Polar Early Career

World Summit

22-24 March 2025 / Boulder, Colorado, US

organized by

The Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and the Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) are collaborating to organize a Polar Early Career World Summit. It will be held alongside the International Conference on Arctic Research Planning (ICARP) IV and the Arctic Science Summit Week (ASSW) in Boulder, Colorado, US in March 2025 with the aim to bring together early career researchers, professionals, Indigenous scholars and knowledge holders connected to the Arctic, Antarctica, and the wider cryosphere from across the world. We will have discussions to:

Shape polar research priorities and the next IPY

Provide input into ICARP IV and the development of the 5th International Polar Year (2032-33)

Strengthen polar early career networks and connections

Discuss the past, present and future of polar early career networks and strengthen them through in-depth discussions, relationship-building, and developing formats of collaboration

Amplify voices of the polar early career community

Conversations at the summit will be synthesized into multiple output formats to reach a broad audience and influence polar science policy and decision-making processes

Interested in attending?

Apply now to attend the Polar Early Career World Summit (PECWS) to be hosted in Boulder, Colorado, USA from 22-24 March 2025! The deadline to submit your application is 19 November 2024, 23:59 GMT. Please note that the application for attendance and for travel funding is combined and you can indicate in the application form if you would like to apply for partial or full travel funding or for none at all.

The future of polar research

Building on the successful history of two previous APECS World Summits, this summit will foster international collaboration across disciplines and encourage discussions that many early career professionals are already spearheading within the scientific community, including emphasizing a need for equity and inclusion within polar research, urging open science development, working across disciplines, furthering applied research, effective science communication, and equitably collaborating through co-production of knowledge.

The timeline to the World Summit

June - July 2024
Call for Planning Team members

The Organizing Committe is seeking enthusiastic polar early career scientists to join the Polar Early Career World Summit 2025 Planning Team to help plan and steer the summit’s activities. The application period closed on 21 July and the Planning Team started to work in August 2024.
by 19 November 2024
Application to participate & for travel support

Participation is free but spots are limited due to venue capacity. The Organizing Committee is collaborating with partner organizations and funding bodies to offer limited travel grants for the Polar Early Career World Summit. You can read more about the application process here.
December 2024
Applicant feedback

Applicants will be informed about the outcome of the application and review process. If select, they have to confirm their attendance at the PECWS within two weeks of being notified.
December 2024
Call for session and workshop proposals

The Polar Early Career World Summit will accommodate workshops and sessions to gather input for the next IPY, discuss research priorities from an early career perspective and to strengthen the networks facilitating these activities. In addition to these themes, participants can propose activities in December 2024.
22 - 24 March 2025
Polar Early Career World Summit

The Polar Early Career World Summit 2025 will be held alongside ICARP IV and ASSW in Boulder, Colorado, US in March 2025. A detailed program will be distributed in Feburary 2025.
Following March 2025
Activities towards the 5th IPY

The organizers will continue to collaborate with attendees, partner organizations and the broader polar community to facilitate the representation of early career voices in the planning and execution of the 5th IPY.