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Activities

Join Us!

Your membership to BSG and ERA is of paramount importance to ensure the continuity and success of the Society. We rely on our individual members to encourage people they meet through their work to join us – so please tell you friends and colleagues about us! Much of our recruitment is achieved through formal and informal introductions often via conference and seminars; the BSG website; BSG and ERA members’ existing networks. Our ERA members may be the students and ECRs of today, but may be the Professors and senior gerontological academics of tomorrow. At BSG and ERA, we are committed to supporting and developing your future career in gerontology. So why not join us now!

Learning and Development

In recent years, the main event held by ERA has been its annual conference. The conference is usually held across two half-days prior to the BSG annual conference. This event gives students and people new to the field of ageing the opportunity to present their research to a friendly audience, where constructive and supportive feedback can be given. For many people who attend, this may be the first time they have presented their work or project publicly, and we understand that it can be very nerve-wracking. At the ERA conference, we ensure there is a supportive presence, where we all learn from each other and take a genuine interest in one another’s work. In addition to the opportunity to try out new skills, the conference is also about learning and at each event the Committee seeks to invite established academics and researchers to present their work or host a seminar or workshop. Seminar topics will be based around the development of key skills for early career researchers, such as how to write a research proposal or writing for publication. Positive feedback from our members and visiting guests at the ERA conferences reflect just how valuable and sought after such opportunities are.

Mentorship, Support and Guidance

BSG-ERA understand how isolating PhD study can be, which is why the opportunity for mentorship, support and guidance is so important for our members. The ERA Committee has been established a support network of people at various stages of their academic career willing to support early career researchers. Such support may be topic specific, where individuals connect based upon similarities in research areas or methodologies. Other forms of mentorship and guidance can be based around personal issues, such as managing a family and early research career or PhD. It is important to recognise the diversity of the academic community and the various walks of life represented within our membership. ERA welcomes expressions of interest from people wanting to mentor others, and be willing to offer advice either on specific matters or general issues around transitioning post-PhD and so on. Likewise, if you feel that you would benefit from being matched with a mentor, please contact era@britishgerontology.org with a brief description of your research area, and what you would like to achieve from a mentorship scheme.

International Collaboration

BSG-ERA recognises the value of building and maintaining strong networks and relationships with other ERA organisations around the world. There are many benefits to such collaborations, including a learning exchange of one another’s achievements and challenges, improving outcomes and provisions for members, and investing into the future of ageing research. Please let us know if you have links with such organisations around the world, or if you would like us to facilitate any networking with international ageing organisations.

BSG ERA Podcast: A collaboration with the Later Life Audio and Radio Co-operative (LLARC). 

Throughout this podcast project, Dr Mervyn Eastman and Dr Arlind Reuter (chair of BSG ERA) speak to ERA researchers about their research on ageing. 

All episodes are released on the LLARC mixcloud and we are open to speaking to many other early career researchers in due course. Please get in touch with ERA (era@britishgerontology.org) if you are interested in presenting.

The podcast is accessible here: https://www.mixcloud.com/LLARC/playlists/british-society-of-gerontology-era/.