Rūta, please introduce yourself.
I’m Rūta Hamilton, Post-Award Programme Manager at UK Research and Innovation – British Antarctic Survey.
Tell us about your professional and academic career before becoming part of the OCEAN ICE community.
My academic background is in languages. I completed a Bachelor’s degree in English Philology, with a minor in German Language and Culture, and a Master’s degree in Interpretation. Before transitioning to a career in project management, I worked at one of the largest P&C insurance companies as an Accounts Receivable Subject Matter Expert.
What do you do within OCEAN ICE?
At the start of the project, I joined OCEAN ICE as a Programme Support Officer, contributing to WP8 (Science Coordination) and WP9 (Project Coordination, Dissemination, and Outreach). In this role, I supported stakeholder and partner engagement, coordinated project meetings and events, managed participant travel and logistics, delivered project communications (including newsletters, website content, and social media), and handled financial administration such as invoice processing.
I subsequently progressed to WP9 Leader, where I now oversee the project’s communication, dissemination, and impact activities. This includes leading the development and delivery of the communication strategy, managing branding and the project website, and coordinating stakeholder engagement. Throughout the project, I’ve organised onboarding for new consortium members, produced outreach videos, and written reports.
What have you enjoyed about OCEAN ICE so far?
I’ve enjoyed working with many interesting people across a variety of disciplines. It’s always a pleasure and a privilege to meet everyone at the annual project meetings and hear about their work, fascinating fieldwork experiences, and future plans. Being involved from the very beginning has allowed me to experience the full project life cycle, get to know colleagues from across Europe and beyond, and build strong, successful working relationships.
Tell us about a skill or trait unique to you that you would like to share?
One trait that defines me is perseverance. When I commit to something, I tend to go all in - whether that’s working towards a qualification, learning something new, or delivering a complex project. I genuinely enjoy getting absorbed in a challenge and staying focused on it over time. I bring the same mindset to sport, particularly running, strength training, and table tennis.
Stay tuned on our social media channels (X, Mastodon, LinkedIn and Bluesky) for more of the series of OCEAN ICE 'Researcher in the Spotlight' articles.