Check out our past events
2/04/2012 Exped AGM and Farewell Meeting
We held an AGM to elect the new Exped Committee for 2012/2013. The new Committee members are:
President - Alua Suleimenova
Vice-President - Marcin Stanek
Secretary - Sergiu Jiduc
Treasurer - Keran Huang
Publicity Rep - Radina Atanasova
The Society would like to express great thanks to Filip Kirazov, our former Vice-President, and to Mahmudul Alam, our former Course Officer, for their creative ideas and enthusiastic support which helped the Society to improve and develop! We wish them good luck and success in their future endeavors.
President - Alua Suleimenova
Vice-President - Marcin Stanek
Secretary - Sergiu Jiduc
Treasurer - Keran Huang
Publicity Rep - Radina Atanasova
The Society would like to express great thanks to Filip Kirazov, our former Vice-President, and to Mahmudul Alam, our former Course Officer, for their creative ideas and enthusiastic support which helped the Society to improve and develop! We wish them good luck and success in their future endeavors.
22/03/2012 Trip to St Andrews University's Expedition Society (EXPAND)
We travelled to St Andrews to visit our partner Expedition Society. EXPAND is one of the most active and dynamic exploration clubs in the UK. It was extremely nice to meet the EXPAND Committee and discuss our plans for future collaborative work. Mark Scherz, a 3rd year Zoology student at the University of Edinburgh gave a talk about his recent wildlife expedition to Madagascar, and Andrew Collister, a 4th year Geography student at the University of St Andrews talked about his participation in the Spine Race, a non-stop 268 mile winter ultra-marathon across Britain.
Exped is planning to visit EXPAND once again in the end of April to hear the talk by Leo Houlding, a world class British rock climber, alpinist, base jumper and adventurer. We will be advertising this event soon, so keep an eye on our newsletters if you would like to join us for that trip!
Exped is planning to visit EXPAND once again in the end of April to hear the talk by Leo Houlding, a world class British rock climber, alpinist, base jumper and adventurer. We will be advertising this event soon, so keep an eye on our newsletters if you would like to join us for that trip!
Exped and EXPAND Committees
Left to right:
Alua Suleimenova (Exped President)
Jonny Hawkins (EXPAND President)
Theo Weiss (EXPAND Event Organiser)
Marcin Stanek (Exped Media Officer)
Mark Scherz (UoE student)
Amy Kinkaid (EXPAND Secretary)
Ed Morgan (EXPAND Vice-President)
Alua Suleimenova (Exped President)
Jonny Hawkins (EXPAND President)
Theo Weiss (EXPAND Event Organiser)
Marcin Stanek (Exped Media Officer)
Mark Scherz (UoE student)
Amy Kinkaid (EXPAND Secretary)
Ed Morgan (EXPAND Vice-President)
St Salvator's Chapel, University of St Andrews
St Salvator's quad, University of St Andrews
21/03/2012 RSGS Inspiring talk - "Deserts" (Nick Middleton)
Nick Middleton is a geographer, TV presenter, writer and author of the famous book highlighting the underlying causes behind environmental problems - "The Global Casino". He teaches at Oxford University where his main research interest is in the nature and human use of deserts. This work that has taken him to the Sahara, Namib, Kalahari, Danakil, Gobi, Badain Jaran, Atacama, Altiplano, Sonora, Chihuahua, Thar, Arabia and Tibet. In this talk delve into the planet’s most unique landscapes; discover extraordinary scenery, ingenious human adaptation and rich biodiversity to reveal the true nature of these fascinating extreme environments.
12/03/2012 Movie Night Featuring "Touching the Void"
Expedition Society screened the BAFTA Award Winning "Touching the Void", a 2003 documentary film based on the book by Joe Simpson about Simpson's and his friend's Simon Yates disastrous and near fatal attempt to climb the 6,344 metre Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985. After a series of accidents, Simon was forced to cut the rope which held him and Joe together. At the time, Simon believed that he was sending his friend to his death…
This is an amaazing documentary exploring remarkable tales of human experience in extraordinary circumstances.
