APECS is pleased to contribute to the SCAR Open Science Conference through a range of activities that support early career researchers, foster international collaboration, and strengthen early career engagement across the polar research community. Below is an overview of the events, meetings, and initiatives organized by and with contributions from APECS groups and International Directorate staff members. More information about sessions and the official programme can be found on the official SCAR OSC website.
Sessions and workshop organized by APECS
O6 - Polar Early Career Community gathering organized by APECS and PSECCO
Tuesday 11 August, 16:00–17:30, Room: Jernbanetorget B
Convenors: Axel Schlindwein, Sarah Strand, Daria Paul, Lena Nicola, Mariama Dryák-Vallies, Hugo Guímaro
This networking session, organized by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS), will provide a welcoming and inclusive space for early career researchers (ECRs) to connect, exchange ideas, and establish collaborations that can extend beyond the conference. The event is open to all conference participants and will be designed to strengthen the international ECR network and encourage cross-disciplinary dialogue. By bringing together participants from a wide range of backgrounds, it will foster new partnerships and friendships within the polar research community. In addition to fostering new collaborations, the organizers will showcase opportunities to engage with APECS and other international initiatives.
O11 - Pathways to Policy Workshop: Antarctic governance and science-based decision-making
Wednesday 12 August, 11:30–13:00 and 14:00–15:30, Room: Jernbanetorget C
Convenors: Sarah Strand, Axel Schlindwein, Alex Aves, Hugo Guímaro
The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) will host this workshop on Antarctic governance and science-based decision-making. This capacity-building event will train early- to mid-career researchers to navigate polar governance and effectively communicate research outcomes within policy processes, particularly under the Antarctic Treaty System. Through interactive sessions, participants will develop skills in science communication and advocacy for enhanced Antarctic conservation efforts. Spanning two sessions, this workshop will provide insights and training for the Antarctic research community to generate and communicate knowledge that informs policy-making in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, including an introduction to processes and relevant bodies in policy making. No prior knowledge is required to attend and we encourage everyone that is interested in developing their skills to communicate and advocate for the inclusion of their research outcomes in policy making processes to participate. The multidisciplinary workshop will be open to early career researchers from all fields and will foster professional networking and future collaboration across disciplines and sectors. This workshop is supported by the International Glaciological Society (IGS) and the European Geosciences Union (EGU).
O5: Coordinating Antarctic science for policy impact: a perspective from the EU Polar Cluster
Wednesday 12 August, 16:00–17:30, Room: Jernbanetorget A
Convenors: Kylie Owen, Maria Grigoratou
Research coordination is recognised as a key element for SCAR to realise its vision. Convened by the EU Polar Cluster, a network of EU-funded polar research projects active in both Antarctic and Arctic regions, this session will bring together professionals from diverse disciplines and career stages to discuss how stronger polar research coordination can enhance scientific outcomes and support evidence-based policymaking in Europe and beyond.
The session will introduce the European Polar Coordination Office (EPCO), serving as a central hub connecting the European polar research community, policy officers, and decision-makers, including the European Commission. Building on the legacy of the EU-PolarNet projects, EPCO strengthens Europe’s commitment to collaborative polar research.
Participants will learn how European projects contribute valuable data to Antarctic and Southern Ocean observing systems, support SCAR’s priorities, including the goals of Ant-ICON and SOOS, and produce knowledge to support international assessments and policy frameworks. Although the session will focus primarily on the Antarctic and Southern Ocean, it will welcome participants with Arctic expertise to foster a bi-polar dialogue to share experiences and lessons learned to advance polar observations and research across both poles.
W3: Implementing Early Career Engagement and Priorities in IPY-5 and Antarctica InSync
Thursday 13 August, 11:30–13:00, Room: Hyde Park A
Convenors: Axel Schlindwein, Sarah Strand, Mariama Dryák-Vallies, Alex Aves
Building on the outcomes of the Polar Early Career World Summit (PECWS) 2025, this workshop – hosted by the APECS International Directorate – will advance the conversation on how ECR engagement can be enhanced and ECR priorities can move from vision to implementation in the planning of Antarctica InSync activities and the lead-up to the next International Polar Year (IPY).
The workshop will highlight concrete opportunities for ECRs to contribute directly to IPY preparations and will provide a space to identify coordination mechanisms, strengthen community momentum, and establish clear pathways for sustained engagement. The workshop aims to ensure that early-career perspectives inform both strategy and practice for long-term polar research planning. Participants will get the chance to connect across disciplines and national initiatives to discuss how ECR perspectives can be effectively integrated into planning and implementation from a personal to an international scale.
Participation is open to everyone – including community members that are not connected to Antarctic InSync or have not engaged with IPY planning efforts yet. We will provide an introduction to IPY-5 and Antarctica InSync to inform everyone that has not been involved before.
