Launch of the 2026 Edition of the Students on Ice Programme

The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, in partnership with the Direction de l’Éducation Nationale, de la Jeunesse et des Sports, officially launched the new edition of the Students on Ice (SOI) programme on Wednesday 11 February at the Rainier III High School auditorium. In front of a full audience bringing together Premières students from the Principality’s three secondary schools, the conference marked the opening of the 16th Monaco competition.

Proposed by the Foundation since 2008, the contest enables two high school students each year to join a scientific and educational expedition to the Canadian Arctic alongside international educators and researchers. To date, thirty Premières students have discovered the polar regions, directly confronted with the realities of climate change and the richness of northern ecosystems.

In his opening remarks, Mr Jean-Philippe Vinci, Director of the Éducation Nationale, de la Jeunesse et des Sports, encouraged students to seize this opportunity to “take part in an exceptional educational experience alongside scientific experts and Indigenous communities, to marvel, understand and commit to protecting the environment.”

In a video message, Mr Geoff Green, Founder and Executive Director of the Students on Ice Foundation, presented the programme’s objectives and the main stages of the 2026 expedition, scheduled from 19 July to 3 August. He emphasised the need to protect polar regions by “supporting and inspiring young people” while giving them the means to take concrete action.

Reminding that the polar regions are among the Foundation’s priority areas of activity, Dr Philippe Mondielli, Scientific Director, presented the Polar Initiative, which combines scientific research and diplomatic action to provide solutions to environmental challenges. He highlighted two projects supported by the Foundation: Tara Polar Station, dedicated to studying the Arctic Ocean using a drifting station trapped in the ice, and Ice Memory, the world’s first archive of ice cores installed in Antarctica.

A highlight of the event was the testimony of the 2025 laureates, Ms Alexandrine Noghès (Lycée Albert I) and Ms Carolina Massey (Institution François d’Assise–Nicolas-Barré). Through photos and personal accounts, they shared a “unique and transformative” experience, marked by encounters with local communities, particularly Inuit communities, scientific learning aboard the ship and a renewed perception of the natural world.

The conference concluded with the presentation of the 2026 competition’s terms and conditions, open until 2 March. Applicants are invited to write a personal text proposing their solutions to the environmental challenges that concern them most. Two of them will have the opportunity to join next summer’s Arctic expedition and, in turn, become ambassadors for the protection of the planet.

©Pierre-Edouard Coursault FPA2