This is an amaazing documentary exploring remarkable tales of human experience in extraordinary circumstances.
15/02/2012 Trip to RSGS HQ in Perth
Expedition Society travelled to Perth to visit the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, the foremost charity in Scotland which promotes an understanding of the natural environment and human societies through education and various activities programme. We received a very warm welcome by Margaret Wilkes, RSGS Co-Chair at Edinburgh Centre, and Mike Robinson, RSGS Chief Executive. Mike prepared for us a wonderful presentation about the history of the RSGS and its associations with the world's most famous travellers and explorers, such as W.G. Burn Murdoch, Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton, Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott.
After the presentation, we had a tour around the RSGS Education Centre which is currently located in the Fair Maid's House, the oldest secular building in Perth (ca 1475), described by Walter Scott in his novel "The Fair Maid of Perth". The Education Centre has a series of intercative exhibits illustrating various geographical processes, such as land building and continental drift, climate change, water cycles, human population growth, etc. We also saw a unique collection of travellers' diaries and old maps dating back to the 15th century, and finally walked around the famous RSGS Explorers' Room with a beautiful and amazingly inspiring atmosphere where history still lives and breaths. This trip is one of the best events of the Expedition Society this year and we are planning to organise a similar trip next year.
After the presentation, we had a tour around the RSGS Education Centre which is currently located in the Fair Maid's House, the oldest secular building in Perth (ca 1475), described by Walter Scott in his novel "The Fair Maid of Perth". The Education Centre has a series of intercative exhibits illustrating various geographical processes, such as land building and continental drift, climate change, water cycles, human population growth, etc. We also saw a unique collection of travellers' diaries and old maps dating back to the 15th century, and finally walked around the famous RSGS Explorers' Room with a beautiful and amazingly inspiring atmosphere where history still lives and breaths. This trip is one of the best events of the Expedition Society this year and we are planning to organise a similar trip next year.
9/02/2012 RSGS Inspiring Talk: Mr Everest - Journey in the Steps of Eric Shipton
Eric Shipton was a legend in the world of mountain exploration. In this lecture, illustrated with stunning pictures, Stephen Venables mixed readings from Shipton’s inspirational books with his own experiences on the same mountain ranges. Stephen is an award winning mountaineer, author and lecturer and was the first Briton to climb Mount Everest without supplementary oxygen.
30/01/2012 Inspiring talk by Ed Morgan
Ed Morgan is the Vice-President of the Expedition Society at the University of St Andrews. He is a 3rd year Geography student with the passion for geography, the environment and exploration. He is also an enthusiatic supporter of the British Schools Explorers Society and an ambassador for Education through Expeditions. He came to give a talk about his recent expedition which aimed to survey vultures in the remote Dzungarian Alatau mountain range in South Eastern Kazakhstan. A full expedition report can be founded here.
The presentation given by Ed Morgan is available for download:
The presentation given by Ed Morgan is available for download:
| kazakhstan_expedition_ppt.pptx |
Bagdat Myrzakhmetov, Alua Suleimenova, Ed Morgan, Marcin Stanek
3/12/2011 The Adventure Kayaking Show
The Edinburgh University Canoe Club invited an internationally reknown kayaker and film director - Olaf Obsommer. Olaf presented his very latest film creation 'Adventure Kayaking' which documents him and his team "Sick Line" as they travel through Ecuador, Mexico, California, North Canada and Galapagos Islands searching for some of the finest paddling nature has to offer. His film is a beautiful compilation of the natural wonders encountered during the expeditions.
18/11/2011 - 20/11/2011 RGS "EXPLORE"
Expedition Society travelled to London to attend RGS “EXPLORE” expedition planning conference.
27 members of RGS-IBG gave inspiring lectures and workshops covering the planning and undertaking of research projects in a variety of environments and disciplines. This year EXPLORE invited 225 delegates including 91 students, representing different 15 universities. RGS will be updating their website shortly with photos and tips from the weekend.
