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Early Career Scientists within Antarctica InSync – two successful webinars organised by APECS Germany

Hosted by us at APECS Germany as part of our “Let’s Talk” series, two seminars were co-organised by the Antarctica InSync Early Career Coordination Group and supported by the Antarctica InSync coordination team this July: Let’s talk Antarctica InSync!

We offered two sessions to accommodate participants across different time zones, on July 28th and July 29th 2026. Reflecting the broad interest in the program, we were joined by a large number of Early Career Scientists from around the world. With over 200 registrations combined, we reached students, PhDs and  PostDocs in New Zealand, Chile, Australia, Italy, USA, Germany, Belgium, UK, the Netherlands, Spain, Poland, France, Brazil, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, Canada and even Antarctica.

At the start of the input part of the seminars, we tried to explain what Antarctica InSync is and what it is not. Antarctica InSync is an international initiative that coordinates Antarctic and Southern Ocean research across countries, disciplines, and observation methods. Its goal is to connect existing projects, align research priorities, standardize measurements, and combine data to better understand interconnected changes such as warming, sea-ice loss, melting ice sheets, and ecosystem changes.

The initiative is currently in its preparation phase, developing science plans, identifying knowledge gaps, and coordinating observations. The main synchronized observation campaigns are planned for 2027–2029, followed by data synthesis and reporting, contributing to preparations for the Fifth International Polar Year in 2032–2033.

InSync is not a funding programme; research is funded through national programmes and institutions. It operates as a broad network involving 7 scientific themes, working groups, the national committees, and facilitated by an international coordination group including the Scientific Steering board. Early-career researchers are encouraged to get involved now by joining relevant themes or working groups, attending open meetings, subscribing to mailing lists, and connecting with the wider research community.

Then we presented ways on how to get involved as an ECR in the Antarctica InSync Early Career Coordination Group. It fosters networking and collaboration by connecting ECRs from different disciplines, regions, and backgrounds and wants to promote professional development and capacity building throughout all phases of the project. It will create opportunities for ECRs to connect through workshops and digital platforms and continue to represent their perspectives in Antarctica InSync governance. ECRs can join the group and help shape its activities by contacting APECS at info@apecs.is.

Everyone interested can also join the Antarctica InSync Early Career Slack workspace using this link (https://join.slack.com/t/antarcticainsync/shared_invite/zt-3x5pn7h6t-Om5hBOwqiO~b5dKEPj2Xtw) to connect with other early career professionals that are involved in or interested in Antarctica InSync or to receive updates from the Early Career Coordination Group.

To further illustrate what Antarctica InSync is all about, we invited several ECR speakers to share more details about their involvement in the initiative and their plans for fieldwork in Antarctica. On the first day that were, Martin Radenz (DE), Niels Dutrievoz (FR), Valentina Bernal (CHL), Maren Richter (UK), and Mariama Dryák-Vallies (US), the director of PSECCO, the Polar Science Early Career Community Office based in the US. On the second day the group consisted of Friederike Weith (DE), Maren Richter (UK),  Rodrigo Geomz-Fell (NZ), Sonja Wahl (NO) and Abbie Smith (AUS). 

For the Q&A session, we were additionally joined by Stefanie Arndt and Alexander Haumann, who are the Chairs of the Antarctica InSync Scientific steering board. Together with our ECR speakers and our APECS team they tried to answer all the questions posted by the audience either before or during the webinars. Participants asked how they could get involved, particularly as early-career researchers, also from disciplines outside traditional Antarctic science, where to find funding and how much time participation might require. Other questions focused on networking, community activities and additional support which could be available for researchers and new projects. 

A huge thank you to everyone involved who made these two webinars a great success!

You can find the introductory slides of the event linked here.

Useful resources and notes

The main tips to get involved or learn more about the project  were: 

  • Sign up for mailing lists  (General InSync newsletter, theme-specific mailing lists, working group mailing lists)
  • Join a working group or theme meeting (they are open to everyone!) or propose a new working group if your topic is not covered yet
  • Check out the website to find your national committee / point of contact!
  • Join the Early-Career Slack space to network and exchange information (see above)
  • Contribute to writing white papers, SOPs and coordination plans
  • Ask if someone needs extra people on board (berths are greatly contested, but if you have specialist skills, you have chances of joining cruises)
  • Ask to join large proposals as a named PostDoc
  • Write your own proposal for research that can piggy-back off existing cruises (ERC Start grant, ARIA seed funding etc.), also with a letter of endorsement by the InSync coordination office

The following weblinks were shared in the chat: 

Upcoming events

You can also network and meet us at the SCAR Open Science Conference, Oslo, 10–14 August 2026, which will feature several InSync-related sessions like: 

  • O6 – Polar Early Career Community gathering organized by APECS and PSECCO, on 11 AUGUST 2026, 16:00 – 17:30 CEST
  • Antarctica InSync Town Hall: 12 AUGUST from 19:15 CEST onwards. 
  • W3 – Implementing Early Career Engagement and Priorities in IPY-5 and Antarctica InSync on 13 AUGUST 2026, 11:30 – 13:00 CEST

The next Antarctica InSync Implementation Workshop, hosted by ESA-ESRIN will happen in Frascati, Italy, 11–13 November 2026. 

In due time, we will publish a detailed overview with the frequently asked questions and their answers. For now, you can also read our overview on https://apecs-germany.de/antarctica-insync/ .

You want to know more about Antarctica InSync in the meantime? 🇦🇶🐧 

Follow along for updates on Instagram @apecs_germany, on our website www.apecs-germany.de and sign up for our newsletter here: https://apecs-germany.de/newsletter/ 

If you are interested in organizing events or content with APECS Germany, collaborating with us or have other comments, feel free to write us a mail:  germany-board@apecs.is!