Workshops – UK Polar Network

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

International Polar Year Workshop

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).

3 individuals sat in a panel layout with one chairperson at the front. — Panel discussion at the IPY workshop.

Education and outreach takeaways - Leeza

Education and Outreach slide shown on a lecture theatre screen. — Leeza Pickering delivering a presentation about UKPN Education and Outreach.

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)!

A poster shown on a brick background with a title reading 'Roadshow' and a cartoon road. — UKPN Roadshow poster.

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!

by admin

CCfS Polar Symposium 2025

The Cambridge Centre for Climate Science (in collaboration with the Institute of Computing for Climate Sciences, the British Antarctic Survey, and the UK Polar Network) hosted CCfCS Polar Symposium 2025 at the British Antarctic Survey. The purpose of this event was to connect polar and climate researchers within Cambridge (in both sciences and humanities) and provide an overview of work which contributes to understanding and mitigating climate change.

The programme included an afternoon of talks from a variety of research institutions and departments, followed by a poster session and workshop aimed at early-career researchers. The event was be a great opportunity to find new collaborators and meet like-minded people interested in polar science and climate change across Cambridge. Early career researchers were particularly encouraged to participate.

Overall the event was a huge success with great attendance and some interesting discussions were had.

by admin

PolarECC

Polar Early Career Conference flyer Abstract submission and registration open! Find out more here.

by admin

Polar Horizons 2021 - apply by 25th January!

It's time for the next Polar Horizons! The team over there sent us the following to share with our members:
****************************************************************************************************
The Polar Horizons 2021 scheme aims to bring more diversity to UK Polar Science.

The Diversity in Polar Science Initiative is running the successful Polar Horizons program again in 2021. In 2020 we reached out to UK students from underrepresented groups including, BAME, LGBTQ+ and Disabled students, to show them how fantastic UK polar research, engineering, and operations are and why they should be looking poleward in their future career.

In March 2021 we are doing it all again and this year the scheme is moving fully online, opening it up to the entire UK polar research community.

We invite early career researchers & students in STEM subjects from groups currently underrepresented in Polar Research (including BAME, LGBTQ+ & Disability) to be paired with Arctic & Antarctic scientists and engineers and join us for our program. If you are available in office hours, between the 2^nd and 5^th of March 2021 and want to learn about Polar Research, please apply here.

We have organised a four-day programme where we will introduce students to polar research through presentations, workshops, and conversations with individually selected and matched virtual hosts who are currently working on polar subjects!

If you have any questions, please find more information here on the British Antarctic Survey website.

https://www.bas.ac.uk/project/diversity-in-uk-polar-science-initiative/uk-polar-horizons-2021/

If you are BAME/BIPOC, LGBTQ+ or have a disability and are interested in Polar science, engineering, technology (including AI), maths, policy, museum studies or operations in the polar regions, please apply here.

****************************************************************************************************

by admin

UKPN at the Arctic Frontiers 2020

The coming Sunday (January 26th) marks the beginning of the Arctic Frontiers 2020 The Power of Knowledge conference in Tromso, Norway. This will be an entire week of talks, plenary discussions, workshops, round tables, poster sessions and networking receptions.

The UKPN has three delegates this year actively engaging in various activities during the conference ranging from scientific talks to school outreach events with our colleagues from APECS Norway.

We would also like to take this opportunity to advertise workshop that is particularly relevant to early career researchers working in the Arctic - Next generation Arctic field courses: sharing best practices from the UK, Norway and Russia.

When: 29 January 2020, 16:15-17:45
Where: Mellomstort møterom (Quality Hotel Saga), Tromso
Organisers: UK Science and Innovation Network and NERC Arctic Office

For more details, please visit https://eu.eventscloud.com/website/614/side-events/

If you are attending, please come and say hi, you can find us by the UKPN poster, otherwise follow the #UKPN_ArcticFrontiers on Instagram to get a glimpse of one of the largest Arctic events of the year!

#UKinArctic #ArcticFrontiers #Arctic #Tromsø

by admin

Outreach webinar

Outreach webinar advert

It is now well-recognised that science outreach is an essential soft skill for any researcher. Do you understand the necessity but feel too underprepared to get involved? We're offering online training for anybody interested in taking their science into the classroom and adding a polar theme. The training will be led by a science communication expert and a school teacher to allow both worlds to come together. The focuses will be science communication for children and activity preparation, with tips on public speaking.

Monday 17^th February 10am – 12pm

Register here: http://tiny.cc/UKPN-webinar-registration

by admin

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.

