EVENT SUMMARY: ENDORSED SUPERVISOR NETWORKING AND YPE 2017 (SEPTEMBER 26)
SIOPA held its first Young Professionals Event on Wednesday 26th September at the UWA Business School to an overwhelmingly positive and diverse audience of undergraduate and postgraduate students from WA universities.
The evening commenced with a networking event held for endorsed supervisors and students to connect and discuss supervision strategies. It was great to see a large contingent of the SIOPA Endorsed Supervisor community at this event offering support and guidance for students seeking future placements.
Following this, 10 industry leaders (with many being Organisational Psychologists or Registered Psychologists) spoke on their specific pathway to endorsement and the career benefits of pursuing an Industrial/Organisational (I/O) psychology degree. Speakers included Vanessa Vershaw (Reinvention Consulting), Fel Donatelli (Perquiro) and Melanie Freeman (Performance Science HPO). Included in the agenda were program coordinators from Patrick Dunlop (UWA) and Guy Curtis (Murdoch University), discussing the I/O programs from their respective universities.
With more than 60 students in attendance, it was encouraging to see that the demand for an I/O psychology degree is still comparable to other degrees. The general feel of the evening was that the profession of I/O Psychology offers many skills and the opportunities to diversify or specialise in whatever career pathway registered psychologists choose, is uniquely possible. Students were encouraged to pursue endorsement and utilise the SIOPA committee for any further advice needed.
We look forward to inviting industry professionals to their final CPD event for the year on 24th October where SIOPA board member Jon Wilson (3 Pillars Asia Pacific) will be hosting a panel of senior industry leaders discussing organisational topics such as maintaining engagement and employee wellness in economic downturns. Registration for the event will be available soon – watch this space!