Council Project Groups

1. Full-Year Project Groups

• APECS-IPCC Project Group

  Project Summary: A second order draft (SOD) of the special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate (SROCC) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srocc/) has been sent to experts for review (from November 16th - 2018 to January 11th - 2019). In the following months, IPCC Working Group 1 (WG1) will submit the first order draft (FOD) of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6).

  In both these reports, there are chapters relating to Polar Regions that justify the coordination of an APECS Group review.

  Following the call for applications, 102 Early Career Researchers (ECR) were selected by the 20 APECS group members to review the SOD. The six chapters and the integrative Cross-Chapter Box on Low Lying Islands and Coasts of the SROCC report will be reviewed in two steps. The first part of the review process, taking into account comments made individually by each ECR, will take place from November 16 to December 2. The second part of the review process, taking into account global group comments for each chapter, will take place between December 2 and January 7. The final file generated through the APECS Group review will be submitted to the IPCC on January 11, 2019.

  For the second period of the term, we will review some specific chapters (e.g. Chap 9 : Polar Regions) of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) (The Decision will be made with the IPCC staff as well as APECS-IPCC Group members depending on the manpower available). The procedure will be the same as the FOD and SOD deployed during the SROCC review, with the difference that it will require more participants to split the amount of review work ahead for this report (~3500 pages for the entire report). The review period will take place from April 29 to June 7 2019, with a submission to the IPCC of the APECS Group comments on June 23.

  The purpose of the APECS expert review group is to provide a comprehensive review of the SROCC and the FOD of the W.G.1 AR6 reports using the variety of knowledge that APECS members and early career polar researchers can provide. APECS will then be included in the reviewer list which is published along with the report. Participating in this project group will be a great opportunity to get involved in a large, polar-region related, initiative.

  Goals of the Project: Engage Early Career Scientists in the IPCC activities; Improve the quality and the diversity of the contents in IPCC reports; Train Early Career Scientists to tackle future challenges for their career paths; and Involve APECS in large international reports of the Scientific Community.

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? Engage Early Career Scientists in the IPCC activities; Improve the quality and the diversity of the contents in IPCC reports; Train Early Career Scientists to tackle future challenges for their career paths; and Involve APECS in large international reports of the Scientific Community.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables: Elaboration of a guide for reviewers (for SOD-SROCC and later for FOD-AR6); Sharing Workshop training (Videos available soon); Survey on participants about their experience; Presentation of the Survey results + experience on Conference, and maybe article publication following work conducted in the previous Council term 2017-2018.

  Project Group Members: Gwenaëlle Gremion (Chair); Kelsey Aho; Elisa Seyboth; Kyle Mayers; Prashant Pandit; Shridhar Jawak; Alfonso Fernández; Nicolas Champollion; Ankit Pramaik; Mathieu Casado; Maud Vansoest; Rahul Dey; Jhon Fredy Mojica; Sarah Shakil; Florian Vidal; Rupa Rupa; Sarah Maes; Martine Lizotte; Adrian Dahood; Emily Choy; Paul Rosenbaum; Jilda Caccavo (ExCom Contact); Juan Höfer (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• Non-Academic Careers Information

  Project Summary: It can be difficult to make the switch from academics to a non-academic career: What are the options? Where to find or how to get opportunities? What other things should you consider with regards to for example your CV? Non-Academics Careers Information (NACI) is a platform on which people who consider a career outside academics are able to find information. It includes profiles of (former) researchers who chose a non-academic path, webinars about people's experiences and recommended reading. We also hope to include Non-Academic Careers on the job board and fellowship pages of the APECS website this year, as well as creating a blogspace.

  Goals of the Project: Continue to create a platform on which people considering a career outside academics are able to find information and examples. Besides following up on the work of previous years (profiles/webinars), we’d also like to include Non-Academic Careers on the job board and fellowship pages of the APECS website, as well as creating a blogspace.

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? It can be difficult to make the switch from academics to a non-academic career: What are the options? Where to find or how to get opportunities? What other things should you consider with regards to for example your CV? We hope that with providing more information and examples from and for people from in- and outside APECS, it will be easier to make this step.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables: The biggest thing this term will be to include non-academic jobs and fellowships (graduate/funding/fieldwork) on the job board and fellowship pages on the APECS website

  Project Group Members: Keechy Akkerman (Chair); Keechy Akkerman, Paul Rosenbaum, Andrea Herbert, Ricardo Matias, Hugo Guimaro, Mia Bennett, Jose Seco, Amy Kirkham; Jilda Caccavo (ExCom Contact); Clare Eayrs (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• APECS Online Resources

  Project Summary: The ultimate goal of the group is to evaluate the existing resources available on the APECS website and to make recommendations for revamping the website content and structure. This will yield a more streamlined website that is up-to-date, easy to use and a continued resource to APECS members and anyone else who shows interest.

