CALL FOR APPLICATIONS
For Science Communication Specialists to sail as an Education Outreach Officer
on board the mission-specific platform Expedition 381 Corinth Active Rift Development
The European Consortium for Ocean Research Drilling (ECORD) offers you the unique opportunity to sail in the framework of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP), an international research programme for drilling at sea. Science communication specialists (e.g. educators, science writers, bloggers, videographers etc) are invited to apply to sail on an upcoming IODP expedition on a mission-specific platform (MSP), working in the Gulf of Corinth, Greece, during the offshore phase, and then again at the IODP Bremen Core Repository at the University of Bremen, Germany. Information about the expedition can be found on the ECORD website at
 http://www.ecord.org/expedition381/
We are looking for applicants with strong educational and science backgrounds, or experience in communicating scientific topics through film, video, written word or art, who are comfortable using the web, multimedia and social media tools and have a passion for sharing the excitement of science with students, other educators and the general public. It is also advantageous be flexible, adventurous, and good at working with all kinds of people.
The expedition schedule is planned as follows:
• The offshore phase will commence in a time window from late September – December 2017, and will last up to 56 days, sailing from Corinth. It might be possible for the Education Outreach Officer to join for only part of the time offshore but this is yet to be confirmed. Please indicate in your application if you could join for the whole time or only a part of the offshore phase.
• The Onshore Science Party will be held in Bremen in February 2018 – exact dates to be confirmed.
The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is an international marine research program that explores Earth’s history and structure recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks, and monitors sub-seafloor environments. IODP is led by the international partnership between the United States of America, Japan, Europe, China, India, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and Korea and involves over 23 countries. ECORD is a consortium of 14 European countries plus Canada. Building on more than 30 years of experience in scientific ocean drilling and related research, the program uses a variety of drill ships to carry out scientific ocean geoscience research.
MSP Education Outreach Officers participate on board the ship to share the science story with students, families, and the general public. They have the opportunity to learn shipboard science alongside the expedition’s science party and translate the exciting science happening on board through creation of blogs, videos, social networking sites, live ship-to-shore video events and development of educational resources. They also have the opportunity to attend the Onshore Science Party, which is held in Bremen, Germany. This is where the whole Science Party get together and analyse, log and sample the core material.
Topics of investigations on IODP expeditions range from Climate Change to Deep Biosphere, Planetary Dynamics and Geohazards, and are defined in the IODP Science Plan Illuminating Earth’s Past, Present and Future (http://www.iodp.org/science-plan-for-2013-2023).
APPLICATION PROCESS:
• If you would like to apply, please submit the following to the ESSAC Office:
• Application Form: The online application requests basic information about the applicant, including specific interest in an expedition.
• Curriculum Vitae: An up-to-date two-page resume or CV.
• Recommendation Letter
• Contact Information for two additional references.
• Proposal: The maximum two-page proposal should describe projects that you would like to carry out while sailing on an expedition and post-expedition activities. We especially welcome projects that are sustainable after the expedition, either as teaching materials or information that can be posted on the ECORD webpage.
• Letter of Support from an administrator (if applicable).
• Approximate budget for travel expenses
You can find all application forms here: http://www.ecord.org/education/teachers-at-sea/
Onboard Education/Outreach Officers are selected through a competitive application and interview process. The deadline to apply is 31 May 2017.
IMPORTANT! ECORD Education Outreach Officers do not receive a stipend while at sea. However, ECORD can provide support for travel expenses (flights, local transportation, accommodation and meals) up to 2500 Euros for Education Outreach Officers from ECORD member countries. After the expedition is finished, the ECORD Education Outreach Officer should send the ESSAC Office a summary of his/her trip and a request for reimbursement of travel expenses with a plan of future education or outreach activities based on the experience at sea. Co-financing by IODP national offices is desired. The ESSAC Office can provide further information about your IODP National Office (if applicable) or ESSAC delegate. Please also visit the following links:
http://www.ecord.org/about-ecord/management-structure/essac/ and http://www.ecord.org/about-ecord/links/
For further information or questions please contact:
Carol Cotterill, ESO Outreach Manager – cjcott@bgs.ac.uk
Ulrike Prange, ESO Media Relations – uprange@marum.de
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Please send your application directly to the ESSAC Office (essac@geomar.de).