Science conducted in and around polar and high-altitude regions is critical to understanding the evolution of the Earth’s climate.
Due to the complex logistics, challenging access and difficult safety conditions in these extreme environments, the Swiss polar community requires specific competencies and dedicated support.
The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) offers tailored support to scientists based in Switzerland who work in polar regions and remote high-altitude environments.

NEWS

The call for the Prix de Quervain for Polar and High-Altitude Research is now open. This year’s Prix de Quervain aims at awarding students and early-career scientists for their research conducted in, or concerning high-altitude regions. The funding organisations are the Swiss Committee on Polar and High Altitude Research (SKPH), […]

Mertz on the ice cliff (c) Frank Hurley, 1912 /Wikimedia - Public Domain, State Library of South Wales

Mertz Fellowship – Inaugural Recipients Announced

News

Mertz Fellowship – Inaugural Recipients Announced

Following the first call for applications conducted between September and November 2022, two AUD 10,000 Fellowships have been awarded thanks to the financial support of the Swiss Polar Institute and the Antarctic Science Foundation who will jointly fund a Fellow. The Mertz Fellowship programme is designed to encourage the active […]

Bern, Rosengarten / Andreas Fischinger on Unsplash

The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) and the National Institute of Polar Research of Japan, the Research Organization of Information and Systems (NIPR) sign a Memorandum of Understanding

News

The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) and the National Institute of Polar Research of Japan, the Research Organization of Information and Systems (NIPR) sign a Memorandum of Understanding

PRESS RELEASE Bern, 30 January 2023 – The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) and the National Institute of Polar Research of Japan, the Research Organisation of Information and Systems (NIPR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today for collaborative research in the polar and remote high-altitude regions. The signing took place […]

More than 75 papers published from the ACE Expedition

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More than 75 papers published from the ACE Expedition

The researchers from the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE) continue to be very prolific! We now count more than 75 journal articles resulting from this scientific expedition around Antarctica five years ago. You can now read articles about the trends of adaptation and evolution of sclerite shapes in sea pens with […]

SPI is moving to Sion

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SPI is moving to Sion

On 5 December, the SPI offices will move to Sion, in the Alpole building, at the center of the Energypolis campus. Close to the heart of Sion and anchored in the Alps, the SPI team will continue to offer its services to the Swiss polar community, and will organise events […]

Start of the Route du Rhum race & beginning of data collection

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Start of the Route du Rhum race & beginning of data collection

Swiss Polar Institute representatives were at St-Malo on the last weekend of October to encourage the offshore sailing team Oliver Heer Ocean Racing during the final preparations for the Route du Rhum solo race. Oliver Heer will cross the Atlantic to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe while collecting environmental data onboard his […]