Alexandra is a specialist in climatology and meteorology. She graduated from Lomonosov Moscow State University and is now a Ph.D student and researcher at the Laboratory of Climate Theory at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences. She worked as a forecaster at a Moscow airport, was a meteorologist aboard expeditionary icebreakers, studied methane concentrations in pingos and reservoirs in various areas of the Russian North. She spent the last 5 years studying climate change in the Arctic. During her expedition research she has visited different parts of the globe and never stops discovering new places on the planet: from Arctic region and polar bears to icy Antarctica with penguins and sea leopards. For Alexandra, participating in the IRS is an opportunity to introduce younger students to the world of modern climatology and meteorology and to show how exciting and diverse the work of a scientist can be.

Zoya is also a specialist in climatology and meteorology. She lives in Bishkek and graduated from the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University as a meteorologist and from the Kazakh-German University in Integrated Water Resources Management. She worked at Kyrgyzhydromet for more than 10 years, starting as a forecaster engineer and in recent years as head of the meteorology and climate department. She is currently working as an expert in projects on climate change analysis and its impact on human livelihoods and economic sectors. She considers herself a lucky person, as her profession and love of nature and travel go well together. Her favorite part of her work is working with young people on educating them about climate change issues and increasing their civic responsibility to take care of the environment. This will be Zoya's first time participating in the IRS, so she is particularly excited to be in her home country to show the wonders of the environment and teach the importance of climate in everyone's life.