Student Ambassador Update - May 2023

Celebration Session

We are planning an online celebration session to acknowledge the hard work you have achieved over the past academic year.

We want to give back to you and help to celebrate your successes and achievements. Plus, there will be little something from the Careers Team to show our appreciation!

We are really encouraging your attendance to this event, and hope to see you there.  

But we need your help! We would really appreciate if you could add any wonderful, exciting ideas to the padlet we have created during a previous drop-in session, to find out exactly what you'd like to see during this celebration session.  

Access the Padlet here.

We have also created a doodle pole with various dates as options for the celebration session. If you could please choose the date and time most convenient to you. 

View the Doodle Poll.

Student Ambassador Activity

Vlad Makar – University of Leicester 

Vlad would like to combine the Psychology Society at the university with the work he has been doing to promote the BPS.

In order to do this Vlad ran to become the president of the society and was successful. Huge congratulations to Vlad.

Next steps include integrating BPS within the psychology society through various talks and resources.  

Zeynep Sacli – University of Greenwich

Zeynep has been sharing a lot of information with several group chats and has recently created leaflets with a BPS QR code in order for students to access information easily.

Zeynep has also shared current opportunities for students to obtain experience. Zeynep distributed the leaflets during the Psychological Society event, many students found the information extremely useful. 

Kyle Redford – University of Hertfordshire 

Kyle has been manning a stand during lunch time to provide advice to students looking to study a Masters in Psychology at the university. And advice regarding potential roles students could apply to gain experience depending on the area they would like to go into.

Kyle has also been promoting the benefits of BPS membership, areas relating to CPD and peer forums which are available for support and guidance. 

Updates from the Careers Team:

Visits

Going forward we will try to attend as many careers events as various institutions and will reach out to you directly if we plan to attend, in order to meet you face to face!   

European Congress of Psychology 2023

The BPS Careers team have been busy organising several events for the European Congress of Psychology 2023. ECP2023 brings together psychologists from across Europe providing an opportunity for them to learn from each other, and to bring together the research, knowledge and innovation that is unique to each country on our continent.    

The event is going to be taking place in Brighton, at the Brighton Centre, located in the heart of the city, which is one of the largest purpose-built conference and entertainment venues in the South East of England. The event will run from Monday 3rd July to Wednesday 6th July 2023, and will be hosted in person. 

We will be hosting be three lunchtime sessions focused upon workforce developments across the UK. The workshops will cover the BPS Student Ambassador programme, the success of the Clinical Associate in Psychology role, and the BPS Wider Psychological Workforce Registration developments.  

We are also organising a roundtable discussions session on the challenges faced, when trying to gain work experience as a psychology student, where we hope this session will provide a cross-European dialogue on the topic.

We know that across Europe, psychology students have a challenge in gaining relevant work experience in psychology, there can be a lack of opportunities, it can be difficult to navigate the confidentiality involved in psychological work, and many struggle to fund unpaid placement opportunities. A psychology employer, a university placement provider and a student will facilitate these discussion, as delegates come together to talk about some of these challenges. 

We will also be on hand throughout the conference with useful literature on psychology careers, which will be available in hard copy and as a QR code.

Find out more about attending the congress. 

Psychology Careers Festival 2023 [Monday 6th November – Saturday 11th November] 

We are excited to announce confirmation of our second BPS Psychology Careers Festival!  

Throughout our six-day festival, attendees will access an online conference platform and are able to navigate across multiple different online festival tents, exploring different careers sessions where they will hear from inspirational speakers across a broad range of disciplines. We'll have talks from a number of individuals at different stages of their career, from a variety of different backgrounds.

Attendees will be able to explore the world of 'hidden psychology' - occupations where psychology is applied. We will also be running workshop style sessions so attendees can practice some of those key employability skills needed when transitioning through a psychology career journey. We will also be hosting an employability fayre, sharing hints and tips for best preparing for a career in psychology, and attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, chat with and meet up in our online lobby space with speakers and other likeminded attendees! 

Booking will be open shortly for Early Bird tickets so please keep your eyes peeled! 

Message from the BPS Academic Publications Team

You are invited to participate in a forthcoming student survey that will feed directly into the BPS's books publication strategy.  

