SCAR Fellowship Report from Alice Oates (UK to Portugal)


SCAR Fellow Alice Oates has submitted a report on her Fellowship titled “Setting an agenda for disability-focused research in Antarctic Social Sciences and Humanities.” Alice conducted her project at the Universidad Lusofona in Lisbon, Portugal, under the guidance of Dr. Pedro Marques-Quinteiro. At the time of the Fellowship, Alice was a PhD candidate at the Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge.

Alice’s project responds to a significant gap in Antarctic Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) research by focusing on the experiences and barriers faced by disabled individuals in the Antarctic community. Building on existing EDI initiatives, her Fellowship aimed to define a research agenda for disability inclusion in the Antarctic, with a particular focus on intersectional perspectives within the humanities and social sciences. Her work involved extensive consultation with EDI experts and groups, a multilingual community survey, and focus groups to prioritise research themes.

The Fellowship outcomes include preliminary research themes to guide future studies on disability in Antarctic research and educational sectors. Alice received strong engagement, with 90 survey responses from the community. Her collaboration with the group Access Polar enriched the data collected and provided additional support for her project. Alice has shared her preliminary findings through presentations and an active blog, and is co-authoring a peer-reviewed paper with her host. Her work has contributed not only to her professional development but also to expanding the scope of disability-focused EDI research in the Antarctic.

Reflecting on her Fellowship, Alice states:

This Fellowship has also been a fantastic opportunity in regard to my own personal development. It has provided me with vital time to navigate the next steps of an academic career post-PhD, and allowed me to deepen my connections with the Antarctic community.

Alice Oates, 2023 SCAR Fellow

The complete report is available in the SCAR Library and on the SCAR Fellows webpage, alongside reports from other Fellows.

The SCAR Early-Career Fellowship Programme is designed to encourage the active involvement of early career scientists and engineers in Antarctic scientific research, and to build new connections and further strengthen international capacity and cooperation in Antarctic research. The work must be carried out in a research group of a SCAR member country different from that of the applicant’s origin and current residence. Applications for the 2025 Fellowship scheme open next year

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