| |
 Dear Member of the Swiss polar and high-altitude science community,
This edition brings you news about the PolARTS and Polar Access Fund calls, the third edition of the Swiss Polar Festival, as well as the latest updates on collaboration and training opportunities. We thank you for your continued support and wish you a good read!
The SPI Team
|
| | | |
Swiss Polar Festival: Four days of outreach activities putting science to the fore
 © 2025 Swiss Polar Class, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
The Swiss Polar Festival starts this afternoon at the Médiathèque Valais with a co-creative workshop in relation to high altitude. Tomorrow, an evening of dialogue on the topic of high mountains through the lens of art, alpinism and science will take place at the Ferme-Asile. On Friday and Saturday, the programme for schools and families will present polar science through various workshops and content in collaboration with the Universities of Bern, Lausanne, and Zurich as well as Tara Océan Foundation, GRIMM and APECS Switzerland. The programme also includes an exhibition and conference by cinematographer Florian Ledoux (BBC Frozen Planet II) and other creative activities. We look forward to welcoming you in Sion!
Detailed four-day programme & registration for Saturday →
|
| |
Expert workshop in Bhutan on glacier-related hazards and community safety followed by the signing of the MoU between SPI and ICIMOD
 © 2025 National Center for Hydrology & Meteorology (NCHM), all rights reserved
From 30 September to 2 October 2025, the “Cryosphere and People at Risk in Bhutan and the Hindu-Kush Himalaya Workshop” took place in the Bhutanese capital Thimphu and brought together over 25 regional and international experts, including Swiss experts from ETH Zurich, EPFL, the Canton of Valais, SLF and WSL. Read more →
Following the international workshop on glacier-related hazards and community safety, Swiss Polar Institute (SPI) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) signed an MoU to federate forces in addressing cryosphere-related hazards. Read more →
 © 2025 NCHM, all rights reserved
|
| |
Integrated risk management in Greenland
 © 2025 Cornelia Brönnimann all rights reserved
Between 8 and 12 September 2025, spatial planners from Avannaata Kommunia in Greenland participated in a week-long workshop dedicated to “Integrated Risk Management” of mass-movement processes. The event was organised in the framework of Swiss Polar Institute’s Konrad Steffen Grant. Read more →
|
| | | |
 Photo credits: © Eliot Sicaud, all rights reserved
Co-funded by SPI and BNP Paribas Swiss Foundation, the Polar Access Fund aims to provide field access to a new generation of polar researchers, thus enabling successful applicants to gain critical experience in leading fieldwork and supporting their professional development. Learn more & submit your proposal →
 Illustration: © Jean-Vincent Simonet, all righs reserved
PolARTS is a joint initiative by the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and the Swiss Polar Institute to encourage exchange and to foster collaboration between art and science. The PolARTS initiative supports up to three tandems composed of an artist and a polar scientist over a period of 12 to 18 months, and opens a space for new explorative practices and transdisciplinarity.
Learn more and apply →
Next opportunities:
SPI contributes to the cost related to the participation in field schools and training programmes to enable students and early-career scientists affiliated to a Swiss academic or research institution to acquire specialised experience and knowledge. Learn more & apply for SPI support →
|
| |
 The next training in collaboration with GRIMM is open for registration:
A two-day course addressing the needs of scientific groups going into the field focuses on first-aid practices in special conditions encountered in cold and remote regions.
Find out more & secure your place →
The registration is open for the upcoming course on:
Building a positive team culture for safe and effective fieldwork
29 May 2026
Alpole, Sion
The participants will explore essential leadership and communication tools that empower every field team member, regardless of their role, to actively contribute to fostering a positive and supportive environment.
The course is organised in collaboration with the Advancing Field Safety programme, an initiative created by members of ETH Zurich, the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the ADVANCEGeo Partnership.
Contact us to register →
In collaboration with AWI:
For scientists working in northern regions the presence of polar bears is a risk that should not be underestimated. For this reason, SPI collaborates with the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Germany to make training courses about polar bear awareness and handling of weapons available to Swiss-based scientists. Find out more →
|
| |
Swiss Geoscience Meeting 2025 • 5-6 December, Bern
 Meet us at this year's Swiss Geoscience Meeting "Realigning within Planetary Boundaries: Equity and sustainability in resource exploration." On Saturday 6 December, 31 symposia will cover the diverse spectrum of current research in geosciences, encompassing the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere, the biosphere, the atmosphere and the anthroposphere, with one symposium dedicated to polar and high-altitude environments. Learn more →
|
| |
Mission polaire @ Aquatis, Lausanne
 After the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco, the MISSION POLAIRE exhibition is at Aquatis Lausanne. This temporary exhibition explores the environmental, social, and scientific issues of the polar regions and the consequences of climate change. More info →
|
| |
Greenland in focus @ ALPS Museum & BHM, Bern
The "Greenland. Everything changes" exhibition at the ALPS Museum in Bern continues its ‘#imFokus’ event series. Join the conversation on current developments in Greenland as the events will allow plenty of room for questions and discussion. Next event on 27 November. More info →
In cooperation with the ALPS Museum, the Bernisches Historisches Museum launched a complementary exhibition on Greenland, "Greenland Ahoy!" with a focus on colonialism and museum collections past, present and future. The exhibition runs until 31 May 2026.
More info →
|
| | | |
Photo credits: © ALPS Museum / Bernisches Historisches Museum, all rights reserved |
| | | | | |
APECS Photo competition: Vote for the best picture |
| |
The Swiss chapter of the Association of Polar Early-Career Scientists is actively looking for new members. During this summer's fieldwork season, they organised a fieldwork photography competition. Meet the APECS Switzerland community and see the exhibition on Saturday 29 November at the Swiss Polar Festival in Alpole (Sion), and vote for the best photo. More info → |
| |
Outreach
Three Poles, One World: New content in collaboration with Schulverlag Plus is now online
|
| |
 © 2025 Swiss Polar Class, all rights reserved
This year, Swiss Polar Class collaborated with Schulverlag plus, a Swiss publisher specialised in educational material. Together, they developed a new learning programme focused on polar regions and their significance to the global climate. Three Poles, One World (Drei Pole, eine Welt – eine Zusammenarbeit mit Swiss Polar Class) aligns with the "Lehrplan 21" and offers 17 interactive, project-based lessons on polar regions, as well as their connection to high altitude regions and the Swiss Alps. Visitors will be able to test the interactive platform at the Swiss Polar Festival. More info and access to the digital platform →
|
| | | | | | | | | |
|
