The program included presentations on four subjects as well as breakout sessions later on with the purpose of diving deeper into the four topics. Kimberly Michelle Parke, Editor and Communication Strategist at Stockholm University, covered science communication and strategic communications planning for research projects. Advocacy and Analysis Officer Ellen Bruno and Head of Policy Gun Rudquist, Baltic Sea Centre, talked about policy processes and the role of scientist. The third topic was on essential data and programming skills for climate scientist, covered by Anna Lewinschal, who works with coordination for the Bolin Centre’s support activities. Lastly, Prof. Kevin Noone from the Department of Environmental Science gave us insights into interactions with stakeholders as part of the research process.

The consensus among the participants seems to be that more of these types of activities are needed and appreciated, and several expressed the interest to get more involved in the facilitation of future activities like these. To cap off the day, everyone was asked to provide three words describing their experience – resulting in the word cloud below.

Photo: Laila Islamovic

Programme and reflections

The Bolin Days was then commenced by our director Ilona Riipinen, who shared some highlights from the Bolin Centre for 2023 – touching upon the new Bolin Centre strategic plan 2023–2027 (621 Kb) , the Bolin Climate Lecture The big unknown in future Climate projections by Trude Storelvmo from University of Oslo, some of the events from this year, and much more. We also had the pleasure of hearing from Science Officer Daniel Ospina from Future Earth, giving us an overview of the report 10 New Insights in Climate Science and the annual process to priorities and highlight key messages from researchers to policy makers. This was followed by two sessions from Research Theme 2 (Water, Biogeochemical Cycles and Climate) and Research Theme 3 (Past Climates). The day ended with a Bolin Days tradition: the Geopub and Céilidh – a gathering or party with dancing, music, food and drinks!

Magnus Breitholtz from the Department of Environmental Science introduced the last day of the conference talking about the university alliance Stockholm Trio for Sustainable Actions, a collaboration between the Bolin Centre, KTH Climate Action Center and the KI Centre for Health Crises. During this session, we got to hear from Petter Ljungman (KI) and Francesco Fuso Nerini (KTH) and learn about the excellent work that is being done by the two centres. We also had the opportunity to hear from Nina Viberg from the KI Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Health – a collaboration between Karolinska Institute and Makerere University.

Photo: Laila Islamovic

Session five covered Research Theme 1, The physical-chemical climate system, where we got to learn more about for example the expedition ARTofMELT. After enjoying a “fika”-break, we reconvened in the Aula Magna auditorium for the last session of the Bolin Days, focusing on the work that Research Theme 4: Climate, ecosystems and biodiversity have conducted during the year. In concluding the conference, Ilona Riipinen reflected on the many opportunities for collaboration between Research Themes, departments, centre’s and universities. Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, and modelling were only a few areas discussed during the presentations, that the Bolin Centre sees potential for future collaborations on. Before heading to the Vasa Museum for a conference dinner and guided tour, the winners of the poster competitions were announced.

Conference dinner at Vasa Museum to wrap up the Bolin Days 2023. Photo: Laila Islamovic

Congratulations to Sonja Gindorf, Jamie Barnett, and Caroline Greiser!

During registration and coffee on 29th of November, the poster competition and exhibition started.  Over 50 participants brought their posters to the foyer of Aula Magna, where attendees of the conference got the opportunity to interact with the authors of the posters and experience the breadth of research connected to climate science that the Bolin Centre members possesses. The competition and exhibition continued on until lunch the next day, and a jury made up of our External Science Advisory Group together with the directors and members of the Science Advisory Group then decided on the winners.

Poster competition and exhibition in the Aula Magna foyer, where attendees could enjoy fika and lunch while exploring posters and interacting with researchers. Photo: Laila Islamovic

The first place and 15 000 SEK was awarded to Sonja Gindorf for her poster “The Role of Catchment Properties for Mercury Transport and Bioaccumulation”. In second place came Jamie Barnett with the poster “Ryder glacier in Northern Greenland: A Journey Through Time”, awarded 10 000 SEK, and in third place Caroline Greiser with her poster “Beat the heat”, winning 5 000 SEK towards research. Congratulations! A big thank you to the other participants who worked hard and did an impressive job with their posters – all the posters are now up on our website for all interested.

Director Ilona Riipinen; poster competition winners Jamie Barnett, Sonja Gindorf, and Caroline Greiser; External Science Advisory Group member Jay Famiglietti. Photo: Laila Islamovic

The Bolin Centre directorate would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to all members contributing to the program as well as attending the conference. A special thanks to Minna Hirvonen, Almuth Neuberger, Julia Asplund, Sini Talvinen, Giulia Martella, and Kruger Maganizo for volunteering to assist during the conference. We all look forward to the 16th Bolin Days – make sure to save the date: November 13th–14th, 2024.