Hi, my name is Jasmine Lee and I have been involved in APECS Oceania since 2014 when I attended the APECS workshop at SCAR2014 in Auckland. It was a really good opportunity to meet other ECRs and some more senior scientists. I then joined APECS Oceania to keep on top of the local activities. In 2017 I joined the APECS Oceania Executive Committee, which has been a really rewarding experience. We organised the first APECS Oceania symposium in Melbourne in September 2017, which was sponsored by Monash University and the Australian Antarctic Division. The Chief Scientist of the AAD (Gwen Fenton) was one of the presentation judges and it was a great opportunity for all of the APECS members to meet her and chat in an informal setting at the symposium dinner. In 2018 I also became the APECS Oceania National Representative where it was my job to communicate with APECS International and attend council meetings. Being the National Representative was a great way to meet fellow ECRs from around the world and get involved without having to commit too much time (though the option to join international project groups was there). I represented APECS O at the 2018 APECS World Summit in Davos, Switzerland which was a fantastic meeting – it was great to be involved in setting the future direction of APECS. Overall my experiences with APECS have been incredibly valuable – I’ve met Antarctic scientists from around the world, had experience chairing meetings and workshop groups, organising a symposium and seeking funders, developed my leadership and communication skills and made some really good friends.

Jasmine Lee

(APECS Oceania Executive Committee member since 2017 and National Representative 2018-2019)

My name is Alyce Hancock and whilst I have been a member of APECS for nearly 10 years, I only became actively involved since 2018.  I am fortunate to live and study in an Antarctic Gateway City, Hobart, with a large community of polar researchers and ECRs.  However, being a part of APECS Oceania has provided me the opportunity to network with ECRs outside of Hobart around Australia, New Zealand and across the globe.  In 2019 I was honoured to be given to opportunity to step up as the President of APECS Oceania, providing valuable opportunity to serve the APECS Oceania members and further develop my skills and experience in leadership and communication.  Through my involved in APECS and APECS Oceania I have developed many skills which have proved invaluable to my career development through the roles I have held and learning opportunities in which APECS has provided.  Over the next 12 months I am excited to watch APECS Oceania grow as we lead up to SCAR2020, and look forward to further developing my leadership, project management and event organisation skills with APECS events during SCAR2020.

Alyce Hancock

(APECS Oceania President since 2019)