  Goals of the Project: Evaluate each menu and sub-menu for logical organisation and streamlining of website. Evaluate the logical organisation of the website and make recommendations for structural changes. Identify any broken links/URLs/outdated information and update as appropriate. Send a survey to APECS members for input from the community on revamping the website and to include this feedback in the report to be submitted to the APECS leadership.

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? The project will yield a more streamlined, logical and updated website that will include information that should be there according to APECS member wishes (based on the member survey), as well as a removal of redundant information.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables: Report submitted to ExCom with recommendations to revamping the website, based on the objectives and the results of the survey/analyses of website by group members.

  Project Group Members: Christel Hansen (Chair); Maciej Mańko; Elizabeth Orr; Carolynn (Carrie) Harris; Lara F. Perez; Jilda Caccavo (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• Polar Organisations Overview

  Project Summary:Many Polar Organizations carry on amazing research in Polar Regions aiming to understand the different aspect of these areas. As individual researchers, we collaborate with many of them and refer to them in a very familiar way. Most of the organizations carry complicated acronyms that are difficult to identify. Things become particularly complicated when we face a new study area or establish new collaborations. New organizations show up in our everyday research and many acronyms can be difficult to remember, even more for ECRs new in the field. We propose to create a database with a visual and user-friendly interface that works as a reference tool to the whole international polar community, and that can be updated overtime.

  Goals of the Project:The primary aim of this project group is to create an illustrative overview of the largest polar organizations as a visual tool for ECRs and the polar community. Specific objectives are: (1) Revise and update the polar organizations database existing in APECS website under ‘Who’s who acronyms list’; (2) Develop a visible and user-friendly interface as a tool for the database users

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? Many Polar Organizations carry on amazing research in Polar Regions aiming to understand the different aspect of these areas. As individual researchers, we collaborate with many of them and refer to them in a very familiar way. Most of the organizations carry complicated acronyms that are difficult to identify. Things become particularly complicated when we face a new study area or establish new collaborations. New organizations show up in our everyday research and many acronyms can be difficult to remember, even more for ECRs new in the field. We propose to develop a reference tool in a visual format useful to the whole international polar community, and a dataset that can be updated overtime.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables:The PG aim to deliver a visual and user-friendly database as an illustrative overview of the largest polar organisations.

  Project Group Members: Lara F. Perez (Chair); Erin Kunish; José Seco; Vikram Goel; Juan Höfer (ExCom Contact); Gabriela Roldan (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Polar Research

  Project Summary: This project group is an umbrella group that facilitates discussion and action related to diversity, inclusion, and equity in polar research. It is guided by the broad aim of supporting APECS members to thrive in their professional endeavors regardless of nationality, ethnicity, religion, race, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, economic class, disability, physical appearance, age, or career status. This project group cannot address all aspects of these broad and challenging topics. However, many of the challenges polar ECRs face in their careers – including widespread and high-profile issues like harassment, assault, and implicit bias – are interconnected and affect a range of individuals and groups. Therefore, this project group takes the form of an umbrella group that supports its members to lead activities related to the specific issues about which members are most concerned or passionate. Activities may focus on a single/narrow issue or on broad/overlapping issues: e.g., activities on international approaches to promoting inclusive field cultures, broadly; on combating harassment, specifically; or on combating sexual harassment in the field, more specifically. The goals of the group are to: (a) Facilitate international, interdisciplinary dialogue around diversity, inclusion, and equity in polar research; (b) Provide necessary and often hard-to-find resources for APECS members facing identity-related challenges, as well as bystanders, allies, and leaders in our communities; (c) Help ensure that the values of diversity, inclusion, and equity remain embedded in APECS and related communities now and in the future.

  Project Group Members: Carolynn (Carrie) Harris, Sasha Leidman, Emily Choy, Morgan Seag, Lindsey Parkinson, Alex Thornton, Andrea Herbert, Alexa Hasselman, Champollion Nicolas, Kara Layton, Tayana Arakchaa, Meghan Helmberger, Stanislav Ksenofontov, Iqra Choudhry, Kyle Mayers, Jean Polfus, Mateusz Waligóra, Matteo Luciano Contu, Gabriela Roldan, Jilda Caccavo. You can read their bios on the Council page.

