About the Project
The Polar Science Early Career Community Office (PSECCO) is funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs Award #2135176 and has served as a community building and support organization for polar early-career scientists since 2022. PSECCO supports and uplifts early-career scientists by fostering a vibrant community across disciplines, providing resources and opportunities through workshops, training, and travel funds, and working collaboratively to create a welcoming environment for everyone in polar research. The Arctic Data Center has been fortunate to collaborate with PSECCO in support of this mission.
Key Themes Driving PSECCO
At its core, PSECCO is about fostering a strong, supportive community for early-career polar scientists. PSECCO is built on the idea that early-career researchers are essential to the future of polar science and that supporting them requires more than funding. One key focus is cross-disciplinary collaboration. Polar research spans glaciology, oceanography, geology, ecology, the social sciences, and more, and PSECCO works to break down barriers between disciplines, helping individuals regardless of location or career stage make connections beyond their own labs or institutions.
Capacity building through practical experience is another central theme within PSECCO. Beyond workshops and travel support, PSECCO emphasizes peer-to-peer learning, mentorship networks, and exposure to career paths both inside and outside academia in their monthly webinar series. These opportunities allow early-career polar scientists explore possibilities within polar science and feel supported as they grow.
Creating a sustainable, supportive, and welcoming community is also a priority. PSECCO encourages an environment where researchers can share ideas, ask questions, and learn from one another, building relationships that strengthen the field as a whole. Partnerships with data centers, universities, and international programs expand these opportunities, helping individual scientists thrive while contributing to a more connected and resilient polar research community.
Building Community Through Workshops and Webinars
Workshops and webinars are at the heart of PSECCO’s efforts to connect early-career polar scientists. These events go beyond traditional training by creating spaces where researchers can meet peers, exchange ideas, and tackle challenges together, both in-person and online. Whether introducing new research methods, discussing career development, or exploring interdisciplinary topics, PSECCO’s sessions help participants expand their skills while building meaningful professional relationships.
Participants and organizers of PECWS. Photo Credit: Lauren Lipuma, CIRES, CU Boulder.
The Arctic Data Center has collaborated with PSECCO to bring targeted training directly to the community. At the 2025 Polar Early Career World Summit, our Outreach Team hosted a workshop on FAIR and Ethical Data Collection for Collaborative Research. Participants learned best practices for making research data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR), while also respecting cultural and ethical considerations in their place of research. The session combined hands-on exercises with breakout discussions, giving early career scientists the tools and confidence to implement these practices into their own work. Outcomes from the Summit are summarized in a Synthesis Report, capturing the voice of 238 early career polar researchers from around the world in an effort to inform the upcoming Fifth International Polar Year (IPY5).
Building on the momentum of the 2025 Polar Early Career World Summit, PSECCO and the Arctic Data Center are hosting an upcoming webinar on Fair and Ethical Data Collection for Collaborative Polar Research. The session will provide participants who could not attend the Summit with the opportunity to engage with the same practical strategies for making data FAIR and ethical. The webinar will take place on February 11th, 2026 from 10am-11am PT. To attend, please register.
PSECCO Director Mariama Dryák-Vallies (right) with Arctic Data Center Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinators Angie Garcia (left) and Nicole Greco (center) at the 2025 Toolik All Scientists Meeting.
Looking Ahead: The Legacy of PSECCO
Through its commitment to community building, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and professional development, PSECCO has become a cornerstone of support for early-career polar scientists. Its work demonstrates that strong science is built not only on data and discovery, but also on relationships, shared knowledge, and spaces where researchers can grow together.
Collaborations like those between PSECCO and the Arctic Data Center highlight what is possible when organizations work together to support the next generation of researchers. By equipping polar early-career scientists with practical skills, ethical frameworks, and a sense of belonging within the broader research community, PSECCO is helping shape a more connected, resilient, and forward-looking future for polar science, grounded in collaboration, curiosity, and care for both people and the places they study.
Written by Nicole Greco
Community Engagement and Outreach Coordinator