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Science & Tech
A hot new app will deliver instant information to the next generation of polar researchers.
The searchable app, called the Polar Knowledge App, makes it easy to find polar experts by name, keyword, specialty and location. The app can also locate polar research facilities and monitoring sites around the world.
“The app really was designed to help foster interdisciplinary research and bring the Arctic research community closer together,” says David Scott, executive director of the Canadian Polar Commission.
Developed to allow the Canadian Polar Commission to send “push” notifications to their audience with the Commission’s latest news and updates, the Polar Knowledge App also aims to open up a dialogue between researchers, policy makers and the public on the most popular mobile device platforms in the market.
With increased concern about the health of the world’s polar regions, this app may come at the perfect time. The app even offers quick access to the latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The Polar Knowledge App targets the next generation of Arctic and Antarctic researchers. This demographic, says Scott, expects information to be available in the palms of their hands and at all times.
“Current grad students or recent graduates with a penchant for the North and northern researchers will appreciate and use this app,” he says.
Since the app’s release in April, the Canadian Polar Commission has witnessed over 150 downloads of the new resource. Scott is pleased with this number and expects it to grow quickly.
Initially the app was only intended to provide information on Canada’s North, but as the idea developed, the Canadian Polar Commission saw the opportunity for collaboration with other polar nations.
Scott says this collaboration will allow the app to be “evergreen and self-sustaining.” As more information is added from various countries, the scope of the app will also grow.
“We want this to be not just a polar app in Canada, but the polar app.”
For more information on the Canadian Polar Commission and the Polar Knowledge App, click here.
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