West Midlands Branch

Resources

Branch articles

• Graduating during a pandemic - Natascha Niekamp
• Jonathan Livingstone - Appealing to the individual, the case for goal-focused therapy
• Policing during the pandemic: Negotiating police legitimacy in a time of crisis
• Clive Whittaker - The benefits of solution-focused brief therapy 
• Dr Elaine Stone - Personal construct psychology Reframing COVID-19 

BPS West Midlands Branch Undergraduate Award 

The West Midlands Branch wants to recognise some of the excellent work done by Undergraduate Students studying in the West Midlands.

One nomination from each university in the West Midlands region is invited. The nomination can be for a student on any society accredited undergraduate award and must highlight the excellence in the dissertation drawing particular attention to:

1. How independently the student worked
2. The novelty of the research question
3. Whether the project has utilised research methods in an innovative way
4. Any other aspect of the project and the student's approach to it which you think is outstanding
5. All nominees will receive a certificate. The winner and two runners up will also receive a voucher

Criteria

• Student (nominee) must be on a Society accredited undergraduate course.
• No more than ONE nomination per university in any given year (in the case of more than one nomination, the committee will contact the nominees and expect them to agree which should be nominated between them)
• The Committee want to hear about what is excellent, so a strong nomination statement is vital.

Judging process

The award will be judged by the Branch Committee. Committee members will declare any conflict of interests prior to participating in the decision making process. The Committee's decision is final and will be communicated to nominee's and nominators once it has been made.

Prize information

All nominees will receive:

• a commemorative certificate.
• an invitation to write a short blog style summary of their research for the West Midlands Branch Newsletter.
• Up to £70 towards attending (physically or virtually) any academic or practitioner conference or CPD event relevant to any area of psychology. This must be claimed within 6month of receiving the prize and receipts for all relevant expenditure must be submitted.

Further information

Please note that only university nominations can be accepted. 

For this year's call we need to receive applications by 31 July and outcomes will be communicated by the end of August.

Please contact the Member Network support - West Midlands Branch if you are interested in involving your university.

Conference and Event Bursaries

Conference bursaries are available to support members of the West Midlands Branch to attend (physically or virtually) any academic or practitioner conference or CPD event relevant to the applicants work.

Criteria

Each bursary consists of up to £200 to contribute towards the costs of registration and/or travel (if applicable).

All applicants must be members or student subscribers of the British Psychological Society.

All applicants must agreement to provide receipts for all relevant expenditure to the Branch treasurer.

Applications that make a strong case for need and the benefits of attendance. It is expected that applicants will not apply more than once each year.

Application process

Applicants will be required to provide:

1. Name
2. Organisation/affiliation
3. BPS membership number
4. Details of the conference that the applicant wishes to attend, including title of event, date(s) and registration costs.
5. A statement of not more than 150 words providing a brief explanation of why a bursary is needed (e.g., because a postgraduate student is not funded by a research council or their institution), why the applicant should be awarded a bursary, and how she or he will benefit from attending the conference.

All successful applicants will be requested to submit a blog style summary of the event attended suitable for publication in the West Midlands Branch newsletter.

How to apply

There are two rounds of the scheme each year:

• The June round is open from 01 June and all applications must be received by 30 June.
• The November round is open from 01 November and all applications must be received by 30 November.

Judging process

• Submissions will be reviewed by a sub-panel of the West Midlands Branch committee members

BPS West Midlands Branch Undergraduate Research Internship Scheme

Our 2024 internship scheme is now open for applications and has a closing date of 01 May 2024.

We will notify all applicants of the outcome by 24 May.

Aim

The West Midlands Branch will fund two Undergraduate Research Internships.

This will be an opportunity for a student to work with a supervisor on a research project that must provide real benefits to the student and give them tangible training and career development support.

The student will be provided (either face to face, virtually or mixed methods) with research training, direct experience of research and an insight into scientific research.

The aim is to develop the students' research skills, support the student in their career development and for them to provide some valuable assistance on a research project.

We particularly wish to support those from backgrounds who, without this award, would be unable to undertake an internship.

The Award

The award is made jointly to the supervisor and the student.

The award (a maximum of £1920) is to provide a student stipend. It is anticipated that the student will either work on the specified project for 8 weeks full-time (receiving a stipend of £240 per week) or 16 weeks part-time (receiving a stipend of £120 per week). 

