From 19 October to 13 November 2026
The Field of Behavioural Science is Evolving
And we’re here to help you stay ahead.
Gather with your peers, learn from leading practitioners, and discover where behavioural science is heading next.
As a student or early-career professional, you're entering a field in motion. Behavioural science is expanding beyond academia into real-world application, and the landscape is shifting rapidly. Gather '26 brings together speakers who are shaping that future—and peers who will shape it with you.
Over four weeks this autumn, join one-hour on-line sessions designed specifically for students and those early in their careers. Discover practical approaches to behaviour change, learn how to translate your knowledge into business contexts, and build skills that will define the next generation of applied behavioural scientists.
You will hear from real-world practitioners and innovators shaping applied behavioural science right now.
What is working? What is being questioned? Where are the career opportunities? And what are employers looking for from students and new hires?
Across the series, you will get practical insight into:
Career pathways and opportunities
What it is really like to work in behavioural science
The skills employers are looking for
Real-world applications of behavioural science
Perspectives from practitioners, employers and innovators
Dates and Format
19 October – 13 November 2026
One-hour, on-line sessions across four weeks. Each session features leading practitioners and is designed for the interactive learner—get ready for some face-to-face time.
All times listed are UK times. All sessions will be brought to you virtually; recordings will be available to registered participants for 30 days following the event.
Why Attend
For Your Professional Development
Behavioural science careers span academia, corporate settings, policy work, and innovation labs. The professionals leading these spaces are sharing their real-world insights—not just theory, about where the field is going, and the role you can play in it.
To Shape Your Career Path
You'll gain clarity on where the field is heading and what capabilities employers value most. Hear directly from practitioners about the skills, approaches, and mindsets that have opened doors for them—and how you can develop those same capabilities during your studies.
To Join a Growing Community
This is the inaugural GAABS Student Summit. You're not just attending sessions; you're helping to establish a new space where the next generation of applied behavioural scientists connects, learns, and builds together.
To Stay Current
Behavioural science is still a relatively nascent field. That means that it can move quickly. It also means that the field is still discovering the best placement for itself as a tool in public policy, private corporations and charitable and NGO work. Be a part of the journey with us at GAABS.
Secure Your Place
Whether you're exploring behavioural science for the first time or building on your existing knowledge, this summit is designed for you. Places are limited to ensure quality interaction and discussion.
Secure your place now. The field is evolving—learn where it's heading next.
Speaker Sessions
Opening Session: Behaviour Change in the Field: Nothing Always Works!
Speaker: Dilip Soman, PhD
Date and Time: Thursday, 22 October, 3-4 p.m. GMT
Dilip Soman is a Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics, and serves as a Director of the Behavioural Economics in Action Research Centre at Rotman [BEAR]. His research is in the area of behavioural science and its applications to consumer wellbeing, marketing and policy. Dilip is also interested in research on poverty, global health, education and development in the global south. He is the author of "The Last Mile“ and teaches a massive open online course "Behavioural Economics in Action" on EdX. He has also served as the inaugural director of the University’s India Innovation Institute, and as a scholar in residence and a senior policy advisor in the Government of Canada’s Impact and Innovation Unit. Furthermore, he serves as advisor to a number of welfare organisations.
The Next Generation of Behavioural Science
Speaker: Scott Young is an independent behavioural science advisor, educator and author who helps organisations apply behavioural science effectively and ethically. Scott was most recently Head of Private Sector, Americas at the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), having previously worked at BVA Nudge Consulting. Earlier, he spent more than 20 years leading Perception Research Services, a global shopper insights agency. Today, Scott advises organisations and lectures regularly at the London School of Economics, the University of Pennsylvania (MBDS program) and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He is also a Board Member of Bescy, a non-profit network dedicated to building, supporting and promoting the global behavioral science community, where he organises and hosts a Practitioners Group. For students considering a career in behavioural science, Scott brings a valuable perspective on how to apply behavioural science and navigate your career in the business world.
Date and Time: Friday, 23 October, 1 - 2 p.m. (UK)
Session Description:
Five (5) core changes influencing the application of Behavioural Science
Primary opportunities (and challenges) for the field in the business world
Next-generation skills that will be critical to career success
A rationale and strategy for pursuing "BeSci-adjacent" roles
The Behaviourally Informed Curriculum Vitae
Speaker: Deborah (Deb) Braidic, MABC, MSc, Healthcare Chief of Staff, Former Co-director of Healthcare Administrative Fellowship Program, resume transformer, translator of the hiring manager’s mind for emerging professionals.
Date and Time: Wednesday 28 October, 2-3 p.m. (UK)
Session Description:
This will be a nuts and bolts session that covers:
Keeping the wrong things out of your curriculum vitae
Aligning what you place on your CV with the AI screening tools
Transforming task-based representation to thematic and strategic representation (what’s additive and what’s puffery)
Thinking like a hiring manager
Creating a CV that supports you in a stand-out performance during the interview
Lessons for aspiring behavioural scientists on the corporate world, complexity, and creativity
Speaker: Nitish Upadhyaya, Nitish Upadhyaya leads Behavioural Insights at R&G Insights Lab, Ropes & Gray, where he helps organisations understand and manage risk by bringing together behavioural science, organisational culture, data and legal expertise.
Date and Time: Tuesday 3 November, 3-4 p.m. (UK)
Session Description:
Understand how to shape your behavioural science expertise to get a seat at the table
Learn about what happens when behavioural science meets the real (corporate) world (moving from p values to persuasion!)
