Agenda

08:30 - 09:00

Registration & Introductions

09:00 - 10:30

Presentations for National Committees (NCs):

We will provide an overview of five big topics of interest to our NCs before breaking out into discussion groups (ideas subject to change; check back). National committees with notable successes in these areas will be invited to give short presentations introducing their work.

Collaboration with national organizations
Presenter: UK Polar Network

Coordinated education & outreach activities
Presenter:  APECS Bulgaria and APECS Portugal

Recruitment & retention of ECR leadership
Presenter:  APECS Canada

Effective engagement of mentors
Presenter: APECS Oceania

Running large, funded events
Presenter: USAPECS

10:30 - 11:00

Coffee Break

11:00 - 12:30

Breakout Groups:

Participants will split into five groups to better discuss each of the presentations for NCs. Members of Polar Educators International will join the education & outreach group.

Group 1:  Collaboration with national organizations
Discussion Facilitator: Hanne Nielsen

Group 2: Coordinated education & outreach activities
Discussion Facilitator: Gary Wesche

Group 3: Recruitment & retention of ECR leadership
Discussion Facilitator: Alice Bradley

Group 4: Effective engagement of mentors
Discussion Facilitator: Alexander Thornton

Group 5: Running large, funded events
Discussion Facilitators: Fiona Tummon / Gerlis Fugmann

12:30 - 14:00

Lunch Break 

Reporting Back from Breakouts:

Representative(s) from each breakout session will be asked to share highlights from their discussion and a couple overarching questions for the whole group (5 min per breakout group). There will be time for brief follow-up comments or questions.

Whole Group Discussion: 

A facilitated discussion about what resources would help NCs, how to improve communication in/between NCs, and other questions important to NC leadership. (NC leaders: please send ideas of topics you want to discuss!)

15:30 - 16:00

Coffee Break 

16:00 - 16:45

Whole Group Discussion (continued)

16:45 - 17:45

Panel & Group Discussion: “Future challenges for ECRs”

Panelists will discuss significant challenges ECRs will face and how the polar research community can best support them.

Panelists:

• Social sciences: ECR - Hanne Nielsen (University of Tasmania); Senior - Diane Hirschberg (UAA)
• Natural (life and physical) sciences: ECR - Alice Bradley (Dartmouth College); Senior - Huw Griffiths (BAS)
• Hands-off science careers: ECR - Fiona Tummon (APECS); Senior - Renuka Badhe (EPB)

Wrap-up & Summary of the Day

Daily conclusions and announcements regarding the evening activity.

08:30 - 09:00

Registration & Introductions

09:00 - 09:30

Keynote 1: Challenges and opportunities of interdisciplinary studies in Polar environment

Guest Speaker: Burcu Ozsoy (Istanbul Technical University, Turkey)

Keynote 2:  Interdisciplinary studies in the Polar environment using satellites: Benefits and Limitations

Guest Speaker: Stefan Kern (Center of Excellence for Climate System Analysis and Prediction (CliSAP), Germany)

10:00 - 10:30

Keynote 2: Inter-polar research - what it looks like & how it can happen

Guest Speaker: Renuka Badhe (European Polar Board)

The Svalbard Science Forum

Guest Speaker: Cecilia Sandström (Norwegian Research Council)

11:00 - 12:30

Breakout Groups:

Participants will split into four groups to better discuss each of the following with the aid of facilitators:

Group 1: Environmental / scientific policy in the polar regions

• Mentor: Warwick Vincent (Université Laval, Canada)

Group 2: Fieldwork Planning

• Mentors: Rahul Mohan (NCAOR), Julia Schmale (Paul Scherrer Institut), Jamey Stutz (Antarctic Research Centre,University of Wellington, New Zealand), Nanna Karlsson (GEUS)

Group 3: Education & outreach

• Mentors: organized by Polar Educators International (PEI)
• Description: This session aims to bring together both educators and scientists to discuss why such these partnerships are vital as well as to share practical advice for encouraging engaging collaborations. Whether you have a dedicated educational program or are casually interested in learning about outreach to a classroom, you are welcome to attend.

Group 4: Data Management

• Mentors: Øystein Godøy (Norwegian Meteorological Institute) and Joel Fiddes (University of Oslo)
• Description: This session will focus on data management with practical examples from the WMO Global Cryosphere Watch and other polar projects of various disciplines. Emphasis will be on the work flow from data collection to data publication/ sharing and preservation in the context of emerging requirements from scientific journals and funding agencies.

12:30 - 14:00

Lunch Break

14:00 - 15:30

Breakout Groups:

Participants will split into groups to discuss how inter-polar research can be achieved in each of the following fields, with the aid of facilitators:

Group 1:  Marine (inc. biology, oceanography, tourism, etc.)

• Mentors: Warwick Vincent (Université Laval, Canada), Jose Xavier (University of Coimbra/BAS), Huw Griffiths (BAS)
• Description: The marine environment at extreme latitude have extreme differences as well as remarkable similarities. We will talk about considerations for, challenges of, and the inherent significance of inter-polar ocean science. The group will highlight important research questions, discuss funding, and also come up with theoretical research plans. Additionally, we will include the conversation on the human dimensions of our work, including governance, tourism, resource exploration/use, and Indigenous communities.

Group 2: Terrestrial (inc. glaciology, geology, humanities, etc.)

• Mentors:  Ian Meiklejohn (Rhodes University, South Africa), Joao Canario (University of Lisbon, Portugal)
• Description: All glaciers and terrestrial landforms are governed by similar underlying physical processes irrespective of the geographical pole they belong. On the contrary, the poles differ in climate, scale, logistics, politics and other variables which control these features as well as the research in these regions. This session aims to discuss the various possibilities in inter-polar research, its benefits as well as the challenges in conducting such research. It will be broadly targeted towards early career researchers from the field of glaciology/geology, but anyone interested can join.

Group 3: Climate (inc. atmospheric, paleoclimate, governance etc.)

• Mentors: Thomas Jung, Kirstin Werner, Mathieu Casado (all Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany)
• Description: Climate and climate change is a fundamentally global process. The two poles can provide complementing settings to observe how these processes work. Average surface temperatures in the Arctic are warming at rates that far exceed the global average, while the Antarctic shows significantly slower air temperature changes. These two environments allow for study of elements of the polar climate system under different rates of change. This session will discuss how both poles can be integrated into research questions.

15:30 - 16:00

Coffee Break

16:00 - 16:45

Reporting Back from Breakouts:

Someone(s) from each breakout session will be asked to share pertinent points from their smaller discussion and a couple overarching questions for the whole group. (There will be time for follow-ups in the panel session.)

Panel & Group Discussion: Interdisciplinary, inter-polar research

Panelists will discuss the overarching questions from breakouts on interdisciplinary and inter-polar research, then bring these concepts together.

Panelists: Joseph Nolan (European Polar Board, Netherlands); Nicole Biebow (Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Germany), Daniela Liggett (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)

Wrap-up & Summary of the Day

Daily conclusions and announcements regarding the evening activity.