• APECS Development Programme

  Project Summary: This project group will develop the APECS Development Program, a scheme that will be designed to keep new leaders engaged long enough to learn how to contribute meaningfully to the APECS community. At the APECS World Summit in Davos, June 2018, some National Committees (NCs) identified a need for documented recognition of their leadership experience and contributions. Receiving such a certificate of participation is valuable for early career researchers (ECRs) and can justify their time commitment to APECS. This program could also be a way to engage new leaders and to recognize existing ones. The APECS Development Program project group proposes the creation of a “curriculum” of different APECS-related activities that participants would need to complete in order to receive certification of a particular skill set. The program would be open to any APECS member holding (and remaining active in) a leadership role at the international or national committee level for one year. One idea is to focus the program on themes (i.e. social media, project management), where participants would finish the program with documentable skills in a specific area.

  Project Group Members: Mariama Dryak, José Queirós, Swati Nagar, Greta Vega; Stanislav Ksenofontov, Bernabé Moreno, Mehnaz Alam, Amy Kirkham, Jilda Caccavo, Clare Eayrs. You can read their bios on the Council page.

2. Temporary Project Groups

• Antarctica Day 2018 "Make Your Voice Heard"

  Project Summary: This year’s Antarctic Day project group will focus on seeking out the voices of individuals from underrepresented groups in Polar Research, and we start with those from Spanish speaking countries and communities. Our means to accomplish these goals include the use of Antarctica Day traditional activities such as ‘Flag Day’ and an APECS photo competition, however, we will also distribute the Our Spaces ‘Celebrating Antarctica’ booklet to local high school students to foster student engagement and receive questions regarding the Antarctic ecosystem and the importance of Antarctica Day. These questions will fuel two ‘Ask the Expert’ Zoom webinars, one that is conducted with Antarctic researchers from the APECS community in English and one that is conducted completely in Spanish. These efforts will hopefully reach students in Spanish speaking countries and Spanish speaking Latino communities in United States to enhance excitement about Antarctica.

  Goals of the Project: We wish to reach students in English and Spanish speaking communities to create interest Antarctica Day and how the ecosystem functions using both interactive (in-person) and online resources (e.g. Facebook event page, webinar).

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? This Antarctica Day will benefit APECS and future APECS members participating in Antarctica Day as it will provide a framework to reach aspiring researchers and conduct future webinars in other languages such as Mandarin to reach less represented people groups in Polar Research.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables:
  1. ‘Celebrating Antarctica’ Facebook event page
  2. List of Antarctica questions from students around the world in English and in Spanish
  3. Recording of two ‘Ask the Expert’ webinars
  4. Compilation of pictures and stories from Antarctica
  5. Collection of flags to be shipped to Antarctic bases
  6. A webinar framework for future Antarctica Days conducted in other languages

  Project Group Members: Philip Sontag (Chair); Swati Nagar, Stefano Ambroso, Charlie Hewitt, Gabriela Roldan (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

  Link to the Project Website.
  

• Guide for APECS collaborations

  Project Summary: APECS operates across a vast international network of ECRs who have varying degrees of experience working in teams or leading team projects. Our group aims to develop a guide that will inform and improve working practices by offering insight and information that helps group leaders and teams operate better. Notably, our guide will address how APECS members and groups can be more successful in fostering and nurturing collaborations between working groups, either within APECS or especially with partnering organisations. Our mission is to create a written guide drawn from ‘case studies’ and feedback of other APECS members in order to help the governance of APECS set standards - this document can also be easily updated and improved in the coming years. Finally, we expect to present our work via webinar(s).

  Goals of the Project: This project aims to create a useful resource for the APECS community (National committees and APECS members). The idea is to create a handbook or guide full of tips on how to establish and keep fruitful collaborations. Using a case based structure and APECS network, the aim is to create a resource as broad as possible that helps ECR and NCs to establish new collaborations, research or otherwise, with other institutions or individual researchers. The resource will be as broad as possible so within it, everyone can find an example that is applicable, at least partially, to their circumstances.

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? Collaborations are integral parts of research projects, but there is very little training offered for early career researchers on how to conduct these types of activities. Short term projects and limited funding make meaningful collaboration challenging. Who to contact? What types of activities are best? This guide and related webinars will provide examples, best practices, and lessons learned by APECS members about engaging potential collaborators through research projects. The case studies and practical, real-world examples in the guide, will advise and educate ECR and NCs on how to engage collaborators (academia, government, industry, communities etc.) throughout all stages of research projects; how to create new research relationships and expand on existing ones, and how to communicate science to collaborators in appropriate, impactful ways.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables:
  1. A case studies based guide of fruitful collaborations showcasing successes, challenges, and lessons learned i.e. best practices and pitfalls to avoid
  2. A webinar during which members of this group will present the content of the guide and briefly explain how to use it.

