On the 15th of November, the XVI APECS Portugal Workshop was held at Centro Universitário de Lisboa, Lusófona University, under the theme "Mission Polar: What’s Hot in Polar Science". This workshop was held in conjunction with the Portuguese Polar Conference, which was on the 14th of November.
Picture by Lucas Bastos
We were honoured to have with us the invited speakers: Dr. Verónica Willmott (Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research), Dr. Irina Gorodetskaya (University of Porto), Prof. Francesco Pagnini (Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore), Dr. Teresa Cabrita (University of Lisbon) and Matheus Batista (Federal University of Rio Grande). Each one of them shared meaningful insights and experiences.
The APECS Portugal workshop focused on initiatives that are now starting which are working toward the next International Polar Year but also focussing on the future of polar science, and the areas of most interest for ECRs. Dr. Verónica Willmott and Dr. Irina Gorodetskaya shared their insights, guidelines, and experiences from projects that bring together collaborative efforts in polar science, highlighting how ECRs can benefit from active participation. Prof. Francesco Pagnini delivered a hands-on session on stress-reduction methodologies for fieldwork, with a particular focus on polar environments. In the afternoon, Dr. Teresa Cabrita presented the Portuguese Polar Science Strategy 2025–2035, emphasizing the importance of including ECRs. Lastly, Matheus Batista discussed how science communication can open new opportunities in academia, sharing his vision and personal experience. It was very worthwhile to gain insights from all of our speakers.
The event also had other moments of fun with a quiz about the polar regions and networking moments during the lunch and coffee breaks to share all the experiences together. The event was a great success with more than 20 participants of 6 different nationalities. The picture above shows all the participants.
We take the opportunity to thank everyone involved, and especially the partner entities, APECS, Lusófona University of Lisbon and PROPOLAR for their support in organizing yet another awesome workshop. We'll see you all next year!
-APECS Portugal
