College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (WA) Exceptional Postgraduate Student Award

1. The Western Australia (WA) Section of the College of Clinical Neuropsychologists (CCN) is responsible for administering the Award and for funding of the Award.
2. The Committee of the WA Section of the CCN will appoint a Selection Committee of no less than three (3) individuals, including at least two members of the WA Section of the CCN, to be responsible for selecting and recommending to the Board an appropriate Award winner.  The WA Section CCN Committee may consider co-opting to the Selection Committee an academic staff member involved in the University of Western Australia (UWA) Neuropsychology postgraduate program.
3. Once the winner has been approved by the APS Board of Directors, the Award will be presented at the Faculty of Life and Physical Sciences Award Ceremony, or alternate University or APS event as deemed appropriate by the WA Section of the CCN Committee.
4. Further announcement / publication of the Award winner will be made at the discretion of the WA Section of the CCN Committee.

As the Award is recognizing contributions to either neuropsychology research or clinical practice, eligibility is determined within either category by:

1. Research
   1. The applicant must have submitted:
      1. an abstract which has been accepted as a paper or poster presentation at a Clinical Neuropsychology Conference, or
      2. a research article which has been accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed Clinical Neuropsychology-relevant journal, or
      3. a postgraduate thesis for examination.
   2. The abstract submission and / or the presentation at the conference, the research article, or the thesis examination must occur in the past twelve months. OR
       
2. Clinical Practice
   1. In addition to the above, the following must also be met:
   2. The applicant must have:
      1. Australian citizenship or residency
      2. Current membership with the APS
      3. Current membership with the APS CCN (any grade acceptable)
      4. Residency in Western Australia
      5. Been a recent graduated from, or is currently enrolled in, a postgraduate APAC-approved program in Clinical Neuropsychology.  Enrolment could / can be either fulltime or part-time.

1. A Nominator does not need to hold APS College of Clinical Neuropsychologists membership.  Nominations, for a nominee who meets the Eligibility criteria in 1.3, may be accepted from any of the following:
   1. A UWA Academic supervisor
   2. A Neuropsychological practicum supervisor.
   3. Any postgraduate Neuropsychology student (self or other).
2. The call for nominations will be arranged by the WA Section of the CCN through APS digital communication channels and other means determined by the WA Section CCN Committee. 

To nominate for this award, click here.

The following judging criteria will be used when reviewing applications for the Award:

1. Meets the eligibility criteria for the Award as specified in 1.3 above.
2. Each member of the Selection Committee will score an application using a five point scale, where 1 = poor, 2 = fair, 3 = good, 4 = very good, 5 = excellent, taking into consideration the level of excellence on the following descriptors for each domain (Research or Clinical Practice)
   1. Research Descriptors
      1. High level of relevance or innovation to the field of neuropsychology.
      2. Substantial and original contribution indicative of mastery of a specific subject / field of knowledge.
      3. Demonstrates highly developed written communication skills.
      4. Displays the capacity to interpret results, to formulate theories and to discuss the results in the light of current literature to a high level of competence.
   2. Clinical Practice Descriptors
      1. Receive at least a “4”(or equivalent) overall rating at the end of placement review.
      2. Demonstrate initiative and operate with a high degree of independence.
      3. Demonstrate growth and skill development across the duration of the placement.
      4. Displays a skill set that is beyond that expected of a student at that point of time in the postgraduate program
3. Scoring of applications will be undertaken in an independent manner.  A total score out of 20 will be submitted by each member of the Selection Committee for consideration for every application.
4. The Selection Committee will convene to confer on the combined scores.
5. If no nominations are received or the quality of the received nominations is not considered of an appropriate standard, the Selection Committee reserves the right to declare no Award recipient.
6. If multiple nominations are considered of equal standard the Selection Committee reserves the right to seek further input from the postgraduate Neuropsychology postgraduate program coordinator in determining a winner
7. The Selection Committee recommendation to the APS Board and the APS Board decision are final.

The successful candidate will receive an Award of $250.00 and a certificate.  The Award funds may be used by the recipient at their own discretion.

Nominations close 31 July each year.

To nominate for this award, click here.

For any further information, please contact:
Member Groups Administrator
Tel: 1800 333 497
Email: [email protected]