UKPN Takeaways from the UK Arctic Science Conference (Sept 2025)
Written by Isabelle Sangha, Millie Harding and Leeza Pickering
In September, various UKPN committee members attended the UK Arctic Science Conference at Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne. It was a fantastic few days of science, networking and wider discussions about the future of UK Arctic Science.
Here are some highlights and reflections from Izzy, Millie, and Leeza about their experiences at the conference.
Polar Beers takeaways - Izzy
After the first day of the conference we met at the Hotspur pub for a Polar Beers event. In the packed and cozy pub, Dr. Amy Macfarlane gave a captivating talk about art as a way to communicate science with sounds of ice melting, clothing inspired by prints from ice, and moving poems about polar regions. Dr. Rachel Carr then brought everyone to the Dry Valleys of Antarctica to tell stories of what it’s like doing remote field work, and how to talk like a penguin.
We finished off the evening with a competitive polar themed pub quiz and the winning team left sporting the Polar Beers beanies. Overall it was a great success and fun way to kick off the UK Arctic Science Conference!
International Polar Year - Millie
On the first morning of the conference the UKPN held a session for Early Career Researchers (ECRs) which focused on the 5th International Polar Year 2032-2033 (IPY-5). It was great to share with ECRs the current status of the IPY-5 as well as sharing how this is likely to shape future research. We specifically focussed on IPY-5 as there was a general sentiment that information about IPY-5 was not reaching UK-based ECR’s. We felt it was important to make everyone aware of this so that ECR’s could take full advantage of the opportunities that may arise out of IPY-5. We also highlighted current projects that were already known to UKPN that are linked to IPY-5 more generally or were running separately but were likely to feed into IPY-5. After the initial presentation, we moved into a panel discussion which enabled ECR’s to ask questions about previous International Polar Years and understand more about the IPY-5 to Professor Kate Hendry, Henry Burgess (Head of the NERC Arctic Office), and Pilvi Saarikoski (Impact facilitator at the British Antarctic Survey).
Education and outreach takeaways - Leeza
Presenting alongside Millie in the ECR session was amazing! It gave me the chance to tell ECRs about all the things that the UKPN Education and Outreach team have been up to in the past year. Furthermore, it gave us a great platform to share our current project with ECRs - the UKPN Roadshow! This is a planned UK wide tour inspiring the next generation to consider careers in polar science. We had a lot of interested ECRs, who are eager to get involved. Thank you to all who have signed up already! If you are reading this and are interested in helping out, please sign up here (https://forms.gle/UDEn3gbmLQeQFe2w5)!
Moving away from the presentation, it was great to meet so many people interested in the Arctic. I had some amazing conversations with people interested in education and outreach and some very interesting discussions about Arctic research! It was a blast. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next UK Arctic Science Conference!
CINUK (Canada Inuit Nunangat United Kingdom Arctic Research Program) AGM and ArcticNet, Ottawa
I was very thankful to be awarded a travel grant under the "Next Generation UK-Canada Arctic Science Engagement Scheme" funded through the NERC Arctic Office. I attended with UKPN Committee members Louise, Jas and Dylan. For several years, CINUK has been devoted to advancing research in the Inuit Nunangat region with the National Inuit Strategy on Research (NISR) at its heart. It was fantastic to see the diversity in projects and their achievements of the past 3 years. Projects that stood out were Sikuttiaq (Changing ice conditions) , Nuna (Changing land conditions - which featured UKPN president Louise), NNSAR(Search and rescue) and BARIN (beavers and ecological research). These projects did a fantastic job implementing NISR collaborating with Inuit to reproduce cutting-edge research. Seeing collaboration with Inuit first hand really highlighted how research can have a positive impact on communities. It was great to get to know them further and discuss all things polar science and what this conference means for activities within UKPN. A highlight was having opportunities to network, experience Inuit culture and hear speeches from keynote speakers such as the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) President Natan Obed and Governor general of Canada, Mary Simon. Getting keynote speakers stood out as potential idea for UKPN in the future.
" Both conferences were a great way to start the winter season, providing plenty of food for thought as I begin my PhD."
ASSW / AOS Online - Registration open!
The online Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) launches tomorrow followed by the Arctic Observing Summit (AOS)!
The ASSW is an international assembly convened by the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), fostering communication and collaboration between international policymakers, scientists, indigenous people, businesses and NGOs in discussing and addressing key Arctic issues.
This year event will be held online on 27 March - 2 April, and registration is currently live and open to everybody.
Key links:
- Full programme available here: https://www.assw2020.is/program/science
- Arctic Observing Science agenda: https://aos2020agenda.org/march-31/
- Poster session: https://aos2020agenda.org/posters/
- Registration: https://www.assw2020.is/registration
Most of the events will be held in Zoom and you can find detailed guidelines on how to use this platform for ASSW/AOS here: https://aos2020agenda.org/how-to-join/
We in UKPN are glad to be involved in different parts of the event this year, invite you to join us and are looking forward to connecting with the world-wide Arctic community!
