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 […]

Sion, 2 July 2024 – Today, Swiss skipper Oliver Heer announced that he will be among the 40 skippers to take part in the Vendée Globe 2024. This also confirms the continuation of the environmental data collection campaign to gain precious insight in the role the Southern Ocean plays in […]

Enabling early-career scientists to access polar and high-altitude regions to pursue their research on climate and environmental changes, this year’s Polar Access Fund supports six researchers selected by an independent panel of experts. The projects cover diverse domains such as biology, microbiology and biogeochemical cycles, applied geophysics, oceanography, high-altitude medicine, […]

The 2023 edition of the PolARTS programme received applications from fifteen tandems of artists and researchers. In cooperation with the PolARTS initiators, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Polar Institute, a transdisciplinary jury selected three tandems’ projects that stood out in terms of quality, originality, and prospective […]