Science Program


Based on the positive experience of the past two International MOSAiC Science Conferences in 2022 and 2023, the components of the week will be only slightly adapted. The International MOSAiC Science Conference 2024 is planned for in-person participation and we expect 250 to 300 participants. An online attendance is only possible in justified cases (travel restrictions) via a standard video conference tool with basic functionality. Please contact us as early as possible if you have to fall back on it.
The scientific program is again composed of different slots during the week. There will be plenaries with the full conference audience in one room, sessions slots within scientific sessions will take place in parrellel, flex-time slots (time for ad-hoc meetings) and an extended poster session. Please find below the concept of the agenda for the week. The final agenda will be released after the due date for abstract submissions. This core scientific program is accompanied by side meetings and other activities with a MOSAiC focus. This includes a dedicated Early Career Researcher Session and a data corner to learn about MOSAiC data aggregation and many more.

Early Career Researcher Session

Content and topics will be defined by ECRs (e.g. discussion about funding possibilities etc.). Ideas and contributions are welcome until the session will start during the conference week. Contact us via mail or at the front desk.

Data Corner

The data corner will be available on several days and can be visited by participants at their preferred time. Colleagues will be on hand to answer questions about MOSAiC data and demonstrate the use of MOSAiC data tools such as 'webODV'.

There are 2 important activities requiring additional registrations and some paper work from interested people. This is the Early Career Researcher Travel Program and Scientific Shark Tank, both described in detail below.

picture broken Early Career Researcher Travel Program - The application due date is given in the time table on the HOME tab

Thanks to the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) we have again funding available to support Early Career Researchers with their travel costs.

Contributions and particpation of Early Career Researchers (ECR) is of fundamental importance for the conference and the future of MOSAiC science. For this reason the conference supports ECR participation with an ECR travel support program.
The program is open to researchers who are students or within 7 years of receiving their PhD. Note: this 7 year definition for ECR is an extension beyond the typical 5 year definition to help accommodate career challenges related to COVID and other issues in the past few years. Awards for this competitive program are fixed travel stipend. Award recipients and amounts will be decided by a small committee, based on the applicant's contributions to MOSAiC science, contributions to the MOSAiC conference (i.e., session convening, flex time sessions, etc), and need for support (or lack of other support).

Interested ECRs should fill this ECR application form and send it us. The application due date is given in the time table on the HOME tab.

picture broken Scientific Shark Tank - CANCELLED

MOSAiC conferences are open to new and/or innovative ideas and we asked the MOSAiC community for ideas for the upcoming conference in advance. An ECR propsosed an interesting networking session which may sound familiar to many.

1. Preparation: We encourage all participants (all, but ECRs have priority) to submit their ideas to us for scientific proposal pitches. The scope would be: 1 page proposal idea, like you would give to a Program Manager, and another page half with: "Why am I qualified and how did I come up with it", and half logistics: "What $- scope, term, funding agency and call/solicitation, what collaborators are being sought" - also to make sure the idea is half-baked. From these we select a few (~4-5), and in our review process we contact senior people who have an idea and would be willing to support something like this in principle. They will certainly have to bring in more senior people, and so we create the pool of 'lions'.

2. Execution: In a ~1-1.5 hour session, each of the selected proposal pitchers may present their project idea within ~3 minutes, then first question: Briefly tell who the pitcher is and what the motivation behind it is, and then the 4-5 'lions' can ask further critical questions about the proposal for 7 minutes. At the end they make offers "I'll help you write the proposal if you ... / I'll co-PI if I get an undergraduate funded for it / I'm fully involved for 2 person-months a year" etc. Or they say "I'm out, the idea is not good / better pick one from field XYZ that will help you more / ..." ~15 minutes per person in total.

To realize this interesting session idea, we ask you for proposal sketches. Please use this SST application form and send it us. The proposal due date is given in the time table on the HOME tab.

→ Benefit pitchers: You get valuable feedback on the proposal (more of this, less of that), and in the very-best-case a collaborator (that could be someone else reporting afterwards, we will have an audience of many other people), and "increasen your visibility".

→ Benefit jury: They can improve the chances of success for future MOSAiC related projects and in the best case they can become co-PI on a hopefully successful proposal where in doubt there is a PhD position or a few person-months in it for them, and they keep the MOSAiC legacy going. Workload in advance: First responding to emails in preparation, and then just participating in the session as lion/shark

→ Benefit audience: e.g., PhDs can see how a proposal is created, what are good ideas, what are not so good approaches, what are the funding sources (we certainly have to distinguish between proposals from different countries, and also adjust the 'lions' depending on what is submitted), and get an insight into open scientific questions and what still needs to be done with the MOSAiC data. And maybe also a non-Lion can join a proposal afterwards.