Polar and Alpine Community News

The SCAR Plastic Action Group (Plastic-AG) has launched a competition for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to create an infographic describing plastic pollution in polar regions. The infographic should synthetise available scientific literature and visualize data about plastic pollution in polar regions (in the Arctic and/or Antarctica), including micro- and nanoplastics, to represent the latest advancements in polar research, including key concerns for polar ecosystems. The deadline to send the infographic is the 5th June 2024. The prize is a 400 USD ($) voucher to support the winner in attending the upcoming SCAR Open Science Conference “Antarctic Science: Crossroads for a New Hope”, in August 2024 or to attend another relevant conference in the field of the environment and polar regions.

For more information, please visit: https://scar.org/scar-news/life-sciences/plastic-news/infographic-competition

Opportunity for Early Career Researchers: become an observer at an international team of science communicators!

The SIOS Information Advisory Group (IAG) offers an early career researcher (ECR) the opportunity to serve as an observer member of the working group. The ECR will act as a SIOS ambassador and assist in distributing news about SIOS activities in ECR and other administrative and scientific networks. The selected ECR observer is expected to also contribute actively to other communication tasks and outreach efforts on Earth System Science in Svalbard. This engagement provides a platform for ECRs to become involved in an international organisation and expand their network of communicators and researchers in the field of Earth System Science in the Arctic/Svalbard.

The Bilateral initiative aiming at Harmonisation of the Svalbard cooperation (HarSval) is a multidisciplinary initiative which aims to strengthen the existing collaboration and foster new partnerships between scientists from Poland and Donor States (Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein) conducting scientific research in Svalbard. An offer is addressed to Early Career Scientists (undergraduate/graduate students and PhD. candidates) affiliated with Norwegian universities or research institutes. Proposals with a strong bilateral collaboration will be prioritised. (A similar offer is addressed to ECRs affiliated to Polish entities through a separate call announced by the International Environmental Doctoral School associated with the Centre for Polar Studies at the University of Silesia in Katowice). Read more the eligibility criteria and application process here.

SCAR launched its 2024 Antarctic-related Fellowships for early-career researchers today. The SCAR Fellowship Programme is designed to encourage the active involvement of early-career researchers in furthering our understanding of Antarctica. The Fellowships enable early-career researchers to join a project team from another country, opening up new opportunities and often creating partnerships that last many years and over many Antarctic research seasons.

Following the launch of the Polar Initiative in 2022 the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation has funded an additional SCAR fellowship and as a result SCAR will offer in total four to five fellowships of up to USD $15,000 each for 2024. 

The deadline for the SCAR fellowship applications is 31 July 2024.

The Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research (NVP), in partnership with The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), is delighted to announce the NVP International Summer School 2024, entitled "The Global Arctic." This event forms part of a series of interdisciplinary summer schools conducted in the distinctive locales of Longyearbyen and Isfjord Radio, Svalbard, specifically designed for PhD students and Postdocs.

The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO)* Conference Travel Grant Program is now open for applications. Travel awards to attend and present polar-related work at a conference are open to polar early career scientists and educators. In this Spring 2024 funding cycle, PSECCO will be distributing $5,000 of awards. Applicants may request a reasonable amount of funding to support their travel to/from a conference, up to a value of $900 per person, with awards aimed at those with demonstrated financial need.  An additional $100 is available for awardees who organize a PSECCO social event at the conference. 

The application deadline is March 15, 2024 at 11.59pm MT.  PSECCO will open another round of conference travel funding in the fall of 2024.  

BEPSII, the Biogeochemical Exchange Processes at Sea-Ice Interfaces research community (www.BEPSII.org), has funding available to support early career scientists in research collaborations and exchanges related to biogeochemistry of sea-ice and the polar environment. We are particularly interested in supporting short visits between institutions but will also consider other relevant collaboration activities (examples of some past awards can be found here). 

We are excited to share the invitation to the third edition of the MeteoXchange ECS Conference for an enriching virtual experience tailored for early career scientists in Atmospheric Sciences and related disciplines, free of charge! Are you a Bachelor, Master or PhD student or starting your career in science? This is an excellent opportunity for you to present your research, improve your presentation skills and network with other young scientists in a friendly environment.

Are you going to EGU for the very first time this year and maybe feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the opportunities?

Foundations in Leadership: Getting Back to the Basics

February 21, 2024 at 9.00am to 11.00am AKT | 11.00am to 1.00pm MT | 1.00pm to 3.00pm ET

Join us for the first of three events in PSECCO's 2024 Leadership Workshop Series taking place online over the next three months, entitled 'Foundations in Leadership: Getting Back to the Basics'.