On May 23rd 2013, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and Polar Educators International (PEI) was signed by APECS Director Alexey Pavlov and the PEI Executive Committee Member Sarah Bartholow and will stand through December of 2015. The MoU is based on the mutual interest of APECS and PEI in engaging, supporting and promoting polar science education, outreach, and communication (EOC). Through this agreement, the APECS Executive Committee and the PEI Executive Committee will strive to identify and collaborate on mutually beneficial activities towards strengthening that interest.
A great benefit of this MoU is standing reciprocal council positions within each organization. Currently the council liaison for APECS to PEI is held by Christie Wood, and the PEI liaison to APECS is Sarah Bartholow.
Thanks to the initiatives of the recent International Polar Year to bring outreach efforts to the forefront of the polar science community, APECS has worked to strengthen professional development for early career researchers on effective outreach, while PEI is the formal structure for a global professional network for those who educate in, for, and about the polar regions.
PEI and APECS have already been working together on events such as International Polar Week and activities such as Cool Speakers. The two organizations will work closely to align their objectives and goals for public science literacy campaigns, support for polar scientists engaging in education and outreach efforts, and educators' exposure to current polar science and practices.