EXPLORE is an amazing place to get enthused and inspired about travelling and expeditions and a unique opportunity to establish contacts with great experts. You can view the the speakers here and the full program here. For more links and contacts, please check out our Resources. For more feedback from attendees, click here.
EXPLORE provided us with great networking opportunities! Exped is now planning to establish links with Oxford University Exploration Club and the Durham University expedition team to share experiences and connect our members. In addition, next term we are planning to invite Dom Hall from the Fieldskills, an adventurer and a professional explorer, to give an expedition workshop. Finally, in September 2012 we would like to invite participants of the Clipperton Project to hear about their expedition to the island of Clipperton in the eastern Pacific Ocean and we will organise a trip to Glasgow to visit the exhibition of artworks produced by the expedition participants at Glasgow Sculpture Studios.
27 members of RGS-IBG gave inspiring lectures and workshops covering the planning and undertaking of research projects in a variety of environments and disciplines. This year EXPLORE invited 225 delegates including 91 students, representing different 15 universities. RGS will be updating their website shortly with photos and tips from the weekend.
EXPLORE is an amazing place to get enthused and inspired about travelling and expeditions and a unique opportunity to establish contacts with great experts. You can view the the speakers here and the full program here. For more links and contacts, please check out our Resources. For more feedback from attendees, click here.
EXPLORE provided us with great networking opportunities! Exped is now planning to establish links with Oxford University Exploration Club and the Durham University expedition team to share experiences and connect our members. In addition, next term we are planning to invite Dom Hall from the Fieldskills, an adventurer and a professional explorer, to give an expedition workshop. Finally, in September 2012 we would like to invite participants of the Clipperton Project to hear about their expedition to the island of Clipperton in the eastern Pacific Ocean and we will organise a trip to Glasgow to visit the exhibition of artworks produced by the expedition participants at Glasgow Sculpture Studios.
Exped team at RGS "EXPLORE"
Mark Scherz, Alua Suleimenova, Georgina Nightingall, Ksenija Paksina, Hannah Brown, Zan McGreevey, Tom Hunter
Exped Presidents (2007-2011)
Josephine Beynon, Elaine Anderson, Morgan Gibson, Alua Suleimenova
Following the completion of a BSc (Hons) in Zoology and a PGCE in Secondary Science, Josephine now manages the Educational Development for the not-for-profit company, Education through Expeditions.
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Elaine graduated with an BSc (Hons) in Ecological Sciences and successfully secured the position of Project Assistant with Highland Birchwoods, a charity with expertise in developing and delivering sustainable forestry management projects.
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Morgan is a recent Geology and Physical Geography graduate and now working as a "freelance academic" for the year, disseminating the results from the Brathay Exploration Club's 2011 expedition to Norway which she coordinated.
EXPLORE "Research Posters - Speed Networking"
Alua is the current Exped President, reading Environmental Sciences at Edinburgh University. She presented a poster about her research expedition to the Czech Republic. The project aimed to identify optimal strategies to rehabilitate the headwater areas damaged by acid atmospheric deposition and commercial forestry, and to evaluate the environmental effects of these strategies in the Jizera Mountains.
17/11/2011 Travel Writing Workshop with Anne Hamilton
Anne Hamilton is an Edinburgh-based writer who is currently completing her PhD in Creative Writing. She works as a writing tutor and mentor alongside caring for her young son and travelling as much as possible. Anne’s original qualifications in social work and epidemiology have led her to live, work and write in Bangladesh, Tanzania and the USA. After concentrating on short fiction and academic publications, Anne published her full length travel memoir, A Blonde Bengali Wife, in October 2010, which is a finalist in the 2012 EPIC Book Awards for eBooks. At present Anne is revising her first novel which is set on another of her favourite places, the island of Cyprus.
10/11/2011 Exped Talks: From Norway to India...
