Held on January 15th, 2026, the event combined a live Zoom broadcast with an in-person watch party in Boulder, creating an engaging hybrid experience. Participants were given rare, real-time access to researchers stationed at the groundbreaking Princess Elisabeth Antarctica—the world’s first zero-emission polar research facility.

IPF staff and scientists working at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica gave live presentations to students at the SPIKE Center for Sustainability Education at the University of Colorado Boulder and to more than 100 other interested viewers online.  The event attracted students and professionals alike, including representatives from the European Commission.

The first part of the programme focused on the sustainable and renewable energy aspects of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica, including its renewable energy production and water treatment system, which allows the station to go above and beyond the requirements of the Madrid Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty. The second part of the programme showcased the research that was happening at the station during the 2025-2026 research season, including the work being done on the PEACE automatic weather station network, tracking blowing snow near the station to monitor surface mass balance, monitoring the ozone above Antarctica, and atmospheric pathways of particle transport to Antarctica.

The session closed out with IPF scientist Simon Steffan, a CU Boulder graduate himself, sharing a short clip about effective climate science communication and SPIKE facilitating a question and answer session with students in the classroom at CU Boulder and viewers online.

You can see the entire speaker lineup and watch the entire event on the IPF YouTube Channel.

As the event was so successful, the IPF and CU Boulder are thinking of making this an annual event.