How it all began?

Our exciting international collaboration was born in 2019. Following the vision of 4EU+ alliance, experts from medicine, psychology, and cognitive neuroscience from across Europe—spanning Warsaw, Milan, Copenhagen, and Heidelberg—joined forces to form a ground-breaking research group. Our shared mission: to delve into the fascinating dynamics of caregiver-child interactions, examining both typical and atypical caregiver-child dyads. Bringing together this variety of knowledge, our team was driven by a desire to share insights across disciplines and borders. 

It wasn’t long before our efforts began bearing fruit and we were awarded two mini-grants Understanding and Supporting Caregiver-Child Interactions (founded by 4EU+) and Caregiver-child interactions and social-cognitive processing in typical and atypical development (founded by Excellence Initiative – Research University) that supported online multi-center research and educational initiatives.

By 2021, we launched a series of annual international seminars designed specifically for students from all four participating universities, focused on the complexities of caregiver-child interactions. In these seminars, students had the opportunity to attend lectures by international experts from the four different universities; but they were also catalysts for critical thinking, sparking debates and questions that would shape our future research!

In the summer of 2021, Heidelberg’s team hosted our very first Summer School. This event was more than a gathering; it was a melting pot of ideas and expertise. Students were not just spectators but active participants, engaging in stimulating theoretical discussions and gaining hands-on experience with advanced research techniques like fMRI, EEG, fNIRS, and video-microanalysis. For many, it was their first experience with these methods, and the curiosity in the room was palpable. Thanks to the mini-grants, students who successfully applied had their travel and accommodation costs covered, making this incredible learning opportunity accessible to all.

Meeting in person—after years of collaborative discussions online—infused our research with a new sense of purpose. Conversations over coffee breaks, brainstorming sessions, and collaborative workshops created a buzz of intellectual curiosity that ultimately led to the application for and the securing of a prestigious Twinning EU grant.

This support allows us to expand our research and further our commitment to fostering international cooperation, continuing to bring our innovative approaches to caregiver-child interaction research to an even wider community. Looking ahead, we are thrilled to keep sharing our expertise, inviting new students and researchers to join our journey as we continue to make impactful discoveries together!