The Psychology Postgraduates Affairs Group (PsyPAG) is a national organisation for all psychology postgraduates based at UK Institutions. Funded by the Research Board of the British Psychological Society, PsyPAG is run on a voluntary basis by a committee of postgraduates for postgraduates.
The PsyPAG committee encompasses a range of representative roles, from editing our publication, The Quarterly to representing PsyPAG on the BPS Publications and Communications Board. The variety of the roles available on the committee makes detailing what members do slightly difficult but there are aspects which are common to all roles.
Representatives are expected to attend (as many as possible) and contribute to PsyPAG committee meetings. Three face-to-face meetings are held each year, one at our annual conference (July), one in November and one at the BPS annual conference (April). These meetings take place on Friday afternoons. Expenses are covered for meeting attendance. In addition there is also a teleconference held each January, primarily for core committee members although any representatives can attend. Each representative is asked to send a representative report before each meeting, normally a week in advance. This report details the meetings which representatives have attended and activities they have engaged in since the last meeting. The report is not a big task, and it can help to update it as you go, adding anything which you have done.
In between meetings there will be e-mail communication between the committee members which might involve discussing an issue that has arisen from a meeting or advertising relevant workshops to PsyPAG members. It would be expected that you provide input when required. You will also be asked to advertise PsyPAG’s bursary and award schemes to your departments and all appropriate contacts. Promoting PsyPAG is one of the key roles of all committee members.
Some roles, such as the representatives for the BPS Divisions, Sections, and Regional Branches also require attendance and involvement at other committee meetings. At these meetings your role is to represent postgraduate interests. This could include providing input on events and prizes, and in some cases judging applications for awards and bursaries. It could also involved organising workshops for postgraduates in your area or editing the student pages of a sections newsletter. Each division, section and region is different but they all looking for pro-active representative who want to get involved. It is also a good idea in these roles to try and organise a PsyPAG stand at conferences and events held by the Divisions, Sections and Regional Branches, in order to promote PsyPAG and encourage more postgraduates to be involved with the BPS. All activities of this sort would then be fed into your representative report for PsyPAG meetings.
Representatives are also encouraged to write for the Quarterly publication and take part in the organisation of PsyPAG events, such as conferences and workshops. In addition there is also the opportunity to be involved on one of PsyPAG’s subcommittees. These include the bursary subcommittee and awards subcommittee which are responsible for reviewing applications and awarding prizes.
If you decide to join the committee and are successful at the AGM, you will be given specific handover information from the previous committee members and the valuable PsyPAG handbook.
If you want more information about what a role on the committee might involve please contact the Vice Chair (vicechair@psypag.co.uk) and they will put you in contact with the previous person in this role.
Becoming a PsyPAG Representative
All PsyPAG representatives are elected psychology postgraduate students. There are two ways you can join the committee: being elected at our AGM in July or being co-opted at one of the quarterly committee meetings. You are allowed to hold up to 3 PsyPAG committee positions at one time. Each position has a term of 2 years, but you are able to stand down before then if you wish.
Being elected at the PsyPAG AGM
Our AGM is always held at our annual conference (www.psypag.co.uk/psypag-conference). The details will be included in the conference programme and all conference attendees are invited to attend. During the conference a list of committee positions which will be vacant will be given in your pack and/or a poster, and you will be able to speak to current PsyPAG representatives at our information table.
During the AGM the Chair will announce each vacant position in the order shown in our committee list on our website: core positions; division representatives; section representatives; branch representatives; other committee representatives. For each position those present will be asked if they would like to stand. If only one person stands for election, the Chair will ask if there are any objections and if not that person is elected. If more than one person stands for a position, all candidates are asked to give a short speech supporting their application. This could include your university, year of study, interest in the role and any relevant experience. The candidates are asked to leave the room and the postgraduates present are then asked to vote for their preferred choice.
At the end of the AGM the Chair will then re-announce any positions that have not been filled, and give people another opportunity to stand for them.
If you would like to stand for a position at the AGM but cannot attend the conference, you can email the Vice Chair (vicechair@psypag.co.uk) declaring your interest. You will be asked to send a short statement supporting your application for all positions you would like to be considered for. If someone else stands for the same position your statement will then be read out at the AGM. You will be notified by email whether or not you are successful.
Being co-opted at a quarterly PsyPAG committee meeting
Throughout the year there will be some vacant committee positions, either because they were not filled at the AGM or because a representative has stood down. The vacant positions are shown on the committee list on our website.
If you are interested in standing for any of these positions during the year you can email the Vice Chair (vicechair@psypag.co.uk) and declare your interest. You will be asked to send a short supporting statement supporting your application, as above. This will then be sent to the PsyPAG committee. If there are no objections you will be co-opted at the next quarterly committee meeting. You will be invited to attend this meeting.
You will then be formally elected into the position at the next AGM.
What happens after you have been elected?
If you are elected at the AGM your contact details will be taken and you will be given a welcome pack, including copies of the PsyPAG Constitution and Handbook. You will also be invited to attend the PsyPAG committee meeting, which happens at the end of the conference. If you are co-opted at a quarterly meeting the welcome pack will be emailed to you and you will have been invited to attend the meeting at which you were co-opted.
Following election you will be emailed a copy of a handover sheet from the previous representative in your position, if available. This will include their contact details, and the contact details for your BPS committee. You will also be given details of how to use our web resources for committee meetings.
The previous representative or the Vice Chair will send an email to your BPS committee formally introducing you as their new PsyPAG representative, cc-ing you in and providing brief details about you. Your BPS committee should then give you details of their meetings.
If you have any difficulties once in your position you can contact the Vice Chair (vicechair@psypag.co.uk) at any time.