To register, click here

For more information on the UK Arctic Science Conference, click here

by admin

UK-Russia science session at Arctic Science Summit Week

UK-Russia Arctic Scientific Cooperation: Towards a Better Understanding of the Changing Arctic
Time: Friday, 24 May, 14:00 – 15:30
Venue: Northern Arctic Federal University, Room 11220 (Academic Board Room, 2nd floor, Arkhangelsk, Russia
Organisers: UK Science and Innovation Network in Russia (SIN Russia) & the NERC Arctic Office

The UK and Russian science communities have long-standing research cooperation on climate change in the Arctic. Over the past two years this cooperation has been marked by exciting new developments: dynamic bilateral projects, workshops, conferences and initiatives, with a special focus on early career links and institutional partnerships. These scientific partnerships are helping to advance our understanding of the changing Arctic and the global implications of these changes: from northern forests and palaeoenvironmental studies to terrestrial and marine ecosystems, to adaptation of local communities. Join our session at Arctic Science Summit Week 2019 to learn more about recent UK-Russia scientific work and explore what further wider collaborative research opportunities might look like.

Co-Chairs
• Henry Burgess, Head of the NERC Arctic Office, IASC Vice-President
• Dr Marina Kalinina, Adviser to the Rector, Northern Arctic Federal University (NArFU), Arkhangelsk; Vice-President on Interregional Cooperation at the University of the Arctic

Speakers
• Prof. Mary Edwards, University of Southampton, UK-Siberia scientific working group (DIMA)
• Dr Marina Kalinina, Adviser to the Rector, Northern Arctic Federal University (NArFU), Arkhangelsk; Vice-President on Interregional Cooperation at the University of the Arctic
• Dr Rachael Turton, Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge
• Dr Olga Tutubalina, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University
• Yulia Zaika, President of the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists Russia (APECS Russia)
• Saule Akmetkaliyeva, UK Polar Network, Manchester Metropolitan University

by admin

Opportunity to attend Marine Research and Education Conference in Moscow

Applications are invited from early career researchers (from PhD level to 10 years post-PhD) with an interest to marine stations to participate in a side-event during the Marine Research and Education Conference in Moscow, November 21-22, themed “Interdisciplinary marine research in the Arctic and Northern Atlantic Oceans”. The event is in collaboration with the UK Polar Network, the Marine Research Center of Lomonosov Moscow State University, the UK Science & Innovation Network and NERC Arctic Office.

Workshops will be held at Moscow in the Institute of Oceanology with travel and accommodation support available. Please download the conference schedule and application form linked at the bottom of this post (to save the files you can right-click and print to PDF).

The application deadline is midnight (GMT) on 17th September, 2018 (i.e. 00:00 18/9/18 GMT).

Please return completed application forms to to applications@polarnetwork.org for UK-based researchers or to info@maresedu.com for Russian-based researches with a title UK-Russian side-event.

Any additional enquiries can be addressed to the conference organising committee at info@maresedu.com

UK_Russia_Moscow_Application_Form

UK-Rus proposal FINAL

by admin

Polar Marine Workshop, UEA. Speakers announced!

UKPN Polar Marine Science - Registration closes May 21st!!

Click here for the Workshop Schedule

The workshop is an interdisciplinary meeting of early career researchers, focussing on all aspects of marine sciences in the polar regions. It will be hosted at the University of East Anglia in Norwich on the 29th – 31st July 2014.

Workshop Themes

The theme of the workshop is polar marine science, including physical, biological and chemical sciences of the oceans, as well as links with atmospheric and cryospheric processes.

The workshop is funded by the NERC iSTAR project, itself an interdisciplinary project researching the impact of ocean heat transport on the melting of Pine Island Glacier in West Antarctica.

Information

This workshop aims to bring together 40 – 45 early career polar researchers to present their science and gain knowledge of cutting edge research, funding opportunities and career pathways. We invite talks or posters in any field of polar marine science and also welcome research in progress from early career research students - it will be a great opportunity to present in front of peers and get feedback on your research from a wide range of specialisms.

There will be excellent opportunities to build networks with fellow early career scientists as well as senior scientists, who will share their perspectives in a series of panel debates and workshops. Our keynote speaker on Tuesday night is polar explorer Antony Jinman, who also specialises in educational outreach whilst on expedition! Polar technologies such as Autosub, UAVs, AUVs, seal tagging and moorings will be introduced by experts in the field and provide the opportunity to learn more about how they could be used in your research.

There will be a registration fee of £50.

Registration closes in 3 weeks, so get your abstracts in soon!

For more information and registration please visit: http://polarnetwork.org/events-and-workshops/2014-polar-marine-science-workshop/

You can connect with fellow participants on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1377274915857549/

Thanks,

The organising committee.

by admin