Early Career Researcher Network
The Challenger Society’s Early Career Researcher Network is open to anyone who self identifies as an early career researcher in the marine sciences. We welcome undergraduate and graduate students, postdocs and faculty members, as well as project managers and other commercial sector associates within the marine sciences.
The aims of the network are:
1. to link with fellow Early Career Researchers and share expertise, news and opportunities
2. to link with other networks in the UK and internationally
3. to benefit from the Challenger Society framework and events to foster collaboration among groups and with senior researchers
4. to foster and support diversity at all levels of marine science
The Challenger Society for Marine Sciences recognises that Early Career Researchers (ECRs) have a critical role in the advancement of ocean sciences and sponsors events and activities to support them. If you are interested in joining the network or for more information, do not hesitate to get in touch with the ECR Network Coordinator, Siddhi Joshi
Please see details of the Chris Daniels Early Career Grant for ECRs here.
Join our network today to stay tuned on the latest news and opportunities for ECRs, shaping the future of marine sciences in the UK.
To join the ECR Network mailing list and/or provide seminar topic ideas, please fill in the following online form: https://forms.office.com/r/3gimz639PA
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January 2022 Update
The Challenger society recognises that its Early Career members have a critical role in the advancement of ocean science and we are pleased to introduce in 2022 the Challenger Society Early Career Researcher Seminar Series. These are a series of practical marine science specific seminars to:
- Provide useful training in niche areas for marine science Early Career Researchers (ECRs) delivered by high level marine science specific guest speakers.
- Encourage collaboration and networking with ECRs to support each other through challenges of early careers.
Planned topics include seminars on Challenges of Doing Science at Sea, Data science using Python, Virtual Meet & Greets with the Challenger Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and many more!
The Challenger Society offers funding opportunities for Early Career Researchers such as the Stepping Stones Bursary and The Chris Daniels Early Career Grant. To improve the Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility of the funding awards of the Challenger Society, we are looking for ECR members to join the nominations committee. The nominations committee will also be for Council positions/portfolios, as well as fellowships and awards. If you are a member of the Challenger Society and are interested in the possibility of joining a nominations committee for funding/grants awarded by the Challenger Society, please email us at siddhi@hotmail.co.uk.
Please feel free to distribute the survey to ECRs and your wider networks.
Latest News
Potential Availability of NERC Ship Time During the 25/26 Programme Year
The NERC Marine Facilities Programme for 2025/2026 for the RRS Discovery and the RRS James Cook has been published on the Marine Facilities Planning website.
The RRS Discovery programme currently contains a 79 day alongside slot between the 2nd of November 2025 and the 19th of January 2026, which is available for science delivery if funded science projects can make use of this time. Due to the location of the vessel, the ship is most likely to be able to deliver fieldwork in the North and East Atlantic regions. Some support for science capability within the National Marine Equipment Pool is potentially available, although there is no capacity for use of autonomous vehicles or remotely operated vehicles. Any fieldwork within Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) will need the appropriate diplomatic clearance submitted to coastal states at least 6 months in advance, and to NMF with sufficient lead time for processing via the FCDO.
If interested in making use of this ship time, please contact NERC Marine Planning (marineplanning@nerc.ukri.org) ASAP to start discussions.
THE MARINE FACILITIES ADVISORY BOARD – CAN YOU HELP?
The Marine Facilities Advisory Board advises the National Oceanography Centre on marine facilities and services, including the Natural Environment Research Council’s National Marine Equipment Pool (NMEP), the British Oceanographic Data Centre and the British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility.
NOC Association AGM 2025
NOC Association (NOCA) AGM 2025
The 14th AGM of the NOC Association will be held on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th May 2025. This free, on-line event will take place on Zoom, across two consecutive mornings, each starting at 10:00 and ending at 12:30. Although discussion topics are being finalised, we will focus on national capability (NC) science, ships, and autonomous vehicles, and how the community can engage. There will be an update on AtlantiS and on the new marine science scoping group. All are warmly welcome to join. To participate, please complete your registration here. For enquiries: Jackie Pearson, Secretary to NOCA: jfpea@noc.ac.uk