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International Polar Year 2007–2008 - WMO

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520<br />

IPY 20 07–20 08<br />

management. The training sessions gave concrete and<br />

useful advice, insights and skills to help early-career researchers<br />

meet the demands of polar science. Senior<br />

researchers and polar professionals moderated the<br />

sessions, shared advice and mentored the participants.<br />

U.K. <strong>Polar</strong> Network Career Development<br />

Workshop Series, 2009-2011<br />

Beginning in 2009, the UKPN started holding career<br />

development workshops for its members, primarily<br />

aimed at master, doctoral and post-doctoral levels.<br />

These events had the goal of promoting not only<br />

scientific progress and acquiring new skills, but also<br />

career development, networking and outreach. To<br />

ensure a high level of interaction, participants were<br />

encouraged to present a poster as well as to get involved<br />

with organizing the workshop (e.g. chairing a session).<br />

Enhancing Interdisciplinary Research Training<br />

A major focus of IPY was to look at research questions<br />

with a multidisciplinary perspective. This was needed<br />

to enhance the understanding of rapidly changing<br />

polar regions. To help prepare young researchers to<br />

work in these interdisciplinary environments, APECS<br />

participated in the organization of various activities to<br />

help members enhance their interdisciplinary research<br />

skill set. Below are a few highlights over the IPY years.<br />

IMPETUS 2008 – <strong>Polar</strong> Ocean Observation<br />

and Monitoring<br />

St. Petersburg, Russia, 19 – 22 November 2008<br />

This techniques-oriented workshop was jointly<br />

organized by the Otto-Schmidt Laboratory for <strong>Polar</strong> and<br />

Marine Research in Saint-Petersburg (OSL), APECS and<br />

the Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN) and<br />

attended by 85 young researchers from 20 countries.<br />

Financial support was received from the German<br />

Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Arctic<br />

Ocean Science Board (AOSB), the U.S. Arctic Research<br />

Commission (USARC), the Gordon & Betty Moore<br />

Foundation (GBMF), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS),<br />

the Leibniz Institute for Marine Science (IFM-GEOMAR),<br />

Alfred-Wegener-Institute for <strong>Polar</strong> and Marine Research,<br />

the Integrated School of Ocean Sciences (ISOS), IASC,<br />

SCAR, CliC and Aanderaa Instruments. This event<br />

followed a 2007 IMPETUS workshop on permafrost also<br />

organized by the same groups.<br />

APECS/UNIS/UArctic Interdisciplinary IPY<br />

<strong>Polar</strong> Field School<br />

University Center on Svalbard (UNIS), 15 June – 3<br />

July 2009<br />

This three-week course, hosted by UNIS, APECS,<br />

IPY Norway and the University of the Arctic, brought<br />

together 24 talented undergraduate and masters<br />

students from 11 nations that were selected from<br />

nearly 300 applicants (http://apecs.is/field-schools/<br />

apecs-schools/past-field-schools). The interdisciplinary<br />

polar experience in the high Arctic focused on the<br />

IPY themes and covered topics including climatology,<br />

glaciology, marine and terrestrial biology, geology,<br />

oceanography, permafrost and the human dimension.<br />

The Field School combined lectures, seminars, field<br />

excursions and project work, and gave the students<br />

valuable experiences in all aspects of polar research<br />

from the practical to the theoretical.<br />

Similar field schools have been planned for June/<br />

July 2010 and 2011. This has been made possible thanks<br />

to additional funding from the Norwegian Ministry of<br />

Foreign Affairs and support received from UArctic,<br />

IPY Norway and UNIS. APECS was again an important<br />

contributor in the execution and organizing of this<br />

IPY Field School in Svalbard in 2010 and 2011 (http://<br />

apecs.is/field-schools/apecs-schools/svalbard2010).<br />

APECS/IARC <strong>International</strong> Field School<br />

Bellingshausen Station, Antarctica, 10 – 26<br />

January 2010<br />

This field school took place at the Russian<br />

Bellingshausen Station on King George Island, South<br />

Shetlands, Antarctica in January, 2010. <strong>International</strong><br />

and interdisciplinary, the field school exposed<br />

participants to different Antarctic research techniques<br />

necessary for understanding one of the world’s<br />

regions that is most affected by climate change.<br />

Fieldwork and trips were complemented with lectures<br />

at the station. To avoid excessive disturbance to the<br />

wildlife and respecting the protected areas, all field<br />

trips were in permitted areas and were guided by<br />

experienced scientists. When weather conditions did<br />

not permit outdoor activities, the participants gave<br />

interdisciplinary lectures, with subjects varying from<br />

social, natural and physical science.

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