University practitioners provide concrete recommendations for a simpler Horizon Europe

As the European Parliament discussed Horizon Europe in September, university practitioners from 12 countries provided input based on their experiences with EU-funded research projects.  

A simpler management of EU funding has indeed long been associated with the provision of a single set of rules for all beneficiaries of EU programmes. However, while this option supports clarity and certainty of action, it fails to acknowledge participants’ diverse profiles. These could be better met through the provision of several options to accommodate different needs, including a framework for improving the acceptance of beneficiaries’ accounting and management practices.  

In view of the forthcoming adoption of the Horizon Europe rules for participation, the report aims to contribute to the transparency of the discussions promoting a broader acceptance of institutional practices as a major step towards simplifying EU funding. It builds on EUA’s earlier work on financially sustainable universities by providing updated information about the current state of development of costing methodologies in European universities.

The analysis shows that universities across Europe have a professional financial management and that many European research funders accept their institutional practices.

More information here 

FEPSAC position statement:
Mental health disorders in elite athletes and models of service provision

Mental health disorders (MHD) in elite athletes is a topic that has received increased attention in recent years. The overall aim of this position statement is to enhance awareness of this important topic and to critically discuss optimal service provision for athletes who suffer from MHD.  

In the first part of the paper a short overview of the research on MHD in elite athletes is provided. Elite athletes seem to have comparable prevalence rates for the most common MHD when compared to non-athletic peers, but there are still many disorders that have not been investigated in athletes. Sport specific situations such as injuries, periods of overtraining and career termination may put athletes at an increased risk of developing MHD.

In the second part of the paper, models of service provision for elite athletes suffering from MHD from six European countries are presented, focusing on 1) professional service providers, 2) support systems, 3) diagnostic assessment, 4) clinical treatment, 5) performance during treatment, 6) screening, and 7) education systems.

It emerges that competencies, certification issues, and professional boundaries of the involved service providers, as well as the structure of the National Health Care systems differ strongly across European countries, which makes defining a golden standard difficult. In the third part of this paper, the authors provide general recommendations for athletes and coaches, clubs, federations, organizations and scholars that hopefully will inspire stakeholders to optimize their support systems.  

Read more on EFPA website 

European Healthcare Students’ Associations Summit

“Interprofessional Education: A way to transform tomorrow’s healthcare!”

Policy Event Press Release

Brussels, Belgium - June 11, 2018

On 7th June 2018, the European Healthcare Students’ Associations Summit (EHSAS) which consists of the European Dental Students’ Association (EDSA), the European Federation of Psychology Students’ Associations (EFPSA), the European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA), the European Pharmaceutical Students’ Association (EPSA) and together representing over 675.000 European healthcare students, organised a policy event with the topic “Interprofessional Education: A way to transform tomorrow’s healthcare!” hosted by MEP Lieve Wierinck at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium.

Read full press release  

September 2018

 EFPSA first Board of Management Meeting

In the first week of September, the very productive first Board of Management Meeting took place at the sunny coast of Croatia. Many topics were discussed, and significant decisions have been made. Members of the Board are also preparing themselves for presenting EFPSA at the next IFISO meeting, which will be held in Turkey. Apart from that, other teams have been productive, as well, with new projects coming in and preparations for the next internal week-long Joint Executive Board and Member Representatives Meeting in Poland. During the meeting, interesting workshops will be held by members from the EFPSA Working Community and invited externals from Europsy and EFPA Board of Ethics.

Privacy Policy and Refugee & Migrants Position Paper are both being finalized and are soon to be published. EFPSA applied for the next year’s EYF Grant with several activities, including events (Train the Trainers and EFPSA Academy) and workshops (Mind the Mind and Better Together) on socially relevant topics, such as mental health and discrimination.

 Updates from EFPSA Services 

 Journal of European Psychology Students (JEPS) 

JEPS has launched the JEPS Ambassadors campaign! The Ambassadors are psychology students who share our passion for responsible research, open science, and increasing academic opportunities for students. JEPS Ambassador will help us promote JEPS at universities, organise small events to motivate the discussion about responsible research and help us better understand the needs of students in different countries.  

 Study & Travel Abroad (STA)
STA is preparing everything for the upcoming student exchange between Malta and Macedonia. Their Internship Team is gathering more information about possible internship partnership contacts and are preparing a new internship call.  

 Social Impact Initiative (SII)
The SII Team opened the call and collected many applications for Local Coordinators for the upcoming Mind the Mind wave. They are currently reviewing all applications and improving the workshop material for Mind the Mind campaign. Also, the preparations for a calendar with many Organized Acts of Kindness have already started.  

 Training Office (TO)
At the end of August, a new generation of trainers joined EFPSA Trainers Community. Training Office is glad to welcome these 12 amazing trainer candidates.

 Junior Researcher Programme (JRP)
While the Junior Researchers are eagerly working on their research projects with the support of the Research Responsible, EFPSA also decided to let the JRP Team grow. The decision on the new Team Member will be made soon and we are looking forward to working together with another motivated new member.

Calls ·       

 Secretary General in the Board of Management 2018-2019 – deadline until 7th of October 2018, 23:59 (CEST). ·       

 Coordinator of the 3rd EFPSA Academy 2019 – call will be extended soon.