The BPS are exploring a new series of study skills and support books for Psychology undergraduate students. We want to hear from you about which book topics you would find most beneficial for your learning and development in Psychology, both academically and personally. We are currently considering different topic areas such as:  

• Learning and Study guides ('How to' guides)  
• Self-development and improvement  
• Career guidance and advancement 

Your feedback will inform what type of books the BPS should consider publishing for Psychology undergraduate students.  

Please complete the survey via the following link BPS Survey – Books for Psychology Undergraduate Students.

Callout from the Social Media Team 

We would love to receive content from you! Some examples of what you could create and send our way are below: 

• Videos, photos, or a short-written description of the activities you have carried out 
• A day in the life of a student ambassador/ psychology student 
• Top tips for revision or any other kind of student content 
• Quotes from yourselves regarding your experience as a Student Ambassador 

Please send them to [email protected] 

Opportunity to join a Focus Group  

The student committee would like one Student Ambassador to take part in a focus group to discuss the current student newsletter and website page. Your input would be extremely valuable.  

If you would like to take part, please contact the student committee chair Ellie Duncan via <[email protected]> as soon as possible. Thank you! 
 

The Psychology of Friendship Competition

Are you fascinated by the importance of friendships for our childhood development, and how friendship grows and changes with us as we move through different stages of life? Do you have a unique perspective on the Psychology underlying friendship? We want to hear from you! To mark friendship awareness day this year, we're calling on all students with an interest in psychology to submit articles on "The Psychology of Friendship" for the Psych-Talk August 2023 issue.  

This is your chance to share insights, challenge conventional thinking and spark meaningful conversations about friendship. Your article can delve into the importance of friendship for our childhood development, how animals can offer us companionship, or explore the latest research in the field – it's totally up to you! So, don't hesitate – put your pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and submit your article before the 6th of June 2023 to get a chance to be one of 3 articles featured in our next issue. 

Deadline: 6th June 2023 

Send Submissions to: [email protected].

Competition voucher prizes:

1st place: £100 

2nd place: £75 

3rd place: £50 

Further article submission information can be found at www.bps.org.uk/publications/psych-talk.

Events for you to promote within your university: 

Emotional Intelligence at work 

• 06 June 09:30–11:30
• Online 
• Find out more about this event

This webinar supports learners to offer appropriate emotional support professionally and personally. This webinar aims to;  

Support compassionate people who need to contain the anxieties of others (often without realising how much this can affect them). 

Teach methods to sit with, explore and learn from emotions – many of which clients can benefit from as well as ourselves. 

Deal with difficult conversations using structures – because sometimes, when it comes to potential emotional conflict, it's not about addressing psychological reasons but simply practical ones.

Connecting communities through psychology and social changes 

• 16 June 09:00-18:00
• Online 
• Register for this event 

You are invited to the BPS Welsh Branch 2023 Annual Conference which will be held on Saturday 10 June 2023 at the University of Wales Trinity St David, Swansea Campus.

The conference aims to explore community and build a network of connected communities through psychology and practice within the psychological framework in Wales, across specialisms, divisions and communities.

If you are an undergraduate or postgraduate student or early career psychologist ready to share your ideas with your peers, this is an excellent opportunity!

Maths in psychology: Stats Anxiety and the Teaching of Statistics at University 

26 June 16:00-18:00

Online 

Find out more about this event

This event will allow participants to pose questions for the presenters and will also provide practical advice and guidance in relation to selected statistical tests, helping you to see how these can be applied in your learning or teaching.

Theme for June – SUMMER TIME

Summer is finally here! We hope that your exams are going well, and assignments are complete. If you still have deadlines approaching, we wish you the best of luck. Remember to have downtime and when summer starts for you, be sure to enjoy yourselves. Whether that is reading your favourite book under a tree or going out with your friends. Have fun and we will see you in the Celebration Session, sometime in July.  

Drop In Sessions 

Due to exam season fast approaching we will not have a drop-in session. The next drop-in session will be the celebration session which will be held in July. We would encourage you to attend that. Monthly drop-in sessions will then resume from September. 

Student Newsletter/The Psych-Talk Magazine

As a reminder, we love to share your work across our communication channels. If you have carried out an activity within your student ambassador role that you are particularly proud of, please send over a short description of the type of activities you have been doing within your role so far, and perhaps some accompanying photos, to [email protected].