A formal signing ceremony was held on June 8th, 2010 at the Norway Trade Fairs Conference Centre, during the APECS Student and Mentor Reception, which was attended by over 750 participants from around the world. Signing on behalf of the partner organisation are (left to right): Lars Kullerud, UArctic President; Daniela Ligget, former APECS President and current APECS Executive Committee member; and Sandra Zicus, IAI Project Office.

The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) is an international and interdisciplinary organization for undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, early faculty members, educators and others with interests in polar regions and the cryosphere.

The International Antarctic Institute (IAI) is a global consortium of universities and agencies that provide university-level education and conduct research in Antarctic. Building on the spirit of international cooperation in Antarctic research, the institute brings together diverse institutions throughout the world.

In acknowledgement of the important role that each of the partner organizations has in helping the next generation of polar researchers, this agreement strengthens their joint commitment and serves as a framework to guide future collaborations.

Lars Kullerud, President of UArctic comments: “The members of UArctic look forward to collaborating with IAI to develop and enhance educational opportunities for young researchers, and see APECS as a vital partner in all aspects of this collaborative effort“. 

As a first step in their cooperation, the partners, together with IASC and SCAR, have produced a brochure entitled "Exploring polar science" which provides a general introduction to each of the collaborating partner organisations, with the aim of assisting young graduate students (i.e. future polar researchers) in planning their path towards the world of polar science. A copy of the brochure is available here.