SciLink’s PhD Wellbeing Festival | 2026 Amsterdam

Register here for SciLink’s 2026 PhD Wellbeing Festival!

 

This page is to register to this full day event organised by SciLink in Amsterdam Science Park on the 20th of February 2026.

IMPORTANT! The exact location of the event is Amsterdam Science Park 123, Turingzaal.

Programme and social event details will be shared here. To have a full insight to the programme and the event structure, please make sure to read everything on this page, including the details of the social event at the end of the day and what is the contribution for.

Participation on the in-person event will be complimentary, but registration is mandatory. Costs are associated only to the social event. Pre-registration is an advantage when we are accepting the final registrations.

 

Our Schedule for the day

 

09:00–10:30 – Doors open, registration
09:30–10:15 – Welcome & introduction
10:15–10:30 – Coffee break & late arrivals
10:30–13:00 – First round of parallel workshops: Managing Multiple Identities Within and Beyond Academia, Boosting resilience, Managing imposter feelings
13:00–14:30 – Networking lunch
14:30–17:00 – Second round of parallel workshops: Towards a well-being culture in Academic, Career planning, Work–life balance
17:00–18:00 – Rejoinder and informal networking, refreshing 15-20 minutes walk or an even shorter bike ride to Javaplein
18:00-          – Informal social event with dinner and drinks (Location: Badhuis Amsterdam, details are at the bottom of this page)

 

 

Our topics

 

Boosting Resilience – We all run into tough situations at work and in our private lives. Resilience is about how we deal with those moments. When we pause and look at the situation more closely, we often realize we have more control and more options than we initially thought. In this workshop, we will learn to analyse challenging situations and regain control in order to move forward.

Career planning: Finding your fit – Discover what gives you energy at work, evaluate fit with your current position, and leave with inspiration for your next career move.

Fostering your work-life balance as an early-career researcher –  Learn how to build a healthier work-life balance by discovering your key life roles, setting priorities, and creating a personal action plan you can implement immediately.

Imposterism –  Explore imposter thoughts through scenarios, uncover the fears fuelling them, and build concrete and practical cognitive and behavioural strategies to respond with confidence.

Identity – Thriving Within and Beyond Academia  –  Participants will identify boundaries and apply effective communication to protect their time and energy. They will analyse sources of isolation, evaluate ways to nurture both academic and non-academic identities, and reflect on joining or initiating project groups beyond formal structures. The session invites participants to own their academic identity and celebrate achievements.

Navigating Ethical Dilemmas and Power Dynamics  – Participants will identify and analyze real cases of clashing values, unfair treatment, and ethical discrepancies in research. They will evaluate strategies to address power abuse, exploitation, and policy gaslighting, and reflect on how to “pick battles” effectively (deciding when to speak up or stay silent while maintaining personal integrity and professional relationships).

 

Our trainers

 

Lara Solms works as an assistant professor at the department of Work and Organizational Psychology at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on coaching and behaviour change. She loves running, music, and coffee!

 

 

Tajda Laure is a postdoctoral researcher and teacher at Erasmus University Rotterdam. She works within EUR’s Student Wellbeing Programme, focusing on content development, user research, and impact evaluation for ROOM to Grow app created to support students through the ups and downs of university life. In her free time, she enjoys sewing, trying new recipes, practicing yoga, and spending time with her favourite people.

 

Tina Armasu is an organizational psychologist who combines scientific insight with a down-to-earth approach to well-being, confidence, and sustainable academic work. Her research focuses on self-regulation, habits, performance, and well-being. Outside of work, she loves trying new recipes on the weekend, resistance training, a good Chianti, and reading books that make you forget about time.

 

Eleni Giannakoudi researches hybrid work, self-regulation, and employee well-being at the University of Groningen. She also designs and facilitates workshops that translate research insights into practical tools to help employees work and feel better. On Saturdays, you’ll likely find her in a Reformer Pilates Studio, enjoying a BLT at her favourite Brunch spot, or exploring a new city.

 

 

Charlotte Edelmann is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Management Sciences, Open University of the Netherlands. Her research focuses on how leadership, work design, and teamwork shape employee performance and well-being. Outside of work, she enjoys long walks with her sausage dog, playing tennis, and creating or listening to music.

 

 

Luisa Solms is a work and organizational psychologist researching employee well-being and well-being interventions. Luisa works as a postdoctoral researcher at Erasmus University Rotterdam. Luisa loves spending time outdoors, bouldering and drinking coffee!

 

 

Stefan Mol is an assistant professor in organizational behaviour and research methods at the Amsterdam Business School of the University of Amsterdam and Chair of the SciLink foundation. Stefan loves multiday hikes, rock climbing, and alpinism.

 

 

 

Our important information to you for this day

 

We are inviting you to participate on this event, which we named a PhD Wellbeing Festival. During the day, you will have the opportunity to participate on two different sessions with a nice and relatively long lunchbreak between them.

There will be three sessions running in parallel both in the morning and in the afternoon. The maximum number of participants is 25 per room, to make sure that the active participation is guaranteed for all of you.

Distribution of participants between the sessions will be finalised at the closure of the registration and it will be based on demand, individual preference and available seats. In case of too high demand for sessions, the seats will be filled in order of the date and time of the registration.

During the day we will cover your meals and drinks, so as your desire for a cup of coffee or tea. There will be coffee breaks in the morning and in the afternoon with some light snacks available and we invite to you participate in an informal lunch after the end of the morning programme. Food and drinks are complimentary during the day for the registered and confirmed participants, so as the training sessions. In case if you have any allergies or you prefer a vegan menu option, please make sure to let us know in time, when you fill out registration, otherwise we will not be able to accommodate your needs.

We also invite you to an informal social event after the end of the last session to an external location in walking distance, where all of us can enjoy a light dinner and a choice of unlimited drinks (beer, wine, or non-alcoholic drinks etc) between 18:00-21:00 and recap the experiences during the day, talk to each other and the trainers, relax a bit before leaving for the day. Of course 21:00 is not a defined end of the social event, you can stay as long as you feel good, but meals and drinks are covered only until 21:00.

As mentioned before, we believe that the best possible way is to make this PhD Wellbeing Festival free for all of you, however organising a free event has its’ own challenges. As we cover your meals and drinks for the whole day, we would like to ask for a EUR 25 contribution to the event, to make sure that if someone registers and we order the meals accordingly, registrants will really attend or cancel in time to respect those who would be happy to take over their place and also to avoid wasting valuable resources, as over-ordering and throwing out food is absolutely against our values. Please respect this when you decide to make your registration. As the training is free of charge, the contribution will be for the evening social event. We can understand if you cannot stay because you have other appointments or have to leave to catch a train, so in this case if you inform us by 13 February 2026 EoD the latest, that you will not join the social event, but you will join the training until 17:00, we will refund 100% of your contribution (i. e. EUR 25) after the conference within 14 calendar days if your name is on the signed attendance sheet for two sessions, as collecting money for nothing is also against our values. Thank you for your understanding.