EARLI SIG 22: Neuroscience and Education Conference 2026

3 - 4 September 2026

We are excited to announce that the next EARLI SIG 22 (Neuroscience & Education) meeting will be held in Leiden, The Netherlands, on Thursday and Friday 3-4 September 2026.

We are also pleased to build on our long-standing partnership with IMBES (International Mind, Brain and Education Society) by hosting two concurrent meetings - IMBES in San Diego and SIG 22 in Leiden, The Netherlands - taking place on the same dates. This collaboration will provide members of both societies with opportunities to share their work (see more here)

The SIG 22 conference aims to bring together researchers from education, cognitive and developmental psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and related interdisciplinary fields to explore how children learn and develop. Taking interdisciplinarity as a core principle, we aim to build bridges between educational research and neuroscience through empirical, theoretical, and methodological dialogue. The conference will cover behaviorual, neural, and mixed-methods approaches to learning and education across the lifespan, and the promises and challenges of combining neural and educational data. We warmly welcome submissions from across the full spectrum of educational and neuroscience research – not limited to neuroscience. We especially encourage work that promotes cross-disciplinary collaboration and supports early-career researchers.

Location and Venue

About Leiden:

Leiden is a charming university town, its historic city center with beautiful canals, city gates, bridges and windmills is great to wander through. It is also centrally connected; Amsterdam, Utrecht, and Rotterdam are only a short train ride away. Leiden is home to the oldest university in the Netherlands and one of Europe’s leading research institutions. It blends centuries of academic tradition with cutting-edge science. This fusion reflects the conference theme: connecting the established foundations of education with emerging insights from neuroscience. Making it an ideal setting for the SIG22 meeting on educational neuroscience.

In the 17th century, Leiden was home to English settlers who later departed on the Mayflower to North America. This was a historic starting point for global exchange. In keeping with Leiden’s tradition of reaching beyond borders, our meeting links Leiden with the IMBES conference in San Diego through shared keynote sessions, connecting ideas across continents.

Please see: www.visitleiden.nl for more information

Venue:
PLNT
Langegracht 70
2312 NV LEIDEN, Netherlands

https://plnt.nl/en/

PLNT is in the heart of Leiden, just a 12 minute walk from Leiden Central Station. The venue combines modern lecture halls and flexible meeting rooms with cool, open networking spaces and a distinctive startup vibe.

Designed to bring people together, PLNT offers an inspiring setting for talks, workshops, and informal exchange, making it an ideal location for a multidisciplinary conference that connects mind, brain, and education, and fostering the exchange of ideas and meaningful collaborations.

Confirmed Keynotes

Daniel Ansari

University of Western Ontario

Daphné Bavelier

University of Geneva

Eveline Crone

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Rogier Kievit

Radboud University

Jason Yeatman

Stanford University

Joining remotely from IMBES 🌴

Submissions

Poster Presentation

Maximum Word Count: 300 words
Deadline: Thursday, May 7th (11:59 PM Brussels time) (Deadline extended!)

(see more details in attachment below)

SIG22 Presentation Guidelines

Symposium

Length of Symposium: 75 minutes
Maximum Word Count: 1500
Format: 1 Chair, 3 Presentations, 1 Discussant
Deadline: Thursday, May 7th (11:59 PM Brussels time) (Deadline extended!)

(see more details in attachment below)

SIG22 Presentation Guidelines

Submit here!

Registration

Registration opening soon!

Early Bird Rates:	Full Rate:
Member: €235	Member: €270
Non-member: €330	Non-member: €365
JURE member: €145	JURE member: €180
Trainee non-member: €190	Trainee non-member: €225

Early Bird Registration Deadline: 1 July 2026

Registration closes: 20 August 2026

Important Dates

Submissions open

15 January 2026
Submission deadline

7 May 2026 (Deadline extended!)
Review deadline

20 May 2026
Results announcement

1 June 2026
Early bird registration deadline

1 July 2026
Registration closes

20 August 2026
SIG 22 Conference

3 - 4 September 2026

Travel

✈️ By Air

Schiphol Airport (Amsterdam Airport) is well connected with major cities worldwide. Frequent direct flights operate from Europe, North America, Asia, and beyond.

From Schiphol, you can reach Leiden quickly and conveniently via train. Direct and frequent services from Schiphol to Leiden Centraal station (approx. 20–25 minutes).

🚆 By Train

Leiden Centraal is a major rail hub with regular connections to cities across the Netherlands and neighbouring countries.

Public transport in the Netherlands is ticketed with debit/credit cards — check-in and out by tapping at the train gates (NS FAQ)

For the latest information on train connections to and from Leiden main station (Leiden Centraal), check https://9292.nl/en (national) and https://www.nsinternational.com/ (international).

🚌 Local Transport in Leiden

Once in Leiden, you can easily reach the conference venue:

Walking: The venue is approximately a 12-minute walk from Leiden Centraal.

Bus: Bus connection via Line 45 (to Den Haag Centraal), Line 400 and 401 (to Zoetermeer). Travel information via https://9292.nl/en.

Bicycle: Cycling is a popular and efficient way to get around Leiden. Bike rentals are widely available, and bike parking is located at or near the venue.

Car: Leiden and the surrounding region are well connected by road.However, if you choose to drive, on-street parking is limited and often costly. The closest options are parking garage Langegracht and parking garage Lammermarkt. For availability and prices, check the municipality homepage (parking place in Leiden)

Accomodation

More information coming soon...

Review

Are you interested in contributing to our conference as a reviewer?

We’d be delighted to have your support! Reviewing is a valuable way to engage with the SIG 22 community, stay up to date with current research, and help ensure a high-quality conference programme.

Sign up as a reviewer

IMBES–SIG22 Partnership

The IMBES conference in San Diego and SIG22 in Leiden, Netherlands will be held concurrently this year. We’re excited to continue our partnership and to explore new ways of bringing together researchers in education and neuroscience - especially at a time when travel may be challenging for many in our community.

Each conference will take place in person and maintain its own distinct program. To foster connection across meetings, we will feature two shared keynote sessions highlighting the breadth of work at the intersection of mind, brain, and education, with Jason Yeatman presenting at IMBES and Eveline Crone presenting at SIG22.

To further enhance accessibility and cross-conference engagement, we will offer opportunities for asynchronous virtual sharing of research presented at each meeting. Presenters will be invited to share posters and slides. Those who opt in will have their materials made available to attendees of both conferences via an online platform.

Please note that all accepted presenters are expected to attend and present in person at their respective conference.

We are excited for this opportunity to connect our growing international community!

FAQ

Will IMBES and SIG22 be virtual or in person?

Both conferences are fully in-person events, held in San Diego (IMBES) and Leiden (SIG22).

Are these joint conferences or separate meetings?

They are separate conferences with distinct programs, but they are coordinated and include shared elements.

What is shared between the conferences?

Two shared keynote sessions
Optional asynchronous sharing of posters and presentations across conferences

Who are the shared keynote speakers?

IMBES keynote: Jason Yeatman
SIG22 keynote: Eveline Crone

Can I attend both conferences?

You may attend either conference in person. Shared keynote content and selected materials will be accessible across both meetings to those who have registered on of the meetings.

Will presentations be available online?

Yes - presenters can opt in to share posters and slides. These materials will be available to attendees of both conferences via an online platform.

Do presenters need to attend in person?

Yes. All accepted presenters are expected to present in person at their respective conference.

Why are the conferences coordinated this way?

This model supports broader international collaboration and access, especially for researchers who may face travel constraints, while preserving the benefits of in-person meetings.