Early-career Arctic mentoring program
Clare Andvik, a PhD candidate at AQUA at the Department of Biosciences, was named one of the 2026 Arctic Emerging Leaders. Emerging Leaders is a prestigious early-career Arctic mentoring program that brings together 30 young leaders from the academic, business, public and NGO sectors.
Clare joined the other Emerging Leaders on a 7-day trip through the Norwegian high North landscape, culminating in the renowned Arctic Frontiers Programme in Tromsø. Along the way, she met with local representatives of different sectors and engaged in timely discussions on the current visions, trends and challenges in the Arctic. This year, they started in Bodø, enjoyed northern lights and snow shoeing on Lofoten, and ended in Tromsø.
The future Arctic
At the Arctic Frontiers conference in Tromsø, Clare presented a poster on her PhD work on the effects of pollution, whale watching and nutritional stress on Norwegian killer whales. This research is part of the MULTIWHALE project, which is supported by the Norwegian Research Council.
Andvik also presented at the kick off meeting of Polhavet 2050 on her vision for a future Arctic, which was streamed live from the main stage, and it can now be seen on YouTube.
The Emerging Leaders also produced three videos with a professional videographer on their views on Arctic issues, which were shown during the conference to top politicians, ministers and policy makers, including the Norwegian prime minister Jonas Støre. Clare's video can be seen on YouTube.
Clare states: "It was fascinating and refreshing to attend a conference outside of my field of biology. It can be so easy to laser-focus on your own narrow area of research and miss how it all fits into the big picture, alongside other disciplines. This conference covered everything from ecosystem effects on the Arctic ice, to discussions on tourism, infrastructure, economy, law and geopolitics".
A timely and important presentation
The conference was attended by numerous high-profile academics, politicians and policy makers. Clare particularly enjoyed a private presentation to the Emerging Leaders by representatives from the Inuit Circumpolar Council, where they learnt about history, culture and protocols, which felt timely and important in these uncertain times.
Clare reports: "Despite undercurrents of tension, e.g. a tense exchange between the US Arctic Special Envoy and Greenlandic Member of Parliament, there was alot of passion, and hope. And above all a shared, stubborn love for the Arctic that cut across disciplines, institutions and borders. Let’s hope it’s enough".
