Oxford University Exploration Club: Centennial Arctic Expeditions Programme

The Oxford University Exploration Club (OUEC), established in December 1927 by renowned explorers Edward Max Nicholson, Colin Trapnell, and Charles Sutherland Elton, is one of the oldest university exploration organisations. These pioneering efforts established OUEC’s enduring legacy of curiosity, resilience, and scientific discovery. Over its first century, OUEC has supported more than 450 expeditions globally combining exploration with scientific research. From Arctic ice fields to tropical rainforests and remote islands, OUEC has addressed critical questions in glaciology, climate change, and resilience in extreme conditions.

The proposed three-year plan for the Arctic Centenary Expeditions aims to commemorate a century of exploration by OUEC while contributing to cutting-edge scientific research and provide a space for explorers with all levels of experience to get involved. From 2025, each year builds upon the last to reach 2027.

In 2025, the Foundations Expedition will lay the groundwork for future years, focusing on training and team cohesion. Six participants will undertake this preparatory journey, with roles that include future Expedition Leaders, a Medical officer, a Treasurer, and an Anthropologist. The Foundations Expedition will take place in the Arctic, offering an opportunity to test equipment, practice essential skills such as navigation and safety protocols, and establish the collaborative dynamics needed for subsequent expeditions. In tandem, the Foundation Expedition will focus on a study of extremophilic microorganisms, as well as additional studies in arctic bio-materials, human biological adaptation, and an anthropological study of identity changes in extreme environments, to build the foundation of long-term project studies.

In 2026, the Reconnaissance Expeditions will focus on three strategic locations: Norway, Greenland, and Iceland. These expeditions will have smaller teams tasked with conducting site assessments, refining logistical plans, and initiating preliminary scientific research. This phase is crucial for understanding the environmental and logistical challenges specific to each region, ensuring the success of the larger Centenary Expeditions. Reconnaissance teams will collect data on conditions and scout key sites for the final year.

The Centenary Expeditions in 2027 mark the 100th anniversary of OUEC. These expeditions will revisit historical locations from the club’s Arctic explorations, combining historical retracing with new scientific goals. The three teams will work in parallel across Norway, Greenland, and Iceland, each focusing on a unique research theme—Anthropology, Biomedical, and Geography. This final phase will integrate historical and contemporary perspectives, using comparative photography and interdisciplinary research to document changes in the Arctic environment over the past century.

Together, these three years will honour OUEC's legacy, advance Arctic science, and inspire future explorers. The location candidates envisioned for the Reconnaissance and Centenary Expeditions, based on preliminary archival research (archives from the 1921-2001 period), are:

a) Greenland: Expeditions of 1928, 1935-36, 1938, 1962, 1965, 1982-83.

b) Iceland: Expeditions of 1947, 1958, 1960, 1964, 1967, 1969-70, 1973-74, 1980, 1982, 1986.

c) Norway:

i) Finnmark: Expeditions of 1947, 1950, 1959-61, 1963-65, 1968-73, 1976-77.

ii) Svalbard: Expeditions of 1933, 1949, 1953, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1997, 2001.

Three locations will be shortlisted from the above, and a detailed map for each country will be drawn up following additional in-depth archival research.

Our Aims

Each expedition has specific and targeted aims, however, across all three years and seven expeditions, we aim to:

Inspire and enable young explorers
Strengthen participants through transformative experiences
Contribute to scientific and historical understandings in the fields of biomedical research, geology, and anthropology.

Project Origins

Like many great British expeditions, this project started at the Royal Geographical Society. Quite separate from expedition planning, the OUEC Committee had been looking for ways to commemorate the club's centennial. As three of the committee members sat in a seminar on Arctic exploration, we realized that we had an opportunity. Not only did we have the skills to successfully embark on an arctic expedition, but we also had a chance to honor the club's founding expeditions while also highlighting how much exploration has changed in those 100 years.

Once the seed was planted, there was no stopping us. It took root in our minds and spirit and became a driving passion for all of us.

One of the early decisions was to make expedition safety a focus not only internally, but also as an output as well. To that end, we chose to scaffold the project over the course of three years, which would allow us not only to do more research and host collaboration but also to upskill and train each other in our various scientific and survival proficiencies.

The second decision was to embark on three parallel historical expeditions with each original team member leading one of the three, rather than selecting one historical expedition to focus on. This was an obvious decision for us to demonstrate the breadth of expedition possibilities and research opportunities. By taking three different approaches to three different locations, and contrasting these with three historical expeditions, we would be able to offer more research, more inspiration, and more opportunities for student and partner incorporation.