The Expedition

Students on Ice (www.studentsonice.com) is an award-winning Canadian organization that, for a decade, has been bringing students from all over the world to the Arctic and Antarctic regions in order to teach interdisciplinary polar science in a natural outdoor classroom and foster environmental stewardship.

The Antarctic University Expedition in February 2011 will have approximately seventy participating students and twenty university faculty from around the world including, a group of 7 students from Carleton University. Setting sail from Ushuaia, Argentina we brave the Drake Passage to tour the coast of Antarctica. Students will make frequent field trips to the Antarctic mainland via Zodiac inflatables. These landings will be supplemented by lectures, seminars and lab exercises on the Antarctic landmass and aboard the expedition vessel, giving students the opportunity to interact with world-class researchers who specialize in diverse fields of studies. The knowledge and experience gained will give insight, not only for completing thesis work, but also achieving career aspirations in the future. Testimonials from previous students, who have been lucky enough to travel to this part of the world, have only been positive, citing the life changing experience of traveling to such a unique environment and being part of such an inspiring crew. Students will be broadcasting their experiences back to Canada through blogs, video diaries and other social media. Upon returning, they will also share their experiences via public presentations and the creation of a documentary to be filmed during the expedition.