Expedition to Norway (by Morgan Gibson, the former Exped President)
Morgan was talking about the 'Tunsbergdlasbreen expedition' - an ongoing expedition run by Brathay Exploration Club to develop environmental understanding to all through glacial surveying - basically a great three weeks of running about on a glacier in the most spectacular places on earth!
Expedition to India (by Manuel Loeffler, a 1st year Ecology student)
Manuel went on a student's exchange program to India during High School. With this prior experience and interest he applied for the Mike Horn Young Explorers Programme's India Expedition in 2010, which finally led him to the Andaman Islands in the Golf of Bengal, Calcutta and the Ganga Delta with the Sundarbans National Park. Mike Horn, extreme-sportsman and adventurer, build the Pangaea Sailing vessel to cope with all environments of the 12 expeditions in a whole: From the Arctic, over the tropics to the rough Pacific. Before joining this sailing expedition, diving and research however one has to undergo a selection camp in the Swiss Alps...
Morgan was talking about the 'Tunsbergdlasbreen expedition' - an ongoing expedition run by Brathay Exploration Club to develop environmental understanding to all through glacial surveying - basically a great three weeks of running about on a glacier in the most spectacular places on earth!
Expedition to India (by Manuel Loeffler, a 1st year Ecology student)
Manuel went on a student's exchange program to India during High School. With this prior experience and interest he applied for the Mike Horn Young Explorers Programme's India Expedition in 2010, which finally led him to the Andaman Islands in the Golf of Bengal, Calcutta and the Ganga Delta with the Sundarbans National Park. Mike Horn, extreme-sportsman and adventurer, build the Pangaea Sailing vessel to cope with all environments of the 12 expeditions in a whole: From the Arctic, over the tropics to the rough Pacific. Before joining this sailing expedition, diving and research however one has to undergo a selection camp in the Swiss Alps...
3/11/2011 RSGS Inspiring Talk (Andrew Watkinson)
Our environment is changing in an unprecedented fashion and at a rate that will pose a major challenge to society over the course of the current century. The drivers of change are ultimately world population growth and the consumption of our natural resources. This lecture will consider how we have responded to environmental change in the past and our options for mitigation and adaptation as we look towards the future.
Professor Andrew Watkinson of the University of East Anglia is a director of the initiative "Living with Environmental Change". He gave a talk on how to adapt to environmental change and implement resilient strategies to make a transition towards sustainable development.
Professor Andrew Watkinson of the University of East Anglia is a director of the initiative "Living with Environmental Change". He gave a talk on how to adapt to environmental change and implement resilient strategies to make a transition towards sustainable development.
27/10/2011 Inspiring Talk by Mark Hughes: Window on the world
For over 300 years botanists from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh have been bringing back unusual, rare and exotic plants to Scotland from all corners of the globe. Mark Hughes, a tropical botanist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinbrgh, shared with Exped his brilliant expedition experience to the rich tropical montane forests of Sumatra. After a brief stint working in Singapore Botanic Garden, Mark returned to Edinburgh in 2009 to join the RBGE tropical biology research team, and is currently trying to untangle the hundreds of species of Begonia that can be found in Southeast Asia.
For more information about Mark and his current research please visit:
http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/tropical-diversity/mark-hughes-home-page
The slides below are taken from Mark's presentation
For more information about Mark and his current research please visit:
http://www.rbge.org.uk/science/tropical-diversity/mark-hughes-home-page
The slides below are taken from Mark's presentation
19/10/2011 RSGS Inspiring Talk (Patrick Richardson)
Travel writer and photographer Patrick Richardson has been journeying in the remotest parts of the world for 40 years, often by boat; he has sailed down the Amazon, Congo, Irrawadi, Yangtze and Niger Rivers. In this talk, accompanied by stunning photographs, he relates how he has fallen in love with the fascinating, and sometimes bizarre, cultures of the Pacific, such as those in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, The Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Easter Island.
