Call to join societies network

University psychology societies may be an overlooked, yet excellent place for breeding ideas, peer-support and valuable experiences for the future. One head of such a society is hoping to form a network of similar groups across the UK.

The President of the University of Derby's psychology society, Keith Flint, said he has seen the group move from strength to strength during its first year of existence and has since become the second largest society at the university. Given that success, he is hoping to form a network of all psychology societies across all the UK universities.

Flint told The Psychologist that the Derby society runs workshops for its members to help them through university and expand their skill sets, including courses in public speaking, networking and revision techniques. He added: 'We've also managed to arrange for members to visit Broadmoor Hospital. We'll be given a tour of the grounds, speak to members of staff, hear from psychologists that work there and find out what it's like to work there.'

Despite being set to graduate this year, Flint is hoping to form this national network of psychology societies before that time. He said: 'We want to unite all psychology students across the country to give students more opportunities and experiences both during their time at university and when they graduate.'

As well as helping members to meet like-minded individuals, this large network could even lead to eventual working relationships in research or other areas of the discipline, Flint said. On a practical level, he added, it would allow students who wanted to go on to postgraduate studies at other institutions to speak to students at those universities to find out what their studying experiences were like.

Flint, who is hoping to pursue postgraduate study in psychology and eventually a career in the area, said he thought societies like this encourage students to actively pursue and interest in the topic, which in turn helps their career progression. He added: 'University psychology societies consist of the next generation of psychologists, some of whom may one day make a massive breakthrough in the field of psychology and advance the subject into the future. Which is why these societies are so important, not only to the students in them but also to the area of psychology as a whole.' er

If you run or are a member of a university-based psychology society and would like to join Flint's network e-mail him on [email protected]. And why not share with us the contribution your psychology society makes – e-mail [email protected] or tweet us @psychmag.