W19 - Keeping People Safe in Antarctic Fieldwork: Advancing Training, Team Safety, and Shared Best Practices
Friday 14 August, 11:30 – 13:00 and 14:00 – 15:30, Room: Jernbanetorget C
Convenors: Mariama Dryák-Vallies, Axel Schlindwein, Sarah Strand, Meredith Nash
Safe working environments are essential for conducting excellent science. In Antarctica, ensuring safety is particularly critical because fieldwork takes place far from home and support networks. When something goes wrong, be it physical or interpersonal, there are few immediate outside resources easily accessible. Without intentional attention to safety, both people’s well-being and scientific productivity are at risk. Yet, significant challenges remain. Fieldwork in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean involves harsh conditions, unfamiliar hazards, and often strenuous work. Teams bring together individuals with different authority levels and diverse backgrounds, which can create complex power dynamics. These conditions heighten vulnerability to hostile behaviors such as bullying, harassment, and identity-based exclusion. Recent reports from the United States and Australian Antarctic Programs highlight a troubling history of harassment and assault that underscores the urgency of action. Currently, few examples exist of trainings mandated by national programs that sufficiently equip people going to Antarctica with the tools or knowledge needed to address these issues. This will be a trauma-informed, three-hour workshop grounded in the ADVANCEing FieldSafety training framework. This interactive workshop will engage participants in learning how to build group norms, practice bystander intervention, and will explore necessary improvements to field safety training design and implementation for Antarctic fieldwork. Attendees will be invited to share proven approaches to fieldwork training that have resulted in building respectful and supportive team environments, and will co-develop recommendations to inform training initiatives and guide the development of new field safety resources. Through interactive exercises and discussion, participants will gain tools to recognize, communicate about, and respond to situations that jeopardize safety, especially those involving interpersonal harm. By the end of the workshop, participants will understand why the human aspects of field safety matter alongside the physical aspects, and should feel more confident using communication and intervention tools to interrupt inappropriate behavior. Our goal is to build capacity across international boundaries, help normalize these practices, and foster Antarctic field environments where everyone can work safely, equitably, and productively. Outcomes from the session will feed into broader discussions on training material development and community guidelines.
Please note that registration through this form is required to attend this workshop.
W22: Science Communication: Meeting Polar Outreach Needs as Early-Career Researchers
Friday 14 August, 9:30 – 11:00, Room: Hyde Park A
Convenors: Anona Griffiths, Millie Goddard-Dwyer, Ilaria Stollberg, Edmund Lea, Sophie Dupont, Andrew Einhorn, Vaibhavi Dwivedi, Polina Sevastyanova, Daria Paul
Sharing research beyond academia is vital for both public engagement and advancing equity, diversity and inclusion. This interactive workshop will provide Early Career Researchers with practical skills to enhance their science communication and outreach. It is co-led by members of the UK Polar Network, APECS Oceania, APECS France, APECS Germany and the SCAR EDI Action Group. Through this international approach, we aim to identify outreach needs across nations through the EDI lens. The session begins with a short networking activity that connects participants with peers through a speed-dating style icebreaker.
This workshop covers both school-based and public outreach. We open by mapping current outreach needs and showcasing successful models to clarify priorities and why certain approaches succeed. We then build practical communication skills: for schools, age-appropriate framing, curriculum links and teacher partnerships; and for public audiences, plain-language messaging for social media, community events and audience-tailored content. Participants apply these tools in a collaborative exercise to translate their science for school pupils or the general public. The workshop concludes with an international panel that compares approaches, highlights transferable lessons and common barriers, and uses case studies from the literature and lived outreach experience to present strategies for adapting communication to diverse audiences and making complex concepts accessible and engaging.
Through discussion and breakout activities, attendees will leave with practical tools and a stronger understanding of how to adapt their own research communication to a range of settings. Take-away resources will include access to online training materials compiled and hosted by the UK Polar Network to support continued learning. The combination of networking, presentations and hands-on practice will strengthen participants’ confidence in outreach and provide valuable skills for engaging broader audiences with polar and climate-related science.
Early career perspectives on the future of SCAR and Polar Research
Saturday 15 August, 16:00 – 21:00, Room: Jernbanetorget B
Convenors: APECS National Committees
This satellite event will provide a dedicated space for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to connect, reflect on, and engage with the SCAR Open Science Conference. The focus of the session will be on identifying what ECRs value most at SCAR and what they would like to see developed or strengthened in future conferences and in polar research more broadly. The event aims to be highly interactive, using breakout groups to encourage open conversations and brainstorming. Topics may include ECR involvement in decision making, knowledge gaps between science and policy, interdisciplinary collaboration and accessibility & inclusivity. We aim to collect the outcomes of the discussions and turn them into a set of recommendations, inspired by the PECWS Synthesis Report made at the ASSW in Boulder last year. These insights could be shared with SCAR and APECS, and potentially published as a short report. If there is capacity, we could also consider making this a hybrid event, creating breakout rooms. Also, we could increase participation outside of the event by creating a feedback form on the outcomes of the session. This way we ensure as many voices as possible will be heard.
Other activities and contributions to the SCAR OSC
Poster: Amplifying Early Career Voices in Polar Research: Outcomes from the Polar Early Career World Summit
Tuesday 11 August, 16:00–17:30, Room: Ballroom
Authors: Mariama Dryák-Vallies, Madison Payne, Axel Schlindwein, Sarah Strand
Poster: Bridging the Gap for Early Career Researchers in the Polar Sciences: How APECS Incorporates DEI into Current Work
Thursday 13 August, 13:30–15:30, Room: Ballroom
Authors: Rose Leeger, Holly Ayres, Dylan Beard, Sarah Le Besque, Neri Bonciani, Inge Deschepper, Shamini Kannan, Klara Köhler, Sophie Pouillé, Yliana Rodríguez, Valentina Valentina Savaglia
APECS Mentorship Award 2026
The APECS International Mentorship Award 2026 will be announced during the SCAR Open Science Conference in Oslo.
Local Organising Committee and International Scientific Organising Committee
APECS is a partner of the SCAR OSC 2026, and the APECS International Directorate staff Sarah Strand and Axel Schlindwein contribute to the conference as members of the Local Organising Committee. Several APECS members are serving as early career representatives on the International Scientific Organising Committee and we sincerely thank Hugo Guímaro, Lillina Ruiters and Alex Aves for their contributions and support to the SCAR OSC 2026 in this role.
SYNCHRONY Workshop
APECS International Directorate staff will participate in a SYNCHRONY workshop on 15 August. This workshop is being held as part of the start-up of this EU-funded project, which will establish an internationally synchronised Antarctic observatory to address critical gaps in climate and ecosystem monitoring across Antarctica and the Southern Ocean.
