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Why should I become an APECS Member?
- Get the latest news from APECS and other polar organisations delivered to your inbox.
- Find out about international, professional opportunities and funding for early career researcher with APECS partners: APECS has many activities and resources that could use your help and that will simultaneously will advance your career.
- Make new contacts, share your research, and get new ideas: Becoming an APECS member connects you to our network of researchers and educators with similar interests, passions, and experiences.
- Gain news skills needed for your future career in academic or non-academic professions
- Access APECS’ resources for early career researchers, including a regularly updated job board, mentor database, career development workshops, webinars database, etc.
- And much more!
Please also read our APECS Member Brochure.
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How do I become a member of APECS?
You can register for APECS membership here. It will take less than a minute to fill out the form! Membership is FREE but you are more than welcome to support APECS and all of our activities with a voluntary membership fee donation. -
I want to get involved in APECS. What is there to do, and how to I get started?
There are many things you can do within APECS and we are always looking for excited people with great ideas. Start by visiting our "Get Involved" section. You can for example:
- Join our APECS leadership by applying to the APECS Council or Executive Committee
- Join one of our National Committees and help coordinate local events!
- Help us organise an APECS event at an upcoming conference
- Help us organise one of our online activities (e.g. webinars)
- Help us develop new resources for early career researchers that you cannot find yet on the APECS website. We are always looking for new ideas!
- Participate in our APECS International Polar Weeks and Antarctica Day activities or organise an education and outreach event in your town!
Always remember that APECS events and resources and developed and planned by early career researchers just like you and so we very much welcome your help and ideas. You don’t have to have any previous knowledge as we will mentor and teach you!
If there are specific things you would like to help with, work on, or like to see APECS doing, please contact us.
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What are the benefits of getting involved in the APECS leadership?
- Work with early career/established researchers, and APECS partners from around the world and build your network
- Gain project management, event organizing and teamwork experience
- Gain experience working with a committee of people from around the world
- Make your great ideas happen or bring others to fruition
- Gain education and outreach experience
- Meet like-minded people and make new contacts
- Looks great on your CV
- And much more!
Does this sound like you? Learn more about joining the APECS Leadership or applying for other Representative positions to work with international partners!
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I am really interested in the Antarctic/Arctic. How do I get a job or volunteer position to go there?
This is one of the most common question we get. We personally understand the intrigue the polar regions have and why people want to go, and also that very few have this opportunity. The answer is not an easy one. There are several ways you can get to the Poles; it all depends on your interest in being there:
If you are interested in conducting research, we recommend looking at the National Funding agencies in your country and see what types of polar research they facilitate. You can then contact the principal investigators of these projects. Also, you are welcome to check out our webpage for funding databases. If you want to undertake undergraduate or graduate research, you can use a similar process to investigate universities in your country or abroad and find a place that matches your interests. Further, APECS provides a partial list of graduate programmes here (there are certainly more that are not on our list). Or you can find a field school that will take you there! Also, keep an eye on our job vacancies page.
If you are looking for a science support type of job, there are several countries that operate research stations and hire people to manage and run the stations. There are a number of tourism companies that operate in the polar regions and they are always looking for academics in specific fields (e.g. biology, history, climate science) to work for them. The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators has great information about this sector, as does the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators.
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I was reading some polar science material and came across a bunch of acronyms I didn't understand. Help?
There are definitely many acronyms in polar science, which can get very confusing. Check out our searchable Who's Who in Polar Science directory to find what the acronym stands for and what the organization/project is about, including a link to their website. This is always a work in progress, so if something is missing or need to be updated, please let us know. -
I have been asked to give an outreach presentation on polar science. Can you help?
Outreach is a very important part of APECS and we are here to help. Please visit our Education and Outreach Page where you will find links to several sites that will be helpful for you as well as materials (such as the Polar Resource Book) and presentations given by other early career polar researchers. -
Where can I find funding?
Different nations have different funding bodies, so it is useful to talk to a your advisor or another mentor in your home country about specific opportunities. APECS maintains a list of jobs and opportunities, and this is a helpful resource for those looking for PhD and postdoc opportunities. We also have a funding database that might provide you some hints on where to look for funding. Also, check out our Mentors page, there could be someone near you to contact for further advice. -
How do I organize an event?
We have a great step-by-step description of how to organize an APECS event (e.g. a panel). -
How can I partner with APECS / get APECS to support my project?
Are you interested in partnering with APECS or having us support your project? Teaming up with our network of early career researchers is a possibility as long as your project is in line with our APECS goals and mandate, targeted towards supporting early career researchers and is organised / co-organised by early career researchers. You can contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with a detailed plan of your proposal and we’ll discuss your ideas further from there.