Reports from Beyond by Patrick Richardson:
This book gives a short glimpse into the author’s colourful and adventurous life and beautifully describes his unusual journeys to remote and fascinating cultures. Its 384 pages include 14 handsome maps and 150 of his high quality colour photographs carefully integrated into the text. His 52 reports, versions of which originally appeared in The Herald, the Sunday Herald, The Scotsman, The Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Sunday Times, are varied in character. Some are very dramatic, such as when he falls through the ice in Lake Baikal in Siberia, is attacked by a pack of dogs in Vanuatu in the Pacific, or is trapped on top of a derailed train in the Congolese jungle. Others are more descriptive and lyrical, for example when he travels up the Amazon River, climbs sacred Mount Emei in western China, or sails down the Niger River to Timbucktu in Mali. He paints captivating pictures of the landscapes and the people he encounters, and at the same time he puts them the history of the civilizations he meets. As a result, he lures the reader into a sensory - but always realistic - world of foreign sights, sounds and smells. His journeys reflect his desire, both in his life and his travels, to take risks, explore his limits, and go ‘beyond’.
Reports from Beyond by Patrick Richardson:
This book gives a short glimpse into the author’s colourful and adventurous life and beautifully describes his unusual journeys to remote and fascinating cultures. Its 384 pages include 14 handsome maps and 150 of his high quality colour photographs carefully integrated into the text. His 52 reports, versions of which originally appeared in The Herald, the Sunday Herald, The Scotsman, The Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph and The Sunday Times, are varied in character. Some are very dramatic, such as when he falls through the ice in Lake Baikal in Siberia, is attacked by a pack of dogs in Vanuatu in the Pacific, or is trapped on top of a derailed train in the Congolese jungle. Others are more descriptive and lyrical, for example when he travels up the Amazon River, climbs sacred Mount Emei in western China, or sails down the Niger River to Timbucktu in Mali. He paints captivating pictures of the landscapes and the people he encounters, and at the same time he puts them the history of the civilizations he meets. As a result, he lures the reader into a sensory - but always realistic - world of foreign sights, sounds and smells. His journeys reflect his desire, both in his life and his travels, to take risks, explore his limits, and go ‘beyond’.
13/10/2011 Expedition Planning Seminar
In the seminar, the president of Exped Society gave a talk on how to plan and run your own expedition and how to seek for funding and disseminate the results. If you've missed that talk and want to catch up, you can download the presentation from here:
| exped_planning_seminar.ppt |
Exped has also guested two incredible speakers - Sergiu Jiduc and Mark Scherz. Sergiu (Environmental Geoscience, 2nd year BSc) shared his mountaineering experience and focused specifically on his last expedition to Khan Tengri, the higest mountain peak in Kazakhstan (7010 m). Mark (Zoology, 3rd year BSc) talked about his herpetological project that he was leading in Madagascar in 2010-2011. Thanks for everyone who came to join our seminar and additional thanks to our speakers!
12/10/2011 UoE Expeditions Committee Seminar
The Programme of the Expeditions Committee Seminar was:
4.00-4.20 University Expeditions Committee (Kate Heal)
4.20-4.40 Good science and academic practice (Alastair Wilson)
4.40-5.00 Health and Safety and risk assessment forms (Pete Nienow & Tim Brown)udying
5.00-5.20 BREAK AND REFRESHMENTS
Max Ruffert present to answer any questions about diving/snorkelling
5.20-5.40 Ethics and local contacts (Andrea Nightingale)
5.40-5.55 Managing risk on expeditions (Simon Beames)
5.55-6.05 Funding and budgets (Sanne Dijkstra & Kate Heal)
6.05-6.20 Top tips for student expeditions (Alua Suleimenova, Exped President)
6.20-6.30 DISCUSSION AND CLOSE
http://www.expeditions.ed.ac.uk/index.htm.
