The Polar Access Fund focuses on early-career researchers who plan to undertake an initial field trip to a polar region or a remote high-altitude area. The research conducted during the field trip must be inserted into an existing overarching project (e.g. to enlarge its scope or for comparisons) and be related to […]

The Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) is delighted to announce the appointment of Frédéric Herman (UNIL) as Chair and Christian Wolfrum (ETH Zurich) as Vice-Chair of the SPI Foundation Board. Their mandates will start on 1 January 2025. Earlier this year, the SPI also welcomed Virginia Richter who succeeded to her […]

Environmental impact, best practices and the importance of complementary expertise were at the heart of the exchange during the Polar Dialogue and plenary sessions “Floating Platforms in Polar Seas: Sailing for Science” at this year’s Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík. On this occasion, organisations operating various platforms in polar seas […]

Antarctica InSync (International Science & Infrastructure for Synchronous Observation) is a new major programme led by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Center for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). The programme aims to better understand, protect and sustainably manage the Southern Ocean and Antarctica in the framework of the UN Decade […]

Following the agreement between Université Laval (ULaval), the Institut Nordique du Québec (INQ) and the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI), researchers based in Switzerland can have access as visiting scientists to the vessel’s annual Arctic missions as part of collaborative research projects between teams from the SPI network and researchers from […]

The calls for proposals for the SPI Exploratory Grants and SPI Technogrants are now open! The SPI Exploratory Grants support Swiss-based scientists active in polar regions (including remote high-altitude regions such as the Andes and the Himalayas) by allowing them to launch new short-term ideas such as pilot projects, fund additional fieldwork, or initiate […]

The 3rd call for proposals for the Mertz Fellowship is now open. Launched in 2022, the programme aims to promote collaboration and networking between Swiss and Australian polar and high-altitude science communities, with a focus on early-career researchers. The Mertz Fellowship is dedicated to PhD students and early-career researchers (max. […]

Starting this summer with the SPI Exploratory Grants and the SPI Technogrants, the Swiss Polar Institute has reviewed its funding instruments to assess and lower the environmental footprint of Swiss scientific research in polar and high-altitude regions. Changes include cleantech and alternative data acquisition methods. Applicants will also be encouraged […]

In collaboration with Swiss skipper Oliver Heer, the free educational programme Swiss Polar Class will publish new learning content focused on oceans during the famous Vendée Globe race. Available in French and German, this new module for primary schools offers a novel way to better understand the role oceans play […]