| Time | Program Point | Speaker |
| 08:30 | Welcome & Registration | |
| 09:00 | Keynote 1 | TBA |
| 10:00 | Coffee Break | |
| 10:30 | Workshop 1 | Prof. Dr. Vivienne de Vogel (NL) |
| Workshop 2 | TBA | |
| Workshop 3 | TBA | |
| 12:00 | Lunch Break | |
| 13:15 | Academic Speed Dating | |
| 14:15 | Poster Session | |
| 15:30 | Coffee Break | |
| 16:00 | Keynote 2 | TBA |
| 17:00 | Closing Remarks and Poster Awards | |
| 17:30 | Apéro |

How can we conduct rigorous, ethical research with populations that are often underrepresented in science? What challenges arise when working in sensitive research settings, and why is it essential to ensure these voices are included?
This interactive workshop explores how researchers can design more inclusive and ethically informed studies while navigating the unique challenges of working with sensitive and stigmatized populations. Through case studies, group discussions, and practical exercises, including the development of research checklists, you will gain valuable insights into ethical considerations, barriers to participation, and strategies for bridging research and clinical practice. The workshop also offers a behind-the-scenes perspective on the opportunities and challenges of a scientist-practitioner career, providing practical tools that will help you translate research into meaningful real-world impact.
We are delighted to welcome Prof. Dr. Vivienne de Vogel from the Netherlands to lead this workshop. Prof. de Vogel is Professor of Forensic Mental Health Care at Maastricht University and the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht. She also works at the Van der Hoeven Clinic and serves as a scientific advisor to the Dutch TBS advisory board on forensic psychiatric care.
Since beginning her research career in 1998, Prof. de Vogel has been dedicated to advancing forensic mental health care. Her internationally recognized work spans forensic psychiatry, violence risk assessment, gender-responsive approaches, staff resilience, and the organization of forensic care systems.
Drawing on decades of experience as both a researcher and clinician, she will share practical lessons that extend far beyond forensic psychology and are relevant to anyone interested in conducting impactful, ethical research.
Networking facilitates success regarding our research goals and career. However, networking can also be tricky sometimes. Therefore BEACON 2026 is also dedicated to providing a low-barrier opportunity to foster academic interaction, create new ties, and initiate collaborations across departments and divisions. There will be different possibilities to reach this goal, for example during informal coffee breaks as well as during the apéro that completes the day. More important, however, will be the Academic Speed Dating. Over the course of 30 minutes, you will have three 10 minutes short academic speed dates with fellow researchers from other divisions.

The conference offers a 1-hour Poster Session after lunch, which will be split into two parts: for the first 30 minutes, half of all presenters will be at their poster, and the other half of presenters will have a chance to go around and learn about the presenters’ works. Then we will switch: for the next 30 minutes, presenters become visitors, and visitors become presenters. The Poster Session is a chance to present your past, current, or planned research, so you can hand in preliminary data, real data, or also the study design. Finally, there will be three poster awards, where you get the chance to win a prize for the best poster in a specific category, rated by your colleagues at the conference!