Looking ahead to Brighton

The continuing impact of eugenics, careers in psychology, and democracy and leadership will all be up for discussion at this year's European Congress of Psychology. As well as many fascinating keynote addresses, the BPS Careers team, member networks, and Challenging Histories Group are hosting events to stimulate discussion on a range of thought-provoking topics.

The BPS Challenging Histories group, which includes members of the BPS Knowledge and Insights Team and Ethics Committee, is hosting a symposium exploring the legacy of eugenics and psychology on education in the past and present including a talk from Professor Marius Turda (Oxford Brookes University) on the history of eugenics (we'll hear more on that in the next issue), and a roundtable discussion on the legacy of eugenics chaired by Professor John Oates. 

The roundtable discussion will include Lisa Edwards, an individual whose family have lived experience of the effects of eugenics, and Research Support and Special Collections Librarian at the UCL Institute of Education, Nazlin Bhimani, whose Special Collections focus on the history of education in England. BPS Archives Manager Sophie O'Reilly said 'We're very excited to present this symposium at the ECP on a topic which still has wide ranging repercussions today. As well as giving a historical account of the relationship between psychology and eugenics, the story of a family's lived experience of over a century of institutionalisation and stigmatisation will be vital to highlighting these repercussions.'

The BPS Careers team have organised several events for students, psychology professionals, careers and employability university staff, and anyone with an interest in the profession. One of these events will involve roundtable discussions on the challenges faced when trying to gain work experience as a psychology student.

BPS Careers Manager Natalie Billing said the event would provide a cross-European dialogue on the topic. 'Across Europe, psychology students have a real 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. We are hosting three roundtable discussions including psychological professionals, university staff, placement providers and students to come together to talk about some of these challenges.'

There will also be three workshops on workforce developments across the UK. The workshops will cover the BPS Student Ambassador programme which recruits volunteer students to represent to BPS and encourage careers in psychology, the success of the Clinical Associate in Psychology role, and the BPS Wider Psychological Workforce Registration developments.

The Careers team 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. On Monday 3 July, the Careers Team also hope to deliver a free Careers In Psychology event for local students, delivered alongside the University of Brighton, which will feature information on practitioner psychologist careers, wider psychological workforce roles, and careers informed by psychological knowledge.

Several BPS Member Networks are also hosting events at the ECP. On Tuesday 4 July, the Qualitative Methods in Psychology Section will host a symposium on the ways qualitative psychology can help to unite communities in a sustainable world – including invited speaker Dr Hannah Frith.

On the same date, the BPS Division of Forensic Psychology is holding an invited symposium on creating safer communities – including examples of interventions developed in England and Germany – and a panel discussion on reducing inequality in forensic assessment and approaches.

On Wednesday 5 July, the Division of Occupational Psychology will host an invited interactive programme titled Engaging Employees and Organisations to Build a Safe and Sustainable World. This event will include talks from Professor of Organisational Psychology Ines Meyer (University of Cape Town) and Eva Selenko, Professor of Work Psychology (Loughborough University).

Also on Wednesday 5 July, the Division of Educational and Child Psychology is holding an event on educational psychology's role in uniting school communities for a sustainable world. The programme will include discussions of the mental health and wellbeing of education professionals in the Netherlands, Portugal and Slovenia after Covid-19.

On the same date, the Division of Clinical Psychology (DCP) will hold two symposiums, including a discussion on the past 70 years of developments in clinical psychology training and current challenges chaired by BPS President-Elect Dr Roman Rączka. The second, chaired by Professor (Emeritus) Tony Lavender and with invited speakers who are recent winners of DCP awards, will involve a discussion on clinical psychology research and practice in the UK.

Wednesday 5 July will also see an invited symposium hosted by the BPS Psychobiology Section including a talk from Professor of Psychology Daryl O'Connor on poverty and inequalities in the context of psychobiology, and a discussion titled 'Understanding ourselves, understanding each other: Views from Psychobiology'.

Find more information about all the BPS 'nested events'. Book a special one-day ticket for any of the member network events. Until 6 June, tickets cost £155 plus VAT for each of the member network events.

Find out all about the European Congress and book three-day tickets via the website – there are special offers for BPS members.

You can also read interviews with members of the scientific programme committee.

Throughout this issue, we consider Brighton and Hove in the context of the Congress themes; for our July/August special, we turn our focus to the keynote and invited speakers.