UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (May 12, 2016) — Graduate psychology students from the College of Arts and Sciences teamed up with peers from Florida International University to host a collaborative research conference that encouraged students and faculty to take their research in child psychology beyond labs and classrooms.

With almost 90 graduate students, faculty, and mentors in attendance, the South Florida Child Psychology Collaborative Research Conference (SFPCRC) served as a unique opportunity to use research as a way to connect across academic institutions and participate in a nurturing learning community in which all participants have similar research interests.

“For graduate students, mentorship and networking are invaluable resources,” said keynote speaker and Graduate School Dean Guillermo “Willy” Prado. “The SFPCRC conference provides students with the opportunity to present their research and obtain valuable feedback from students and mentors across the participating academic institutions and community partners.”

During the conference, 27 graduate students from the University of Miami, FIU, and Florida Atlantic University presented their current research in a conversational and supportive environment. Additionally, students and mentors alike had the opportunity to develop partnerships with community agencies such as the United Way, The Children’s Trust, and the Early Learning Coalition to better understand how their research can enhance many community programs for children.

Johayra Bouza, a Ph.D. candidate in UM’s Department of Psychology, said the SFPCRC conference is unlike any local or national research conference she has attended. “This conference is unique in that it is organized by graduate students for graduate students,” she said. “It is one of the few settings in academia where graduate students have the opportunity to be the focal presenters and develop relationships with mentors from various areas of child psychology. The larger national conferences aren’t able to offer the same level of interaction and often times students don’t have the opportunity get feedback from the distinguished faculty outside of their university or their community partners.”