Recruiting the 2021/22 committee
It’s that time of year again! We’re looking to fill some positions on our 2021/22 committee. We welcome a diverse range of people and all you need is enthusiasm! PhD students, post-docs, masters students and non-academics are all happily accepted.
Being part of the UKPN is the perfect way to expand your polar network, hear of unique opportunities first, develop your skills, help other early career researchers, and – of course – it’s a load of fun. The UKPN is present at national and international events alongside local officials, governments, and leading scientists.
Each role will have handover notes from the previous volunteer, and the committee is on hand to support. Roles are flexible with the amount of time they require as they can be seasonal, but as a ball-park, plan for two hours a week and a 2-hour meeting every other month. If you want to do more, there will be other projects and tasks available!
Please apply via the form (bit.ly/UKPNcomm21) by 16th August 2021.
Abstract submission and registration open! Committee positions available!
It's the time of year where we recruit new committee members for the 2020/21 term. The positions we have available are outlined below with short descriptions. We welcome a diverse range of people, and all you need is some enthusiasm! Traditionally the majority of the committee are PhD students, but Post-docs, Masters Students, and non-academics are always very welcome too.
Being a part of the UKPN committee is a great way to expand your Polar network, hear about unique opportunities first and develop your soft skills, and of course, it’s a lot of fun! We get a great bunch of people every year, and they represent the UKPN at national and international events alongside local officials, governments, and leading scientists. Each role will have a handover from the previous committee member and the new president and the committee will support each committee member in their role. Roles are flexible with the amount of time they need as they are seasonal, but as a ball-park, plan for two hours per week in addition to the bimonthly meeting. The time can fit into your own schedule, and the more time you have to spare, the more you can volunteer for additional tasks.
Please email president@polarnetwork.org by the 21st of August with a brief description of why you would like to take the role on. Any questions are welcomed too.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) officer
- To monitor and increase EDI both within our organisation and within STEM as a field. Will work closely with education and outreach to run a mentorship scheme, fund prospective students to attend university open days, and host undergraduates within our member’s institution. Will work on linking with universities across the UK to create a diversity network.
- The officer will be supported for the first six months by the Diversity in Polar Science Initiative, introduced to the relevant senior officials, and be supported by the UKPN EDI team.
Education & Outreach: festivals
- Organise UKPN attendance at two UK festivals (e.g. Edinburgh festival, Bristol festival of nature), including applying for spot at festival, finding volunteers, planning activities and running stall at festival.
- This is a joint role with one of our reps staying on from last year, giving a head start in terms of planning.
Education & Outreach: Antarctic Flags
- A highly successful outreach activity where schools design flags for the Antarctic continent which are then sent south to researchers. This role will be to co-ordinate and deliver this project (registration of schools via google form, finding Antarcticans to take flags (electronically), and collating and sending back photos to schools).
Education and Outreach: Pint of Science
- To organise a Pint of Science event - an informal series of interesting talks by researchers in a pub setting - spanning three cities.
- These events have been highly successful over the last few years, and tickets have not been difficult to sell.
Social media
- Manage our social media communications as well as the UKPN blog. We communicate through a large variety of channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Social media: website
- UK Polar network WordPress posting, and updating website with events, news, etc.
Volunteers needed!
The UKPN committee 2019/20 are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to fill our last remaining position as a festival coordinator.
Don’t miss the chance to get involved!
Writing Successful Proposals: a guide for ECRs
Don't miss our upcoming workshop!
The UK Polar Network will be holding a workshop at the Arctic Sciences conference in Loughborough in September. We are offering an optional social media for conferences session on the evening of the 10th, a morning workshop on proposal writing, and a free lunch. Don't forget to register before 8th August.
For more information on the UK Arctic Science Conference, click here
Opportunity to attend Marine Research and Education Conference in Moscow
The application deadline is midnight (GMT) on 17th September, 2018 (i.e. 00:00 18/9/18 GMT).
100 Days to Antarctica Day!
Today marks the 100-day countdown to Antarctica Day! We at UK Polar Network will be working with Our Spaces this year to lead the Antarctica Day festivities--you'll be hearing a lot from us over the next couple of months. As part of this initiative, we invite individuals, classrooms and schools to participate in the festivities by sending us their renditions of Antarctic flags. The flags will then hitch a ride all the way to Antarctica, and we will send proof of travel with a certificate and photos of their journey!
What's so important about Antarctica Day and our Flags event? After almost fifty-five years, the Antarctic Treaty continues to shine as a rare beacon of international cooperation. To celebrate this milestone of peace in our civilisation with hope and inspiration for future generations – Antarctica Day is recognised to be December 1st -the day when the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959. As an annual event, Antarctica Day encourages participation from around the world. Our aim is to continue expanding Antarctica Day through our Flags initiative as a globally-accessible platform to share, interpret and cherish the values associated with Antarctica for the benefit of present and future generations.
For researchers travelling to Antarctica
You can help!
Are you heading down to Antarctica or any of the surrounding Antarctic Islands this Winter (November - January)? If so, please let us know! All we ask is for you to help bring down some of these flags, which will be sent to you in pdf or jpg format (however many you are willing to help with!) and photograph them on Antarctica as proof of them having made the journey down south. However you do so is completely up to you--you can be as creative as you want. The photos in this post show various ways that past Antarctic teams have showcased these flags.
For teachers and classrooms:
We've uploaded many school resources, including class plans and PowerPoints on how you, as an educator, can introduce Antarctica and Antarctica Day into your classroom, and have your students create flags to be sent down to Antarctica. We would like to emphasise that submissions to us can only be up to 5 flags per school or classroom--if you would like to submit your flags to us, please contact Julie Berkman <jberkman@ourspaces.org.uk> where she will provide you a DropBox link on reply.
The idea is for your students to design flags for the Antarctic. You can either get all students to design flags, and then chose your 'top five' or you could design a couple of flags as a whole class/year group. Digital pictures of the flags are sent to us, and we then print off these picture and send them down to the Antarctic with our scientists and engineers in November and December. A picture of your flags will then be taken within the Antarctic, and the student/classroom will receive a certificate to say where their flag was displayed. There is also a chance that a competition will be run for the best flags to be hung up around the British Antarctic Survey and Scott Polar Museum.
We can provide a large number of resources and lesson ideas. We would also like to maintain a relationship with the school afterwards, either by a visit to the school from a scientist, or an online Q&A session for your students with a scientist. This is an international activity, and so far we have schools from over 20 countries taking part. The UKPN would love to have your school participate in this exciting event.
To help you implement this activity within your classroom, we've attached a sample class plan for Antarctica Flags that has been most popular over the last couple of years! If you would like this class plan in another language, please let us know by replying to this email.
This year, our deadline for submission of Antarctica Day flags will be slightly earlier, on the 1st November (exactly 1 month before Antarctica Day!), because we'd like to get your flags to be photographed in Antarctica on the 1st December.
Lastly, to keep updated and involved in the Antarctica Day festivities, please follow us on Facebook (UKPN and Antarctica Day) and Twitter, where we will be regularly posting your flag submissions and other relevant items counting down the days to December 1st.
Please get in touch with either me <tj.young@polarnetwork.org>, Jenny Turton <jenny.turton@polarnetwork.org> or Julie Berkman <jberkman@ourspaces.org.uk> if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing your Antarctic Flags!
TJ Young and Jenny Turton
