Peers Connect organised two events aimed at fostering friendship and networking between ECRs and students, while also increasing network opportunities with well-established Australian academics. We believe that these, along with other conference efforts, helped to bring the students together. This was most evidential at the end of the conference where many of the ECRs and students organised to go together to the noodle markets to celebrate the end of the conference.
Peers Connect Social Event
The social night was a fantastic night where many students and ECRs connected for the first time. These connections continued throughout the conference as groups of students from different universities and geolocations could be seen together.
Peers Connect Mentoring Lunch
The Peers Connect Mentoring Lunch attracted many more people during the conference than through official channels. Feedback was positive. Thank you to Roeline Kuijper, Helen Brown, Kerry Sherman, and Barbara Mullan for providing mentoring this year.
General Conference Observations
There was a great representation of students and ECRs throughout the conference. This was refreshing to see as it reinforced the continued interest in upcoming academics in health psychology and behavioural medicine. Students and ECRs presented on a range of topics from theory building to intervention development and implementation. The student community was further strongly represented in poster presentations and the conference roundtable, where students and ECR members made up the bulk of the numbers. Further, there was a strong student and ECR representation at the AGM. This resulted in, following the announcement that all ASBHM executive board member positions were now open for new applicants, many students raising their hands for either committee roles or for Peers Connect positions. Many students and ECRs expressed a desire to become involved with formally representing Peers Connect, but without wanting the existing Peers Connect representatives to be removed. This is new in Peers Connect as students have historically been approached by ASBHM executives and invited to represent Peers Connect, rather than the ECRs and students expressing their own interest in joining. We are now brainstorming new ways that we may be able to involve members in the running of Peers Connect rather than just being the recipient of Peers Connect efforts.
Informal feedback from students and ECRs highlighted their enjoyment at the conference for both the conference proper and the associated social events. Students and ECRs have also commented on the high quality of the keynote speakers. There were also comments regarding student and ECR excitement for the 2020 conference in Sydney.