EARA 2026 submission deadline

Call for submissions for the EARA 2026 conference at Utrecht Science Park.

We invite you to EARA2026, the XXth conference of EARA at Utrecht Science Park. Keynote speakers include John Aruta, Matteo Giletta, Gonneke Stevens and Laura Wray-Lake.

The abstract submission deadline is January 31, 2026.
Click here for information on abstract submission. We welcome submissions for Paper presentations, Poster presentations, Paper symposia, and Poster symposia, from a wide variety of disciplines on topics
related to adolescent development.

We look forward to seeing you in Utrecht!
Prof. dr. Susan Branje
Conference chair

VNOP conference update

We are excited to announce that we have confirmed three interesting keynotes:
– Dr. Amy Orben (University of Cambridge)
– Prof. Esther Rozendaal (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
– Prof. Rogier Kievit (Radboud University)

The topic of the conference will be “Rethinking Developmental Science: How can we grow with the world around us?”

The call of submissions will open in the beginning of January, so please stay tuned!

VNOP-CAS Research Days 2025—Thank you!

Researchers in developmental psychology and pedagogics from across the Netherlands and Belgium gathered in Nijmegen on November 20–21 for this year’s VNOP-CAS Research Days.

On Thursday, PhD candidates and postdocs took part in workshops on qualitative research, academic well-being, and valorization. Participants explored qualitative project examples, shared ideas, played an academic well-being bingo, and gave short, impactful presentations. We ended the day with a pub quiz with a developmental twist.

Friday opened with a keynote by Dr. Odilia Laceulle. Odilia discussed how considering age-appropriate functioning alongside psychological symptoms can offer a greater understanding of youth mental health. With a record number of abstract submissions, the symposia and the poster session (quite literally) were packed with diverse and engaging research. Congratulations to Yue Sun (University of Amsterdam), winner of this year’s poster award. We closed the day with a speed-date session with expert researchers and professionals from different fields, which led to interesting exchanges of perspectives.

Thank you once again to everyone who participated, presented, asked questions, and joined the discussions. We appreciate your enthusiasm and hope to see many of you again next year!

Best regards,

The 2025 Organizing Committee

Registration and abstract submissions are open! VNOP-CAS Research Days 2025

The VNOP-CAS Research Days are a great opportunity for researchers in developmental psychology and pedagogics to present their work. You can register for the days until November 10. Interested in the program? Please visit our website for more information.

Are you a Research Master student, PhD or postdoc? We invite you to submit your abstract for a paper presentation, symposium or poster presentation. You can submit your work until October 27.

The Research Days will take place on November 20 and 21 in Nijmegen.

Thursday, 20 November 
An entire afternoon and evening reserved for PhDs and postdocs. Join an interesting workshop and meet other early career researchers. This day is dedicated to your development as a researcher.

Friday, 21 November 
A conference day for all researchers within the field of developmental psychology and pedagogics. Get inspired by attending the keynote lecture, participating in symposia of your choice, and engaging in lively discussions during poster presentations and network sessions. 

Join our team!

We’re looking for someone to support the technical side of the VNOP WordPress website. This includes tasks like keeping the site up to date, managing content, and helping with hosting and maintenance.

It’s a great chance to build practical skills, learn more about website management and the inner workings of an academic society, and become part of the VNOP team with a broad national and international network.

Some useful (or learnable!) skills include working with WordPress pages, forms, and plugins, using the Divi visual builder, making basic HTML adjustments, and managing the hosting environment. No need to be an expert, just motivated and willing to help out!

Interested in joining our team or want to know more? Get in touch with us—we’d love to hear from you!

Send a mail to: h.larsen@uva.nl

Save the date: VNOP conference June 11-12 2026 in Rotterdam

We’re looking forward to the next VNOP conference on June 11-12 2026, organized by Erasmus University Rotterdam. We’re working on an exciting programme, so please save the date!

Organizing committee:
Anita Harrewijn
Annabel Vreeker
Crystal Smit
Eva Borkhuis
Eveline Crone
Kayla Green
Miranda Lutz-Landesbergen
Pauline Jansen
Suzanne van de Groep
Yvette Grootjans