EMERGENCE South Africa
New Perspectives on Language and the Brain
South African programme launch and scientific kick-off
University of the Witwatersrand, Department of Psychology, Johannesburg I 21–22 October 2026
Registration is open!
Day 1, Wednesday 21st October (full day, CPD accredited)
Venue: Seminar room 2. Emthonjeni Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg
08:45–09:00
Arrival and coffee
09:00–09:10
Institutional Welcome — Prof Sumaya Laher, Wits Head of School of Human & Community Development
09:10–09:20
Welcome and objectives — Prof Aline Ferreira Correia, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Wits
09:20–10:00
Speech-language assessment in South Africa: current practice and the Aclickia survey — Dr Nancy Barber, Lecturer in the Department of Speech Language Therapy at Wits
10:00–10:40
Clinical neuropsychology research in South Africa: Opportunities, barriers and ethical considerations for planning and collaborations — Prof Aline Ferreira Correia, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, Wits
10:40–11:20
Understanding aphasia among isiXhosa-speaking adults: Lessons from research and clinical practice — Dr Carol Legg, Lecturer, Speech and Language Pathology, University of Cape Town
11:20–11:30
Coffee break
11:30–12:10
Mapping the directional flow of the language network — Dr Irene Bellin, Donders Institute, Netherlands
12:10–12:50
The multilingual brain: A critical review of cognitive advantages — Prof Kate Cockcroft, NeuRL (Neuroscience Research Laboratory) co-director, Wits
12:50–13:50
Lunch break
13:50–14:30
Towards a new neurobiology of language — Prof Stephanie Forkel, Donders Institute / Max Planck Institute, the Netherlands
14:30–16:20
Panel: Research opportunities in neurosciences
-
Opportunities through the ERC Implementing Arrangement — Dr Davide Innocenti, European Research Council Executive Agency
-
Opportunities for research collaboration and mobility — Dr Maphuti Madiga, Deputy Director: Research Development, Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI)
16:20–17:20
EMERGENCE project pitches — chaired by Aline & Stephanie
Four research projects, 15 minutes each
17:20–18:00
Closing & social event
Day 2 — Thursday 22nd October (project work & SASLHA Edu-Series)
Venue: Seminar room 2. Emthonjeni Centre, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Johannesburg
14:00–14:15
Recap and goals for the afternoon — Aline & Stephanie
14:15–15:00
Operational readiness: from recruitment to shared data. Recruitment, assessments, MRI, ethics, data governance, responsibilities, data access/transfer, and supervision.
15:00–17:00
Project working groups. Teams split according to projects and resolve outstanding methods/analysis questions.
17:00–17:30
Closing remarks
What the group will take into Brainhack, and which technical or analytical problems should be tackled over the next week.
19:00–20:00
SASLHA Edu-Series ‘Cognitive and language mapping: how language emerges from the brain’ (CPD accredited) – Online webinar
