Workshop Information
Now in its third iteration, the NECD workshop is organised by Prof. Ori Ossmy and supported by the Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development (Birkbeck, University of London) and the European COST network on real-world environments (led by Prof. Sam Wass). The 2026 meeting will take place, as usual, at the University of London campus in Bloomsbury. See more information below.
If you joined NECD previously, you are warmly encouraged to return: the 2026 programme introduces substantial new content—expanded policy/practice sessions, dedicated neurodiversity strands, and advanced analytic toolkits not covered in earlier years.
Speakers & Panelists
Prof. Ori Ossmy (Birkbeck, University of London) is a developmental psychologist, cognitive neuroscientist, and computer scientist who is using a unique integration of theory and methods drawn from these fields. His Physical Cognition Lab studies how changes that occur over relatively long time periods—changes due to learning, development, injury, and rehabilitation—emerge from micro, real-time experiences, and how these real-time experiences play out in an interactive system of perceptual, neural, cognitive, and motor processes. Ori will talk about how to analyse and visualise naturalistic data, and specifically how to identify behavioural structures over time.
Prof. Emily Jones (Birkbeck, University of London and King's College
London) is a developmental neuroscientist whose work examines the early neurocognitive mechanisms that shape trajectories in autism and ADHD. Her group employs longitudinal designs and multimodal methods—including behavioural observations, EEG/fNIRS, and eye-tracking—to characterise early-emerging differences in attention, cognition, and social processing, and to identify targets for intervention. She leads and contributes to large collaborative programmes across institions. Emily will speak on using naturalistic methods to study neurodevelopmental conditions in infants and children—covering study design, measurement and ethics, and how real-world data can refine mechanistic models and inform practice
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Prof. Sam Wass (University of East London) is a developmental
cognitive neuroscientist who leads the BabyDevLab at the University of East London. His research examines the early development of attention
and stress. He tries to do this based entirely on naturalistic real-world
Prof. Natasha Kirkham (Birkbeck, University of London) is an
internationally renowned developmental researcher, the President of the International Congress of Infant Studies, and the Chair of
Ethics for the School of Science at Birkbeck. Natasha's research
is focused on early learning and the environment, specifically on how
learning occurs in the middle of everything, with a specific interest in the role of noise and home chaos on attention. Current projects from her lab are investigating the impact of noise, distraction and rhythm on infants' and children's perception and attention.
Prof. Jamie Ward (Goldsmith, University of London) is an expert in
wearable computing, social neuroscience, and theatre. His work is
broadly concerned with how we can best use wearable sensing and
machine learning as tools to help us capture, model, and understand
real-world human activity and behaviour. As part of this effort, he draws on methods from theatre and performance as a way of obtaining close-to-real-world data, developing the idea of using theatre as a laboratory will talk about practicalities – what sensors to use, how to build them, and what data they provide.
Prof. Emily Farran (University of Surrey) is a developmental psychologist best known for research on spatial cognition and its impact on STEM learning across typical and atypical development. She directs the Cognition, Genes & Developmental Variability (CoGDev) Lab, and has led large, practice-facing programmes that translate spatial-science insights into classrooms, including the SPACE programme (EEF-funded) and the Spatial Reasoning Toolkit developed with the Centre for Educational Neuroscience. At NECD 2026, Emily will speak on using naturalistic experimentation in education and policy—showing how real-world behavioural evidence can inform curriculum design, classroom practice and decision-making, and how school-embedded, naturalistic methods can strengthen the pathway from research to impact.
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Schedule
Day 1: Thursday, February 19th:
09:30 - 10:00: Gathering & Breakfast
10:00 - 10:15: Welcome & Overview
10:15- 12:00: Session 1-The importance of naturalistic experimentation (Sam Wass)
12:00 - 13:00: Lunch
13:00 - 14:15: Session 2-The engineering of naturalistic experimentation (Jamie Ward)
14:15 - 14:30: Coffee break
14:30 - 15:30: Session 3-Naturalistic experimentation in neurodiversity (Emily Jones)
15:30 - 15:45: Coffee break
15:45 - 16:45: Session 4-Naturalistic experimentation in education & policy (Emily Farran)
16:45 - 17:30: Interactive Session 1-Causality in naturalistic studies
17:30 - 20:30: Beer, Food, & Posters
Day 2: Friday, February 20th:
10:00 - 10:30: Gathering & Breakfast
10:30 - 12:30: Session 5 - Child Development in a Global Context (Natasha Kirkham)
12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
13:30 - 15:30: Interactive Session 2-Attendees' talks
15:30 - 15:45: Coffee break
15:45 - 17:45: Session 6 - Visualising and analysing naturalistic data (Ori Ossmy)
17:45 - 18:00: Closing remarks and feedback
Fees:
The cost of the workshop is £40 and includes food & drinks. There are no application fees.
Key Dates:
Application deadline: December 22, 2025
Notification of acceptance: January 2, 2026
Workshop dates: February 19-20, 2026
Location:
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
London WC1E 7HX
