committees and organizational members of APECS (e.g. partner organizations)
More information on the current and past APECS Councils, can be found on our main Council page. A more detailed description of the Council member categories and their tasks, rights and responsibilities can be found in the Council Charter. To find out more about what our Council members are working on, see our list of current Council project groups as well as notes from the Council meetings.
No prior experience with APECS is necessary to join the Council and we encourage all APECS members to consider applying!
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Why should you get active in APECS?
Being involved in the APECS Council provides you with opportunities to engage internationally and across disciplines with other early career researchers and professionals who are interested in the Polar and Alpine regions and the wider Cryosphere. Within our projects, you can develop valuable skills in project management, leadership and communication skills in a friendly and supportive environment that will help you in your future careers no matter if they will be in academia or non-academic professions. APECS Council members value the international networks they develop through the Council, as well as the recognition and accomplishments through their work. -
APECS Council Leadership Roles
There are several opportunities to take on leadership roles in our Council. No previous experience is required, and anyone with the enthusiasm and ideas to continue to improve the APECS systems is encouraged to apply. We will mentor and train you with all the information and skills you need to fulfill your role in Council leadership. The roles and a short description about them are:
Council Chairs: Council Chair is a shared role between 3 Co-Chairs. You will act as a communication point between the Council and the ExCom and help to encourage new ideas and initiatives. This is a great way to get to know and interact with all the APECS Council members. This role also provides an excellent opportunity to contribute to the day-to-day running of APECS. You will work with your Co-Chairs to organise and chair council meetings (across GMT+ and GMT- time zones) and a Project Group Leader meeting every 2 months. You will also run reporting twice per year for Individual Council Members, including updating the reporting form, summarising reports and answering/disseminating feedback as appropriate. You will develop a range of transferable skills including chairing meetings, summarising minutes and reports, and communication skills.
National Committee Coordinators: Three National Committee (NC) Coordinators serve as the point of contact for NC representatives and supervise their role on the Council. APECS is a large and growing network, and a key task for the NC Coordinators is to act as a communication point between the NCs and APECS Leadership, to keep track of activities and events, and to maintain this network. The NC Coordinators will arrange individual calls with each NC at least once a year, as well as an overall NC calls twice a year. During overall NC calls, the representatives of all NCs can exchange project ideas and discuss relevant topics. You will oversee the drafting and renewal of partnership agreements between NCs and APECS international and will help new NCs to establish themselves. This role provides an excellent opportunity to network and become involved in the wider APECS community, in addition to developing organisational and communication skills.
Social Media Coordinators: APECS is very active in different Social Media (SM) platforms to communicate news and to interact with the international polar community promoting early career researcher opportunities and activities. The SM coordinator’s role is shared between 2 - 3 people who update regularly the APECS SM platforms and work closely with the APECS Secretariat and the APECS leadership to keep our members informed. This role requires engaged, organized and trustworthy people since you will have access to APECS SM accounts and some posting of news will be at your discretion. Also, your input into creative ways to engage our public, or in the use of other novel or alternative communication platforms will be highly appreciated. You will gain a deeper understanding of the daily management of APECS and of the multiple activities that this Association engages in with partner agencies. Candidates applying to this role should be familiar with the use of popular SM.
Project Group Leaders: Council members are involved in a wide variety of projects over the Council Term. Taking on the role of Project Group Leader is an excellent opportunity to learn project management skills such as organising and chairing project group meetings, developing and managing the project timeline, and coordination with members across various time zones. Note that as the project group leader, your responsibility is to manage the project, not deliver it single-handedly, and you need not have particular experience in the subject matter of a given project group to take on its lead. No previous experience in leading a project group is needed as you will be supported in this role with comprehensive guidance documents, an ExCom contact who will support you throughout the project, and regular Project Group Leader calls throughout the Council term.
All Council Chairs, NC Coordinators, Social Media Coordinators are also added to the mailing list of the Executive Committee (ExCom), are invited to ExCom meetings, and to contribute to ExCom discussions. Please indicate in your Council application if you are interested in taking on one of these roles.
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APECS Council Information Sessions
We will be organizing three information sessions about being involved in the APECS Council during July. The dates are:
- 5 July at 10:00 GMT - Registration link
- 10 July at 05:00 GMT - Registration link
- 23 July at 17:00 GMT - Registration link
You can register for the sessions via the links above. Any applicants who want to know more about what getting involved in the APECS Council means and have questions about them, are encouraged to attend one of those sessions.
If you have any questions or you want any general information about the APECS Council, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
We really appreciate all our APECS volunteers and their commitments to paving the way for the future of polar research!
© Fiona Tummon, Francisco Fernandoy, ECMWF, Cynthia Sassenroth