  Project Group Members: Maciej Mańko (Chair); Nathalie Carter; Kyle Mayers; Kabir Rasouli; Paul Rosenbaum; Juan Höfer (Excom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• International Polar Weeks March and September 2019

  You can find out more what the group plans on our upcoming Polar Week pages.

  Project Group Members: Maud van Soest, Arthi Ramachandran, Eleonora Conca, Eda Ayaydın, Sasha Leidman, Keechy Akkerman, Tayana Arakchaa, Ricardo Matias, Hugo Guímaro, Deniz Vural, Mia Bennett, Erin Kunisch, K M Vishnu Namboodiri, Jean Polfus, Jennifer Cooper, Alexa Hasselman, Grace Shephard, Meghan Helmberger, Iqra Choudhry, Stefano Ambroso. You can read their bios on our Council page.

• APECS International Mentorship Award 2019

  You can find out more what the group plans on our upcoming Mentor Award pages.

  Project Group Members: Jhon Fredy Mojica Moncada, Neelu Singh, Jennifer Cooper. You can read their bios on our Council page.

• APPLICATE Online Course on Polar Prediction

  Project Summary: The project group assists with planning a 3-month online course on the topic of "Polar Prediction - Advancing predictive capacity of Northern Hemisphere weather and climate" as part of the EU-Horizon2020-funded project APPLICATE. The group will among others have to develop the curriculum of the course and invite speakers. The course is planned form September - November 2019.

  Project Group Members: Andrea Schneider, Charlie Hewitt, Deniz Vural, Paul Rosenbaum, Jessica Rohde, Rupa Rupa, Kyle Mayers, Natalie Carter, Mehnaz Alam. You can read their bios on our Council page.

3. Event-Related Project Groups

• APECS Events at EGU

  Project Summary: The European Geosciences Union (EGU) will be meeting again in Vienna, Austria, from 7-12 April 2019 for the annual General Assembly. https://www.egu2019.eu/ The annual meeting is the largest gathering of geoscientists in Europe, with events and sessions covering a wide range of polar and cryospheric activities. In cooperation with EGU Divisions (e.g. Cryosphere, Geodynamics, Climate), APECS will organise a couple of early-career social events including a mid-week polar meetup. Polar-related and ECR-focussed sessions and events will be compiled in advance of the meeting.

  Goals of the Project: Organize a mid-week social event(s) after the poster sessions, advertise and encourage networking at the event. Possibly coordinate with other side-events e.g. ECR sessions during the week.

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? Networking, exchange of science and research topics, a key opportunity for cross-disciplinary networking.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables:
  Social event, APECS advertising, compilation of polar-related sessions, photos and summary reporting.

  Project Group Members: Grace Shephard (Chair); Juan Höfer (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• APECS Online Conference 2019 - Breaking Barriers

  Project Summary:This group organises the annual APECS Online Conference and all associated activities. This includes call for and shortlisting of abstracts, planning and executing the programme and chairing the event.

  Goals of the Project: The goal of this project group is to plan and organise the Fifth APECS Online Conference and activities associated with it.

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? The past APECS online conferences have been a success in providing ECRs around the world an opportunity to showcase their work to a broadly spread audience. It provides the organizing committee with the experience and know-how of organizing such events, a skill quite valuable in science and academia. It is also a good proof of concept of a completely decentralized, web-based scientific conference, and effective science communication and discussion. It is quite likely such web-based conferences/meetings will become more common in future and it is great that APECS and ECRs are leading this front.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables:The major deliverable of the project will be the Fifth APECS Online Conference.

  Project Group Members: Vikram Goel (Chair); Eleonora Conca; Prashant H. Pandit; Rahul Dey; Kara Layton; Neelu Singh; José Queirós; Deniz Vural; Mateusz Waligóra; Bernabé Moreno; Ankit Pramanik; Clare Eayrs (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• APECS - ISAES Event

  Project Summary: The upcoming International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences (ISAES) constitutes the 13th edition of the most important international conference on Antarctic Earth Sciences. Most of the Antarctic scientific community is taking part in this conference and many ECRs are looking forward to the event to present the best results of their research. Organizations such as SCAR are well represented at ISAES and often carry on side meetings and outstanding plenary talks. We want to take the opportunity of this important event to organise an APECS side meeting that brings together ECRs and senior researchers and mentors to enjoy an evening talking about science, research careers and any other topic that round their minds.

