Keeping in touch despite COVID-19: How did we feel each other’s presence all along?

In this two-part blog, Nathan Beltrand (BRAPEP) and Samuel Tomczyk (EUSPR) share their thoughts and thoughts of esteemed colleagues on communication via digital media and invite you to participate and build a strong foundation for future communication with early career preventionists.

As early career researchers in the EUSPR and BRAPEP, we are interested in fostering collaboration, exchanging ideas and experiences, and learning together for the betterment of global prevention efforts. Networking events like annual conferences are instrumental to this goal. However, it requires effort to support and sustain, which is why we decided to go online – due to the pandemic. We then noticed changes in the way we communicate using digital media, but there is still a long road ahead. 

Part 1

Is presence something inherently physical – or does the feeling of presence transcend the physical sensation? Continue reading

COVID-19: the global pan(dem)ic and reflections on a prevention science response

Currently, the COVID-19 outbreak is having a firm grip on the global population. To restrict further spread and increase preventive measures across the population, prevention science is called upon to complement medical actions. Being an interdisciplinary research field, prevention science comprises multiple perspectives that are coming together to strengthen resilience in crisis. Three of them (health psychology, communication science, implementation science) will be highlighted to underscore their potential for responding to this global challenge. Continue reading

ECF events at the EUSPR 2018 conference – a review

In this blog, Early Career Forum (ECF) members give an overview of the ECF events at the 9th Conference and Members’ Meeting of the European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR)Read on if you would like to know more about what you have missed if you could not attend and get an idea the ECF events you could take advantage of at the 2019 EUSPR conference in Ghent, Belgium.

The 9th EUSPR took place in Lisbon, Portugal between the 24th and the 26th October 2018. The conference celebrated multiple premieres: (1) the EUSPR conference received more submissions than ever before (2) the EUSPR sponsored a total of 20 early career bursaries (opposed to 15 bursaries in 2017) to attend the conference, as well as the pre-conference workshop and our networking event – many thanks!! (3) two pre-conference workshops were delivered (opposed to one in 2017). In sum, the EUSPR Early Careers Forum (ECF) was represented at the conference with at least one ECF event each day. Continue reading

Go abroad – here is how to take the first step

In this blog, Dr Samuel Tomczyk, EUSPR ECF Lead offers us insights on exchange opportunities in the Unites States for early career researchers in the field of prevention. Inspiring discussions on this topic with prominent professors at the Washington State University took place at the 9th EUSPR conference and members’ meeting this October. Read on if you would like to know more.

Nowadays, international experience is no longer an advantage, but almost a prerequisite for most career paths. In scientific areas of work, scholarly exchange and international research collaborations are often important requirements for attractive post-doctoral employment and long-term careers. Continue reading

Virtually limitless? Contemplating virtual reality in prevention research

This month, Samuel Tomczyk invites us to take the plunge into his research area of virtual reality, and debunks some of the main myths surrounding its everyday application and its potential use for prevention research. Whether this should be limited to ‘lab work’ is the question asked by the author: virtual reality can provide invaluable training for dealing with the most precarious situations, but is it truly replicable?

Continue reading

Representing the voice of early-career preventionists: introducing the new Lead of the EUSPR Early Careers Forum

In today’s blog post, we introduce Samuel Tomczyk, postdoctoral researcher at the University of Greifswald, who will be the new Lead of the Early Careers Forum (ECF) of the European Society for Prevention Research (EUSPR), starting in September 2017. We also say good-bye to the outgoing Lead and initiator of the Forum, Angelina Brotherhood, doctoral researcher at the University of Vienna. Through a written interview, they both reflect on their careers so far and their role within the ECF.

How did you start working in prevention research?

Samuel: Well, having finished my master’s degree in psychology, I was interested in continuing the academic track. Continue reading