Dear Friends of EFPSA,
We write this Board of Management Postcard in the midst of the second Board of Management Meeting, taking place in the countryside of Serbia. Working alongside one another, so close to the end of the mandate, has certainly been a sentimental time for us all, but it’s also provided a brilliant platform for gaining perspective on the organisation. All things considered, the timing of the meeting couldn’t have been better. So without further comments, here’s a snapshot of what we’ve been working on recently.
The Member and Observer Coordinator team are currently engaged in some exciting and developing communication with representatives from the very recently established organisation of psychology students in Albania. We’re also happy to know that we’ll be meeting with two delegates of the organisation in Romania at the upcoming EFPSA Congress in April.
The Vice-MRs of EFPSA are also hard at work on concluding a survey of their experiences and working practices – a project which we all hope will contribute greatly to the longer term development of the role of the Vice-MR.
The Train Advanced Trainers kicked off on Saturday 1 March with an open training day at the University of Vilnius, Lithuania – an opening event that welcomed around 250 Lithuanian students into a diverse program of trainings. The Train Advanced Trainers event will continue with a dynamic selection of other workshops and training sessions. The event reflects a wonderful spirit of inter-organisational collaboration, with participants from 13 organisations, including the Board of European Students of Technology (BEST), AIESEC, and the Informal Forum of International Students’ Organisations (IFISO).
With the call for research Supervisors for the European Summer School now closed, the team are now busy with selecting six applicants to fill the role of research project Supervisors for the event and subsequent Junior Researcher Programme.
Collectively, the Member Representatives, Congress Organising Committee and Board of Management have now concluded the participant & guest list for the upcoming annual Congress. Amongst the external guests are delegates from the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, the Right to Research Coalition, American Psychological Association of Graduate Students and the European Federation of Psychologists’ Associations. We cannot wait to meet with our guests and work toward future collaborations between our organisations.
As we sadly approach the end of the mandate, it becomes relevant for the organisation’s structural and strategic development to gain an overview of the experiences of all members from the Executive Board and the Member Representatives within their positions and in the organisation as a whole. For this purpose, a second round of reports were collected from both bodies, allowing them to provide valuable feedback in written format and through interviews held with the Presidential Office and the respective Board of Management responsible person. The outcomes from these reports were carefully considered and have resulted in new and exciting proposals within the Board of Management, soon to be presented to the rest of the organisation, relating to its structure and working practices. We would like to thank all involved for their time and efforts.
Back in January we launched a Call to find a new Secretary General. After eVoting from the Member Representatives, we are pleased to announce that Mirna Cerovac, our former Internal Relations Officer, has taken up the position. We’d like to congratulate Mirna on this appointment, and wish her the best of luck in her role. Mirna has already been attending the Board of Management meetings and is settling in greatly.
We’re proud to announce the opening of the Call for new Training Office members, open until the 9th of March, 2014. The mandate was nothing short of successful with members of the Training Office and the Trainer’s Pool delivering trainings all over Europe and establishing new partnerships with external organisations, which are sure to bring about long-term opportunities for all those involved. By securing new team members, before the annual Congress, the Training Office is able to ensure delivery and careful planning of the trainings being held for the Executive Board members and Member Representatives, as they enter a new mandate.
Lastly, we’re tremendously excited to have used our presence at this Board of Management Meeting to finalise the documents and procedure relating to the Call for Board of Management positions for the mandate 2014/2015. We’re especially pleased with revised Role Description documents for each position, and another outlining the collective role and function of the Board of Management. We would encourage all readers interested in this great opportunity to contribute to EFPSA, to take some time to read over these documents. Applications are open until Wednesday, March 21st. Naturally, we wish the best of luck and our support to all those who apply.
We have a series of exciting and informative posts prepared for later this month, so be sure to stay in touch with EFPSA to find out what’s happening.
With warm wishes,
William, Luís, Angie, Antoine, Mariyan, Mirna, and Spyra