The VNOP 2026 Dissertation Award!

This biennial price is awarded to the best dissertation written by VNOP members. Eligible are candidates who defended/are going to defend their dissertation between March 1, 2024 and March 1, 2026. The winner will receive a certificate and 250 euro. The award will be presented during the upcoming VNOP conference, which takes place on June 11-12, 2026 at Erasmus University Rotterdam (for more information please visit the website).

Candidates should submit the following materials before March 31, 2026 by e-mail to info@VNOP.nl.

– A digital version of their dissertation,

– A plea of one of their (co-) promotors of why the candidate deserves the award. Please visit the VNOP website for more details on this award.

The key criteria used by the committee will be (a) originality of the research, (b) quality of the work, and (c) readability of the thesis. We are looking forward to receiving your nominations!

VNOP conference – call for submissions

Rethinking Developmental Science: How can we grow with the world around us? 

June 11 and 12, 2026 in Rotterdam 

Science increasingly responds to societal questions to make meaningful impact. An important question is how developmental research can evolve and reflect the lives and needs of today’s youth as much as possible. In 2026, we invite the field of developmental science to explore how the voice of youth and societal questions can be integrated in both fundamental and applied research; ranging from the study of mechanisms in the lab to observing changing patterns in daily life. In this conference, we take inspiration from development itself: unfolding in phases, shaped by context, and driven by connection. Developmental research also evolves through many phases, from curiosity to design to dissemination, and back. At each step, there are opportunities for both scientific rigor and societal relevance. This conference brings together researchers, practitioners, youth organizations, and policy makers to explore how we can advance knowledge that is both scientifically rigorous and societally relevant. Together, we’ll explore how developmental science can respond to societal questions without losing its scientific foundation. 

Abstract Submission Dates: 
January 16, 2026 – March 1st, 2026 

Are you a researcher studying child development, behaviour, and/or well-being? We invite you to submit your abstract for a symposium (90 minutes), an individual presentation (flash talk and/or poster), or a teaching symposium. You can submit your abstract until March 1. 

Please see https://vnop.nl/submit/ for the instructions.

VNOP on LinkedIn – Please follow us

✨🎉 Welcome to the VNOP LinkedIn Society! 🎉✨

We are pleased to welcome you to the LinkedIn society of the VNOP https://www.linkedin.com/company/vnop-nl/: Dutch Society for Developmental Psychology! This page has been created to keep our network informed and connected. An exciting year lies ahead, with several events planned for 2026, including the VNOP Conference in June. This year’s overarching theme “Rethinking Developmental Science: How can we grow with the world around us?” will guide our upcoming activities and discussions.

We warmly encourage you to follow this channel to stay up to date with the latest news, announcements, and upcoming activities within VNOP. More information about what is to come will be shared soon.

We look forward to connecting with you here!

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

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