Photo: Axel SchlindweinThe EGU General Assembly was back in Vienna this May. Bigger than ever, this year welcomed 22,497 registered attendees from 125 countries, with 20,173 presentations spread across 1,014 sessions. Perhaps most excitingly, 58% of all abstracts came from Early Career Scientists, which really speaks to the energy and momentum in our community right now.
With so many sessions and so many people, EGU can feel both exciting and overwhelming, especially if you're attending for the first time or haven't yet built up a wide network. That's exactly why APECS Germany, in collaboration with other National Committees and the APECS Executive Committee, organized a splinter meeting on the very first morning of the conference. We wanted to provide a dedicated space for polar ECRs to meet people and settle in before the week got into full swing.
After a welcome from APECS Germany and short updates from National Committees of Germany, Italy, and Norway, the APECS Executive Committee gave an introduction to APECS for anyone curious about getting more involved. During the icebreaker, we positioned ourselves in the room along gradients on questions like “fieldwork area” or “number of attended conferences”. It was a great way to get some conversation starters. Speed dating rounds followed, and participants shared their backgrounds, interests, and experiences with one another. The session wrapped up with a crowdsourced round of EGU survival tips that were useful for first-timers as well as experienced EGU participants.
A big thank you to everyone who came along and made it such a great start to the week. See you next year!
Don’t want to wait until next year's EGU to connect with the polar community? Whether you want to expand your network, join a working group, or help organize future events, we would be happy if you join us!