4.00-4.20 University Expeditions Committee (Kate Heal)
4.20-4.40 Good science and academic practice (Alastair Wilson)
4.40-5.00 Health and Safety and risk assessment forms (Pete Nienow & Tim Brown)udying
5.00-5.20 BREAK AND REFRESHMENTS
Max Ruffert present to answer any questions about diving/snorkelling
5.20-5.40 Ethics and local contacts (Andrea Nightingale)
5.40-5.55 Managing risk on expeditions (Simon Beames)
5.55-6.05 Funding and budgets (Sanne Dijkstra & Kate Heal)
6.05-6.20 Top tips for student expeditions (Alua Suleimenova, Exped President)
6.20-6.30 DISCUSSION AND CLOSE
http://www.expeditions.ed.ac.uk/index.htm.
6/10/2011 RSGS Inspiring talk (Timothy Allen)
We guested an incredible speaker - Timothy Allen who spent almost 2 years shadowing BBC film crews during the production of the landmark television series Human Planet. The weekly blog he wrote documenting his experiences during that journey can be found here.
In recent years, the focus of Timothy's work has turned to our planet’s remaining indigenous societies and he currently devotes his time to documenting the diversity of humanity’s cultural heritage. His multi award winning documentaries have taken him to every corner of the globe, from 19 000 ft up in the Himalayas to 40 metres beneath the South China Sea as well as projects within communities in the Arctic, tropical rainforest and remote desert locations. During his talk Timothy talked about behind-the-scene of the BBC series "Human Planet" and showed breathtaking photos from around the world.
In recent years, the focus of Timothy's work has turned to our planet’s remaining indigenous societies and he currently devotes his time to documenting the diversity of humanity’s cultural heritage. His multi award winning documentaries have taken him to every corner of the globe, from 19 000 ft up in the Himalayas to 40 metres beneath the South China Sea as well as projects within communities in the Arctic, tropical rainforest and remote desert locations. During his talk Timothy talked about behind-the-scene of the BBC series "Human Planet" and showed breathtaking photos from around the world.
29/09/2011 Exped First Meeting
At the meeting we introduced the Committee of the Expedition Society and gave some background information to our members about the aims of the Society and upcoming events that we are running this year. Some of our Committee members have also shared their previous expedition experience (Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Morocco and Tanzania) and then we went to the Tron pub to have some drinks and chat with Exped members about their past expedition experience!
21/09/2011 RSGS Inspiring Talk (Bruce Gittings)
Due to illness, Prof Mike Thomas could not come on Wednesday 21st September. Instead, we guested Dr Bruce Gittings who gave a brilliant talk on "Missing from the Map: A Geography of Secret Places". Bruce is Vice Chairman of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and he also teaches the Post-Graduate Course in Geographical Information Systems at the University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences (Geography). In 1995 Bruce Gittings together with David Munro launched Gazetteer for Scotland which is a gazetteer covering the geography, history and people of Scotland.
In his ongoing research Bruce uses maps and high resolution aerial imagery to explore hidden places which have been removed from geographic maps during the First and Second World Wars. The talk reveals details behind those places and addresses the problems in past and modern mapping and cartography.
In his ongoing research Bruce uses maps and high resolution aerial imagery to explore hidden places which have been removed from geographic maps during the First and Second World Wars. The talk reveals details behind those places and addresses the problems in past and modern mapping and cartography.
14/09/2011 - 15/09/2011 Fresher's Fair
It was great to see so many new students coming to the University! We hope everyone has had a good Fresher's week! Thank you for all of you who joined our mailing list! Now we have more than 300 students in our Society! And there is still time for you to become an official member of the Exped!
20/05/2011 Exped AGM
We had a good AGM and now we have a brand new commitee for the 2011/12 with a representative for every country now on the committee! Our geography varies from Kazakhstan to Bulgaria and Bangladesh!
Our New Committee Team:
President - Alua Suleimenova
Vice-President - Filip Kirazov
Secretary - Hannah Brown
Treasurer - Aidan Broyd
Course Officer - Mahmudul Alam
Our New Committee Team:
President - Alua Suleimenova
Vice-President - Filip Kirazov
Secretary - Hannah Brown
Treasurer - Aidan Broyd
Course Officer - Mahmudul Alam
