Executive Committee Elections

APPLY for the APECS Executive Committee to help shape our organization and influence the future of polar research!

The elections for the 2026-2027 APECS Executive Committee will be held during May and July 2026 for the term from 1 October 2026 to 30 September 2027.

Application deadline: 15 June 2026 at 23:59 GMT 

The APECS Executive Committee (ExCom) consists of five members, who are elected by the APECS Council to manage strategic decisions and governance of the organization. You can find information about the ExCom on the APECS website and in the APECS Handbook, including some general information and the list of current ExCom members.

2026 Elections timeline:

• 15 June at 23:59 GMT: Application deadline
• 16 June - 3 July: Review period within the APECS Council, including Q&A with ExCom applicants
• 3 July - 17 July at 23:59 GMT: Voting period within the APECS Council
• 20 July: Candidates notified of election results
• August & September: Onboarding and transition process

For any questions, the ExCom Election Coordinators 2026 can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Who is eligible to apply?

The Executive Committee is a rewarding, very high-paced and work-intensive committee, and its members must be willing and able to contribute actively throughout their term on a frequent basis via email (multiple times per week, except during e.g. field work, exam periods, holidays) and attend online ExCom meetings (ca. 2 hours) every two weeks. For this reason, we require applicants to meet certain criteria:

• Eligible to apply

  You are eligible to apply for the APECS Executive Committee if you are a member of APECS and have prior experience in either ...
  ... the APECS Council (current or past) or
  ... one of the APECS National Committee leaderships.

• Eligible to apply with special permission

  You are eligible to apply with special permission from the ExCom Election Coordinators if you are an APECS member and do not meet the criteria above but have leadership experience from other activities/organizations. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to see if you are eligible to apply or have questions about the position.

• Not eligible to apply

  You are not eligible to apply if you ...
  ... are not an APECS member
  ... do not meet the eligibility criteria
  ... have been a previous member of the APECS Council and have been removed from it due to inactivity or other reasons.

Please note that to be a successful member of the APECS Executive Committee, a thorough understanding of APECS’ activities, projects, and internal processes is required, as one of your roles will be to mentor and advise APECS Council members, Project Groups, and representatives. If you have not been actively involved in APECS before, we recommend that you gain some experience through a position on the APECS Council, in the leadership of a National Committee, or in a Project Group first before applying for the Executive Committee.

More information about how to apply to the Council or get involved in Project Groups will be announced in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, note the following dates in your calendar!

• 22 June: Call for Council leadership and Project Group Leader applications released
• 3 August: Deadline to submit an application for Council Leadership or Project Group Leader
• 24 August: Call for Project Group members released
• 14 September: Deadline to submit an application to be a Project Group member 

How to apply?

• If you have previously been part of ExCom or Council leadership

  If you have previously served on ExCom or held the role of Council Chair, National Committee Coordinator, Social Media Coordinator, Representative Coordinator, the leadership of one of APECS’ National Committees, Project Group Leader, or a temporary replacement in these positions, we assume you are familiar with the work of ExCom. You can submit your application at any time by filling out this application form by 15 June 2026 at 23:59 GMT. Feel free to contact the ExCom Election Coordinators with any questions you might have.
  
  Please note that you have to upload a short (maximum 120 seconds) video of yourself as part of the application form. To standardize submissions, all videos must be recorded using an online meeting service (e.g. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet) and should not be edited except for clipping to the start and end time. Videos that do not conform to these guidelines will be discarded and will not be provided to the Council. In your video, please include: your name and a bit about yourself, why you want to apply for ExCom, and why you think you are a strong candidate.
  
  Your application material will be publicly posted on the ExCom elections webpage after the application deadline.

• All other applicants

  If you have never been involved in ExCom or the Council Leadership roles indicated above, please follow these steps (all of them are mandatory to complete before the application deadline):
  
  Step 1: Contact the ExCom Election Coordinators to let them know that you are thinking of applying and arrange a call with them. The purpose of this call is to discuss the work that you would have to do on the ExCom and answer any questions you might have. Only after that call will you be invited to submit your application.
  Step 2: Submit your application by filling out this application form by 15 June 2026 at 23:59 GMT.
  
  Please note that you have to upload a short (maximum 120 seconds) video of yourself as part of the application form. To standardize submissions, all videos must be recorded using an online meeting service (e.g. Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet) and should not be edited except for clipping to the start and end time. Videos that do not conform to these guidelines will be discarded and will not be provided to Council. In your video, please include: your name and a bit about yourself, why you want to apply for ExCom, and why you think you are a strong candidate.
  
  Your application material will be publicly posted on the ExCom elections webpage after the application deadline.

What is the process for applicants after the application deadline?

• Applications posted on the ExCom elections webpage

  Your application will be publicly posted on the ExCom elections webpage so that our Council members, as well as NC and PG members, have a chance to review it.

• Review period

  The APECS Council will be reviewing your applications from 16 June - 3 July. They will have the opportunity to ask you written questions. We will collect the questions from Council members until 23 June, when we will forward them to the ExCom applicants. ExCom applicants will have until 30 June to answer them in writing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. after which point the responses will be forwarded to the Council. Remember that you want to convince the Council members to vote for you!

• Voting period / Announcement of results

  The Council will be voting on your applications from 3 July - 17 July.
  The ExCom Election Coordinators will contact you on 20 July with the election results.

• Transition period

  The newly elected incoming ExCom will work with the outgoing ExCom and the APECS International Directorate in August and September to ensure that an effective transition of leadership takes place. In addition to the regular biweekly ExCom meetings, which you are invited to observe, one or more transition meetings will be scheduled between the incoming and outgoing ExCom. If you have fieldwork or other known conflicts during this period, please contact the ExCom Election Coordinators. Further instructions will be sent to the newly elected ExCom members and the outgoing ExCom as soon as the election results are in.

What happens if I do not get elected?
ExCom applicants who are not elected are encouraged to apply for other APECS positions, including Council Leadership and Project Group Leader roles (application deadline 3 August), or as Project Group members (application deadline 14 September).