What is the Biz Psych Cup?
The Biz Psych Cup is a new student team competition the ABP launched in 2022.
Each university team was made up of 4 members – a mix of BSc and MSc students – who worked together to provide business psychology research, advice and recommendations for action to resolve business challenges set by our corporate members.
The Biz Psych Cup is a student team event the ABP launched in 2022.
University teams of 4 – typically a mix of MSc & BSc students- will work together to provide business psychology research, advice and evidence based recommendations for action to resolve business challenges set by our corporate members.
The competition runs for 12 – 14 weeks.
Shortlisted teams prepare a psychology ‘poster’ in the format of the American Psychological Association and present their findings (virtually) at a judging event.
The poster includes background to the challenge, review of existing psychological literature and application to the challenge, with clear evidence based recommendations for action.
A team to represent your University is created and you can apply to participate.
If your team is accepted, you work on a corporate challenge and provide the solution to the corporate client in the form of an APA poster.
Benefits of Participation
Your team get the opportunity to work on solving a real-world business challenge.
The solution will take the form of a psychology APA-formatted poster prepared and submitted by your team.
This provides research insights and clear evidence-based recommendations to resolve the business challenge.
Shortlisted teams present these to the corporate ‘client’ and the ABP judging panel.
The ABP promote this through its marketing channels such as website, newsletter and social media. Your university logo is included and mentioned as a Biz Psych Cup competitor.
Next Biz Psych Cup
If your university is interested in being involved in future Biz Psych Cup competitions, please reach out to us via dawn.nicholson@theabp.org.uk
About the 2022-23 Biz Psych Cup
Designed and run by Dr Dawn H Nicholson, ABP Board member, Head of University Accreditation, this competition represents one of the truly unique selling points of the ABP – combining business and academia, alongside the skills of our talented members. It gives students exposure to real clients and experience of applying their psychology and team-working skills to solve real business challenges.
Four ABP corporate members (Meta-LUCID/RELX, SHL, Arup and NatWest Group) provided the challenges. The two winning posters responded to the challenges set by Meta-LUCID/RELX [“What should an early careers programme look like? What are the vital elements that need to be in place to make the individual an active/accelerated contributor in their roles?”] and NatWest [“How can organisations like NatWest increase psychological safety in hybrid/remote teams?”].
Judges and Angels
Judging was undertaken by representatives from the four corporate challengers, alongside ABP Board Member Tanya Gordon (Head of Training), Clodagh O’Reilly, former ABP Chair, Dr Debbie Stevens-Gill, quality control for the ABP’s certification team and Dr Maire Kerrin, from the ABP Advisory Board. The teams prepared an APA-style ‘poster’ in response to the challenge and the shortlisted teams presented their posters in a virtual judging event.
The teams were mentored by senior ABP members, acting as ‘Pro Coach Angels’. Timothy St. Ather, Alyson Smith, Larry Mayers, Chris Benton, Claire Lish, Pauline Bowe, Sophie Turner, Melanie Warner and Sue Colton worked with the nine teams to keep them focused on the client outcomes and recommendations.
Commenting on the result, Dr Dawn H Nicholson said
“We are proud of all of the teams and everyone who came together to support the 2023 Biz Psych Cup and contribute to its success. Researching and solving real business problems represents a brilliant opportunity for the students involved. All of the teams did a great job but the two winning teams stood out for their approach, the quality of their posters and their excellent client presentation. I will continue to build and grow the Biz Psych Cup – and am already thinking about next year’s event and increasing the number of teams and challenges”.