  Goals of the Project: The primary aim of this project group is to organize a side meeting event in the incoming conference ‘International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences’ to be held during July 22-26, 2019, at the Songdo Convensia in Incheon, Republic of Korea. Our goal is to coordinate an informal and dynamic event where ECRs can discuss and have feedback and orientation regarding the development of their research career. Another objective is to inspire the Korean early career community to come together and become active in APECS towards the potential organization of a National Committee.

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? The upcoming International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences (ISAES) constitutes the 13th edition of the most important international conference on Antarctic Earth Sciences. Most of the Antarctic scientific community is taking part in this conference and many ECRs are looking forward to the event to present the best results of their research. Organizations such as SCAR are well represented at ISAES and often carry on side meetings and outstanding plenary talks. We want to take the chance of this important event to give to the ECRs a push in their career. With the APECS side meeting at ISAES we target these particular objectives:
  - Put in contact many ECRs who can discuss their research and careers and grow their network.
  - Invite panelists including Senior Researchers, Academics and other ECRs to share their experience through short talks and informal discussions.
  - Feedback on their research and scientific career to the ECRs from more experienced scientists and researchers.
  - Integrate the ECRs in discussions to keep active throughout the conference and beyond.
  Our idea is to organize an evening event at the beginning of the conference. An introductory talk about APECS would be followed by a few short talks, separated by time for questions. More general discussion could follow at the end of the event in a relaxing and dynamic environment. Snacks and drinks could be provided, depending on the funding availability (any funding opportunities will be explored through the APECS Secretariat). A plan for later food and drinks (self-funded by participants) at a local venue will be developed.
  In addition posters and flyers with APECS information would be display during the conference.

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables: ISAES conference APECS event.

  Project Group Members: Lara F. Perez (Chair); Nadya Yanakieva (Chair); Vishnu Naboodiri; Francyne Elias-Piera; Clare Eayrs (ExCom Contact). You can read their bios on our Council page.

• APECS-Nunataryuk Summer School 2020 Planning Group

  The Project Group helps plan the content and logistics for the APECS-Nunataryuk Summer School 2020. The summer school is part of the EU-H2020 funded project Nunataryuk (Permafrost thaw and the changing Arctic coast, science for socioeconomic adaptation) and will take place at Abisko Scientific Research Station in Abisko, Sweden from 22 - 30 April 2020. More information about the school will be published in summer 2019 on the APECS website.

• APECS workshop at IMBeR Conference

  Project Summary: Workshop on the weekend before the conference, on 15-16 June 2019. IMBeR Future Oceans2 aims to foster productive inter-and trans-disciplinary discussions and provide a forum to strategically map future research directions. Within this context, Future Oceans2 is based around three interlinked themes: Theme 1. Understanding and quantifying the state and variability of marine ecosystems; Theme 2. Improving scenarios, predictions and projections of future ocean-human systems at multiple scales; and Theme 3. Improving and achieving sustainable ocean governance.

  The main purpose is to set up a workshop event before the opening of the conference held on 17-21 June 2019. It is important to remind that the workshop idea is related to two workshops or sessions on Antarctic. One sessions will be organized by MEASO as the second one by ICED. As a matter of fact, ICED wants to have ECRs as rapporteurs and as part of the local organizing committee. If the rapporteurs/local volunteers thing takes place, it would be a very good opportunity to host an APECS in-person event during the conference in Brest. Notwithstanding, this conference can be seen as an opportunity as well. APECS could foster and extend his scientific and institutional networks linked to Ocean issues during this international event in France.

  Without mentioning, it may stand as an opportunity to boost its visibility in France through a joint-venture project with members of APECS France.

  Goals of the Project: a) Maintain collaboration with MEASO and ICED; b) Based on the content of abovementioned workshops, promote APECS activities; c) Establish key connections and extending to potential partnerships; d) Get interest from Early Career Scientists on Polar issues

  How does the project benefit APECS and APECS members? a) Project held in joint-venture between APECS and APECS France; b) Opportunity to maintain scientific contact both with MEASO (Marine Ecosystem Assessment for the Southern Ocean) and ICED (Integrating Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics in the Southern Ocean); c) Increasing visibility of APECS activities in France; d) Fostering new institutional networking; e) Broadening scientific contacts on Ocean issues linked to Polar studies

  Major Outcomes / Deliverables: Participating to this event aims to boost APECS networks and attract potential interest for early career scientists on polar issues. Maintaining connections with ICED and MEASO in the frame of the ECRs.

  Project Group Members: Florian Vidal, Adrian Dahood, Juan Höfer. You can read their bios on the Council page.