On 26 and 27 January 2017, the Etmaal van de Communicatiewetenschap took place on the beautiful campus of Tilburg University. The host of this year’s conference was the Tilburg Center for Cognition and Communication (TiCC). TiCC researchers are internationally known for cutting-edge research that involves the use of a broad range of innovative research methods. Hence, this year’s conference theme was Innovative Methods in Communication Research.

Over three hundred scholars from a variety of Dutch and Flemish universities and university colleges attended the Etmaal. These scholars could attend some 50 sessions, in which over 200 papers were presented on topics that span the entire field of communication science in the lowlands. A recent, but growing tradition for the Etmaal are the pre-conferences on Thursday morning. This year, four such pre-conferences took place, hosting about 100 participants from various NefCa divisions!

On the first conference day, Prof. dr. Rene Weber from the University of California – Santa Barbara gave a keynote presentation, titled “Bridging neuroscience and communication research – Can innovative methods drive theory development?”. Using examples from his own research, Prof. Weber challenged the audience to consider the synergy between innovative methods and theory development.

The Etmaal dinner and party took place in Tilburg’s city center, in concert hall 013. The kick-off for the evening were four 5-minute keynote speeches on innovative methods in communication research, by scholars Ronald Rice (UCSB), Bieke Zaman (U of Leuven), Maurits Kaptein (Tilburg U – behavioral sciences) and Eric Postma (Tilburg U – TiCC). Afterwards, the traditional award ceremony took place, in which junior and senior colleagues in the field were celebrated for their accomplishments. These celebrations set the stage for a brilliant party, with great food, drinks, discussion, and dancing …

On the second conference day, the attendees digested the festivities of the previous night with coffee, tea and a new round of interesting paper presentations and discussions. The hamburger lunch in the foyer of the conference venue was the perfect moment for most attendees to engage in their final networking efforts and to say their goodbyes. For those colleagues who play a more active role in NefCa activities, NefCa’s General Assembly concluded the event.

We look back on a very successful edition of the Etmaal, and wish to thank all the speakers, the audience, NefCa and all colleagues who helped made the Etmaal happen! Pictures from the conference can be found here.

We already look forward to next year’s conference,

The organizing team, Alexander Schouten, Marjolijn Antheunis, Mariek Vanden Abeele