EFPSA

EFPSA represents a highly diverse network of psychology students working on a voluntary basis by and for psychology students of Europe. The Federation currently consists of 32 psychology member associations and the Czech Republic id one of them. This year for the first time our school joined another Czech Psychology universities which are the members since 2001.

Why do we do this?
The mission of EFPSA is to represent the needs and interests of the psychology students of Europe, improve Psychology, and develop ways and habits to contribute to society, and support scientific, social and cultural cooperation between students, academics and professionals. In addition, under the auspices of EFPSA, there are Annual Congresses organised by each member (one European state) in the particular country. These congresses are filled with variety of academic lectures by professionals, social programs, excursions, etc. There are many opportunities that EFPSA provides, from academic support to creating new connections with other psychology students from all over the Europe (and even further). Nevertheless, I will primarily focus on the Congress itself.

As already mentioned, every year a psychology congress is being organised by one chosen country, where other members assembly to enjoy an academic-social-entertaining week. This year, on the edge of April and May we are travelling to Romania. I am glad to be one of the few students from the Czech Republic, who were chosen to go there. The Congress’ topic is Development & Technology. I cannot wait to go there and be the part of the atmosphere at the EFPSA Congress, which others who already have the experience, described as something spiritual and optimism infectious (I am going to write something about my experiences for the next article).

Nevertheless, there is something even more important than the Congress in Romania and it is the Congress next year that will take place in the Czech Republic. Again, I would like to emphasise that it as an event organised by students. You, who have already prepared such event, surely know, that it involves millions of details which need to be properly planned and for each and every detail there have to be at least another two alternative plans. Firstly, it is essential to find a place where more than three hundred students plus other participants. Then we need to provide professionals who would be willing to give a lecture or workshop on the topic of Psychology of Science and Sexuality. Even students can present their researches or ideas. Another crucial part of the Congress is social program, which includes all the time besides lectures plus excursions. And last not least, we need to find grants to be able to finance all this. So far, we have received a donation from UNYP.

Social Team!
I am a member of the Social Team which is supposed to assure the social program through the whole week of the Congress. So far there are only six of us, but we will grow more. What is our task then? Primarily, no one must experience boredom, and everybody has to remember this Congress as one of the best! We will organize various cultural events in the evening, workshops through the day excursion, discos, etc. We have already met once with our team. We went on a cottage in the countryside to spend there a weekend to work on the social program. We were trying to (I hope successfully) to gather all our ideas and give them some meaningful form.

What else…
Besides EFPSA Congress, our school (more precisely Empire State College) holds the International Student Research Symposium, which is one-day event where students have the chance to present their researches or do some workshops. The invitations were sent to all Psychology universities in the Czech Republic, in Bratislava, at the Webster University in Vienna, in Netherlands, and in Dresden.

In addition, already for the second time, students from Denmark came here to run the experiment with Random Acts of Kindness, which I mentioned in the last blog contribution. Again, students were giving flowers, paying for coffee, or anything they thought of. They were given a certain amount of money per group and they were supposed to spend it on strangers on the street. From the previous experience people were refusing candies (when we were kids parents used to warn us not to take sweets from strangers, so we live with this advice until adulthood, and even if we know that someone is not going to give us poisoned jelly bean,  we refuse it.

Considering non curricular activities, in the beginning of February I visited my old friends in Linköping, Sweden. I spent there only few days, but I even enjoyed the snow which was there only the time as I was (then it melted down). Unfortunately, I did not have much time to look around Stockholm. Nevertheless, I will do it next time.