The internship must begin before 01 December 2024.

When applying the planned start and finish dates of the internship must be stated along with the approximate number of hours a week that the students will spend working on the project.

This money will be paid to the host institution, who will then arrange to pay the student. The host institution will need to meet all other related overheads.

Eligibility

To be eligible to receive a Research Assistantship award, students must be:

• completing a BPS-accredited undergraduate degree or a masters degree in psychology
• expecting to achieve a 2.1 or a 1st class degree or is on a masters programme and expected to achieve a merit or distinction.
• in the penultimate, or final year of their degree

In addition, the supervisor:

• must be employed in a UK HEI in the West Midlands and at the same institution as the student
• must be at least a Graduate Member of the British Psychological Society.
• can only make one application in any year

Judging Process

All applications received will undergo blind peer review by a subcommittee of the West Midlands Branch.

The committee's decision is final and will be communicated to applicants in May.

How to apply:

Supervisors and students should work together and submit a research proposal (this must not exceed 600 words – please include a word count at the end of the document).

The proposal must specify a detailed, timetabled and specific project that is feasible and achievable within the proposed timescale.

This will include a specific training component e.g. training in the professional testing of participants (possibly including patients, children, or other sensitive groups), training in collating and analysing data and in the communication of the research findings.

Details of the ethical review procedures that the research proposal will be, or has been, subject to.

All research proposals must be compliant with the society's Code of Ethics and Conduct, the Code of Human Research Ethics and the relevant supplementary guidelines for research with animals (as appropriate).

Please note: we will only release funding for successful applications once we are in receipt of official confirmation showing that you have been granted ethical approval.

Submit an application for the internship scheme

Applications must also include:

• A signed statement from the student (this must not exceed 500 words, and a word count must be provided at the end of the document) outlining why they want this bursary and how it will contribute to their career aspirations.
  
  We particularly wish to support those from backgrounds who without this award would be unable to undertake a summer internship
   
• A signed confirmation from the Head of Department that is hosting the Research Assistant, indicating the Department's willingness to administer the bursary; confirmation of the student's expected degree classification; providing support for any additional costs where appropriate; their support for the application; and general support for the hosting an Assistantship/project

Chair: Lawrence Moulin (Sept 2022 – 2024; Past Chair: 2024 – 2025) ([email protected]) and Sarah Rose (co-opted: Sept 2023 – 2024)

Chair Elect: Sarah Rose (Chair Elect: Sept 2023 – Sept 2024; Chair: Sept 2024 – 2026)

Honorary Secretary: Emma Vardy (co-opted: Jan 2024 – Sept 2024)

Appointed Members:

• Alexandra Negoita  (Aug 2022 – Sept 2025)
• Alix Barefoot (Sept 2023 – 2026) 
• Charlotte Scott (East Midlands: Sep 2022 – 2025)
• Daniella Wickett (DCP West Midlands: May 2023 – Sept 2026)
• Dominique Fray-Aitken (Sept 2023 – 2026)
• Ebony Murray (Dec 2022 – Sept 2025)
• Emma Vardy (Sept 2023 – Sept 2026)
• Gemma Wood (E-newsletter Editor: Sept 2023 – 2026)
• Karen Ann Hood (Feb 2022 – Sept 2024) 
• Nikki Ayles (May 2024 – 2027)
• Philippa Carr (Treasurer: Sept 2023 – 2026)
• Pragya Modi (Student Ambassador: Feb 2023 – Sept 2024)
• Priya Tamber (Oct 2023 – Sept 2026)
• Tahani Baldwin and Rachael Mears (Student Ambassador: Feb 2023 – Sept 2026)

Join

When you join the BPS you are automatically made a member of your local branch.

The West Midlands Branch of the BPS covers the following areas/postcodes:

• Birmingham (B1- B99)
• Coventry (CV)
• Dudley (DY)
• Gloucester (GL)
• Hereford (HR)
• Oxford (OX)
• Swindon (SN)
• Stoke on Trent (ST)
• Shrewsbury (SY1 to SY14)
• Telford (TF)
• Worcester (WR)
• Walsall (WS)
• Wolverhampton (WV)