Launch of online communities

Members of two of the British Psychological Society's member networks can now keep in touch through dedicated online communities. These new forums will provide members with a place to network with each other, ask questions, raise topics of interest and share interesting content with colleagues.

The online community for undergraduate students launched at the end of October and will allow thousands of undergraduate students, both in the UK and those studying UK university courses online from overseas, to connect and collaborate. The beginning of November saw the launch of the Division of Clinical Psychology's online community, and more will be developed over the coming months to cover other member networks.

British Psychological Society (BPS) Director of Communications and Engagement Rachel Dufton said a key role for membership organisations was to help members to connect. 'Our 154 member networks already do a fantastic job of supporting members to network with like-minded people in various scientific, professional, regional and special interest groups but our lack of up-to-date technology has meant that it hasn't always been easy for members to stay in touch with each other online. That's why we've developed a new community platform which will bring our members together by giving them a dedicated online space to hold discussions, ask questions and share insights.

It's somewhere for members to meet others online who share their passion for psychology. 'Linda Corrie, BPS Digital Projects Manager, said the communities were designed to make networking, and reaching out to others, a simple process. 'You can post discussions on any topic, ask other members questions, share documents and other content like videos, as well as sharing experiences through writing a blog. And the technology that sits behind the community makes the experience of taking part really straightforward. Members are invited by an email from the BPS and then just need to log on for the first time with their membership details and then it's just a couple of clicks to enter the community from either your laptop, PC or smartphone. With the system's built-in email notification system, members also receive emails about discussions they are taking part in or topics of interest, as frequently or infrequently as they like based on their notification settings.' 

- Student and DCP members can access their community by visiting connect.bps.org.uk/students or connect.bps.org.uk/dcp