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 […]

On 1 March 2024, the jointly organised SPI-AWI workshop reflected the rich collaboration between AWI- and Swiss-based scientists. Various presentations focused on current and future joint projects in polar regions. The online workshop concluded with a dynamic discussion about future collaboration opportunities in Antarctica. Following the signing of a Memorandum […]

On 26 February 2024 in Sion (VS), the Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) and Tara Ocean Foundation held a joint workshop focused on presenting the drifting scientific observatory/laboratory, Tara Polar Station, and on exploring synergies between the two organisations and their respective scientific communities. The collaborative workshop concluded with both parties […]

The call for the Prix de Quervain is now open. This year’s Prix de Quervain will be awarded for research on topics relating to the two polar regions. The prize honours students and early-career scientists for their outstanding MA, PhD or Postdoc works. The funding organisations are the Swiss Committee […]

From September to November 2023, the Swiss Polar Institute carried out a survey to gather the views of the Swiss polar and high-altitude science community on the environmental footprint of their research and on existing best practices and measures. The results indicate that the categories with the highest footprint also […]

Following a 2nd call for applications conducted between July and October 2023, two AUD 10,000 fellowships have been awarded by the Embassy of Switzerland in Australia and Swiss Polar Institute who will each fund a Fellow. The Mertz Fellowship programme is designed to encourage the active involvement of early-career researchers in polar […]

On 2 December in Sion, about 600 visitors braved the first snow to explore the complex beauty of the cryosphere and the polar regions through various engaging activities including an exhibition of circumpolar art, an interactive science area, a polar explorer treasure hunt and live conferences from Antarctica. The festival […]