Understand how to shape your behavioural science expertise to get a seat at the table
Accept that behavioural science is one of the tools, not the tool in the behaviour change journey
Gain insight into how a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods can be used to triangulate organizational culture and form the basis for behaviour change / transformation projects
Student Member Gathering
Moderators:
Kirra Moser, MBA, MSc, Project Manager, GAABS
Rebecca Foxcroft, Project Coordinator, GAABS
Date and Time: Thursday, 5 November, 2-3 p.m. (UK)
Session Description:
Bring a fellow colleague or student interested in membership.
Maximize your member perks (including access to special research platforms at a discount).
Learn about opportunities to partner with GAABS and nail your dissertation or final capstone project.
Learn about how to leverage our #StudyStories series on the GAABS blog to gain some street credibility before you even finish your degree.
Jez Groom
Professor in Practice,
Author, Entrepreneur,
Management Consultant
Melina Palmer
CEO & Podcast Host,
The Brainy Business, Author, Consultant
Shelley Hoppe
CEO, SBC Communications
CEO, BEHAVES Academy
Vice Chair, GAABS Editorial Board
How to pitch behavioural science in terms business leaders care about.
The key differences between behavioural science in the lab and in business.
Why building a shared vocabulary with colleagues matters when you’re the only in the room.
The range of career paths into applied behavioural science and the skills beyond the science that make you employable.
Panel Session: How to Frame Behavioural Science for a Business Audience
Date and Time: Monday, 9 November, 3-4 p.m. (UK)
Deb Braidic
GAABS Executive Board Member, Founder, Chief of Staff
Easy Ways to Make Better Decisions in Student Life & Beyond
Speaker: Melina Moleskis, PhD. Dr Melina Moleskis is a behavioural decision scientist, founder of Meta-decisions, and a Board Director at GAABS, where she leads the Association’s Research Programme. She helps people and teams reach better decisions by turning science into applied tools they can use every day. Melina trained in applied intelligence alongside professionals from the intelligence community, studying decisions at both speeds, the quick call in the field and the slower judgement of the analyst. She holds a PhD in Managerial Decision Sciences from IESE, an MBA in Strategy from NYU Stern, where she studied as a Fulbright scholar, and a BSc in Mathematics and Economics from LSE. Melina also holds adjunct faculty positions in Behavioural Economics and serves as an Advocate for the Alliance for Decision Education. She works closely with students and early career professionals on building the confidence to decide well in an uncertain and complex world. She writes on decision-making for Forbes and on her own blog.
Date and Time: Tuesday, 10 November, 2-3 p.m. (UK)
Session Description:
This will be an interactive session. Come with your decision challenge to post in the chat or work through on paper. You’ll leave this session with:
A simple way to change the question before you answer it, because many stuck decisions are stuck on the wrong framing, not a lack of information.
A quick test for how much thought a decision actually deserves, so you can stop agonising over the ones you can undo and save your attention for the ones you cannot.
A handful of small changes to the way you decide, designed to take minutes rather than become another system to maintain, and useful well beyond student life.
The chance to apply them to a decision you’re sitting with right now, including questions you can send in advance.
Behavioural Science as a Superpower: Reframing Skills for the Next Generation
Speaker: Jez Groom. Jez Groom is a management consultant, behavioural science practitioner, entrepreneur and Professor in Practice at Durham University’s Centre for Behavioural Science. Jez is passionate about developing the next generation of behavioural scientists and has helped kick-start the careers of hundreds of practitioners. For students considering a career in behavioural science, Jez brings a rare combination of practical experience, entrepreneurial insight and lessons from building the field itself. He is also a Global Board member of Bescy.org, the founder of smallwonderconsultancy.com, an investor in findmybesci.com and co-author of Ripple: The Big Effects of Small Behaviour Changes in Business. With more than 35 years of experience working with leading global brands and businesses, he has spent much of his career turning behavioural science into practical solutions for real-world problems. Jez founded Cowry Consulting, growing it from four people into one of the world’s leading behavioural science consultancies, before its successful sale to The VCCP Group in 2022. Prior to this, he co-founded the #ogilvychange practice and helped launch Nudgestock, now one of the world’s best-known behavioural science festivals.
Date and Time: 11 November, 3-4 p.m. (UK)
Session Description:
The last decade has been defined by proving the value of applied behavioural science; the next generation will put it firmly into practice.
This session will help participants shape the story for the continued growth of the sector from a fledgling academic field to a thriving new discipline all around the world.
Panel Host:
Steve Martin
CEO, Influence at Work
Former Chair, GAABS
Juan de Rus Gutiérrez
Managing Partner at Neovantas.
This session sponsored by Beway.
Alejandro Ferrer
Chief Marketing Officer at BeWay
Majid Eismann Head of Data Science at Simply Rational
Panel Session:
From Student to Practitioner: What can students do now to build the skills and experience they need?
Pricing and Registration
For GAABS Members
Registration is Free
Already a member? Your membership includes access to all Gather '26 Student Summit sessions. Simply register here with your member credentials at the link below.
For Non-Members
A Low-Fee Opportunity
Even if you’re not a member, we’ve kept our registration pricing low — to remove as much friction as possible for you to join us.
What You’ll Get
Access to five industry-leading sessions across four weeks
Live interaction with speakers and peers
Recorded sessions available for 30 days post-event
A community of fellow students and early-career professionals committed to applied behavioural science
Insight into real-world applications and career pathway