Biennial Challenger Conference: Liverpool
Beth Siddons
Plymouth University
Photo caption: (clockwise from top left) Plymouth University’s Plankton and Policy Group; conference dinner at the Liverpool Anglican Cathedral; the poster presentation; viewing of original Ernst Haekel lithographs; Marine Science and Society presentation session.
Blog:
I was very fortunate to receive a Challenger Society Travel Award, which enabled me to attend the Challenger Society’s Biennial Conference in Liverpool, in September 2016. As an MSc student, the conference was a fantastic first foray into the scientific community. Not only was it my first conference, but also my first poster presentation. It was a great opportunity to present my MSc dissertation research, ‘are MSFD plankton indicators regionally transferable?’, and get feedback from peers and established marine scientists. The Challenger Society is really encouraging of early career scientists and the conference created a very supportive environment, so it was a perfect place to start.
The conference kicked off with an Early Career Event, which featured a panel of established marine science professionals from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from commercial sales or technological development to academia or policy and advocacy. After a short introduction from each, there was a breakout session that gave early career scientists the opportunity to pose questions and get advice on areas of interest. The session exemplified Challenger Society’s supportive approach to developing the next generation of marine scientists. In addition, I took advantage of the event’s mentor programme, which paired me with a scientist at CEFAS. It was a brilliant chance to pick the brain of an established marine scientist and get feedback on my research.
The week was intensive, with fantastic presentations on a vast range of subjects and networking with people from a diversity of marine science disciplines. The sheer variety of subject matters, with 2 to 3 lectures taking place at any one time, meant that there was always a presentation topic of interest. There was plenty of time for socialising too - the conference dinner at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral was a particularly great evening, with some fantastic speakers and another great chance to meet new people and relax over dinner.
An unexpected highlight was the opportunity to view original Ernst Haekel lithographs which were part of the Liverpool University Library’s Special Collection. As a self-confessed plankton geek it was a real treat and Prof. Peter Williams gave a fascinating insight into the man himself, as well as how the lithographs were been created. It’s a great example of how the Challenger Society Conference went above and beyond the content of its presentation programme.
The conference was an invaluable experience for me as I approached the end of my postgraduate study and I would to extend my thanks to the Challenger Society for the Travel Award that made my attendance possible.
Profile:
I am a student on the MSc in Applied Marine Science at Plymouth University. My research focus is the application of plankton indicators in the establishment of good environmental status, specifically reviewing the applicability of MSFD indicators in the OSPAR Arctic region.
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Workshop on the contribution of UK Arctic Ocean science to the International Polar Year 32/33
12:00 11th June – 16:00 12th June 2025: NOC Southampton (In-person with online option): Registration deadline 16th May
REGISTER HERE
Pre-meeting questionnaire (open to all)
The purpose of this workshop is for the UK Ocean Science community to discuss and then draft a prospectus document outlining the priority Arctic research questions the community would like to address during the run up to, throughout and beyond the International Polar Year 32/33. Additionally, to identify what unique strengths and technologies the UK has to help fill these knowledge gaps.
The second day of the workshop will be dedicated to writing groups, one for each of the priority research questions identified - from both the pre-meeting questionnaire (HERE) and day one discussion. By the end of the meeting, each group will have produced draft text and sourced supporting figures for the prospectus.
Post meeting, the draft will be opened for comments and suggestions from everyone, regardless of whether they were able to attend the workshop or not. It will then be shared with UK funders (UKRI, FCDO, DSIT, ARIA) and potential international programmes with whom we would like to collaborate (e.g. Arctic 2050, Norway). It will form a basis from which wider integration with terrestrial, atmospheric and cryosphere communities can be built, e.g. at the UK Arctic Science Meeting in September in Northumbria.
To ensure balanced community and ECR representation, and to ensure that the size of the writing groups is efficient and effective, if the number of registrations from individual institutes becomes overwhelming, we may contact individuals or teams and ask that each institute selects a smaller number of individuals to attend in-person. Please wait for confirmation of in-person attendance before finalising travel arrangements.
The workshop will be open to hybrid attendance and contributions on both days.
Challenger Society Council Position Vacancy
The Challenger Society for Marine Science (CSMS) are pleased to announce an exciting opportunity to support the next generation of ocean scientists and innovators. CSMS are looking for a new Council member to fill the Student Travel Awards and Stepping Stones Portfolio. The successful applicant will administer the travel and research grants available for Early Career Researchers.
The role involves:
- Receiving applications for the two schemes and responding to applicant inquiries
- Soliciting and compiling input from the rest of the Council for assessing the applications
- Communicating with successful and unsuccessful applicants for the two schemes
- Working with the Honorary Treasurer on allocating funds to successful applicants
- Following up with award winners on their reporting requirements
- Attending Council meetings four times a year (in person or online) and contributing to discussions and decision making for CSMS
The usual term for Council members is three years.
For more information about the CSMS Council, please follow this link: https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/The_Council
For more information about our Early Career Researcher grants and awards, please follow this link:
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Stepping_Stones
and
https://www.challenger-society.org.uk/Travel_awards
If you are interested in applying or have any questions regarding the role, please contact kathen@bas.ac.uk
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. The agenda 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