Professional development training for early career polar researchers

One hundred early career researchers working in a range of disciplines met in Russia on 7 July for a career development workshop targeting polar researchers. The workshop was hosted by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) in collaboration with the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) and the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) as part of the SCAR/IASC Open Science Conference “Polar Research—Arctic and Antarctic Perspectives in the International Polar Year.” Demands on early career researchers are increasing. They not only need to excel academically but must also compete for funding with well-established researchers, foster collaborations, and communicate their research to a diverse audience of colleagues, peers, and funding agencies within and outside of their own disciplines and countries. Representatives from funding agencies and research councils including the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the U.K. Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), Antarctica New Zealand, IASC, and SCAR ran sessions and panel discussions focusing on key skills in writing proposals, conducting remote and logistically complex fieldwork, communicating their science, and improving research productivity. Through this, early career researchers had the unique opportunity to question potential reviewers and employers about how best to succeed in polar science.

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