50 Young researchers from 13 countries met from the 29 November until the 2 December 2007 in the Otto Schmidt Laboratory for Polar and Marine Sciences at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, to learn about the latest methods used in permafrost research and engineering and to discuss future plans to address climate change issues in permafrost areas. This workshop was an official International Polar Year (IPY) event organized jointly by the Otto-Schmidt Laboratory for Polar and Marine Sciences in St. Petersburg, the Permafrost Young Researchers Network (PYRN) and the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS).

The workshop provided insights on the latest techniques and methods used in permafrost research in fields as diverse as permafrost modelling, investigations of mountain ice segregation, bubbling from thermokarst lakes, submarine permafrost detection, etc. It brought together experts from Germany, Russia, Switzerland and the USA to provide young investigators with a multidisciplinary and cross-border perspective on permafrost research, a much-needed approach in a discipline marked by strong research history in most Arctic countries.

The workshop was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the Leibniz Institute for marine science IFM-GEOMAR, the International Arctic Research Center, Fairbanks, the International Permafrost Association, the SCAR-WCRP Climate and Cryosphere project (CliC), the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, St. Petersburg, and the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research.

The workshop was endorsed by the International Artic Science Committee (IASC) and the International Polar Year (IPY) International Programme Office through its subcommittee on education and outreach as an official IPY event.