Join us for the International Conference on Perceptual Control Theory from October 8-11, 2025, in the historic city of Zwolle, Netherlands. Nestled in the heart of the country’s northeastern region, Zwolle enchants visitors with its beautifully preserved medieval center, complete with ancient city walls and the magnificent 15th-century Sassenpoort gate.
Conference Format
We are committed to making this conference accessible to our international community. The hybrid format will include:
- In-person sessions in Zwolle (capacity: 40-80 participants)
- Interactive online programming for global participation
- Pre-recorded presentations available to registered participants
- Live streaming of face-to-face sessions
- Recorded sessions shared with online participants afterward
Program Highlights
Wednesday, October 8 features primarily online presentations, with speakers from Australia, New Zealand and Japan in the morning, and from the US and Canada in the afternoon. You can join attendees in Zwolle (in a watch-party format) or follow presentations from home on topics including a PCT perspective on morality, studies on a MOL chatbot, and suicide risk assessment. We’ll conclude with a presentation by Claudius Osei, former NFL player, on athletic coaching from a PCT perspective, and a workshop by actor/director Tom Scholte from Canada on conflict management at different levels.
Thursday, October 9 features a largely local program, where several students will present their studies on PCT in relation to neurodiversity, refugee trauma, creative arts therapy, and the recovery movement. Dag Forssell will present on how to present PCT, and Kent McClelland will offer a sociological PCT perspective on racism. Tom Merrill will share his experience with managing aggression. We’ll also hear from Matias Salgado on practitioners’ top benefits and challenges when applying MOL. We’ll close with an interactive Method of Levels workshop by Andreas Rapp from Berlin.
Friday, October 10 opens with a workshop on hierarchical control, where you’ll experience what it’s like to control from each level. Michael Landman will have us experience what pupil dilation means in an interactive setup. Then we dive deep with presentations on control versus prediction and comparisons of PCT with Friston’s Free Energy Principle. In a hybrid panel discussion led by Warren Mansell, we’ll explore the relationship between artificial intelligence and PCT: what can we learn from AI developments, and what can AI learn from PCT? We’ll conclude with a presentation by Cat Harbord and Brian Fleming, dog trainers from the US/Canada whose PCT research on dog training challenges the stimulus-response model of behaviorism. Then it’s time for the conference dinner in Zwolle.
Preliminary schedule: https://www.iapct.org/events/iapct-conference-2025-schedule
Outing
Saturday, October 11 takes us outdoors for a group excursion. The exact details are still being finalized (ideas welcome!). We’re considering a scenic boat trip through the Weerribben wetlands, where we can subtly bypass the crowded tourist town of Giethoorn but have a similar experience of Dutch traditions.
Extend your visit with an MOL course
For those who can’t get enough, the conference can have an extension: Laura Hudepohl and colleagues are organizing an English-language MOL course on October 13-14 in Broek in Waterland (near Amsterdam), with an online closing session on November 10. Costs (with discount for IAPCT conference attendees): €560,-. More info: https://www.gesprekspartnerzijn.nl or laura.hudepohl@gmail.com.
Annual IAPCT meeting
The annual iapct meeting is the moment where board & members & interested parties talk about the present and future of our international association for perceptual control theory. The meeting takes place online, one week after the conference, during the limited timeframe that permits our global community to meet: Monday, October 20th. Duration: 1 hour.
| Los Angeles | New York | Buenos Aires | London | Amsterdam | Perth |
| 05:00 | 08:00 | 09:00 | 13:00 | 14:00 | 20:00 |
Conference Schedule
Find the full schedule here: https://www.iapct.org/events/iapct-conference-2025-schedule
Abstracts & schedule for other timezones will soon be published in our conference book.
Important Dates:
Submission Deadline: May 31, 2025Notification of Acceptance: June 2025- Conference Dates: October 8-11, 2025
- Preliminary Programme:
- Wednesday October 8: start of the conference, online sessions
- Thursday, October 9: face-to-face & hybrid sessions
- Friday, October 10: face-to-face & hybrid sessions
- Saturday, October 11: Social outdoors program
- Preliminary Programme:
Registration
In-person registration includes access to all sessions, daily lunch and refreshments, and an optional Saturday outing. We’ve designed a simple flat-rate system (equal for speakers and participants, regardless of numbers of days that you will attend) that covers our basic costs and limits administrative efforts. Online participation is free, as usual.
1. Full Registration – €100 Standard rate
- Access to all 3 days of in-person sessions (October 8-11)
- Conference outing on Saturday, October 11 (attendance optional)
- Lunch and refreshments on 3 conference days
- + Online participation access including pre-recorded and recorded sessions
2. IAPCT Member Registration – €75 Member Rate
- All benefits of Full Registration at member discount rate
- Must be current IAPCT member at time of registration
3. Student & Accessibility Registration – €50 Reduced Rate
- All benefits of Full Registration at reduced rate
- Current students (undergraduate, graduate, or doctoral) and individuals facing financial hardship or economic constraints (no questions asked).
4. Online-Only Access – FREE Virtual Participation
- Live streaming access to all sessions
- Access to pre-recorded presentations
- Access to recorded presentations
- No access to in-person events, meals, or conference outing
Please register now: https://forms.office.com/e/JrtBjrfs8Y for the online-only or in-person conference. We will contact in-person attendants later to arrange the payment.
Venue
The conference will be hosted by the Open Universiteit, in our local OU studycenter, Koggelaan 3F, Zwolle. This location easily accessible by public transportation (next to the central train station). The city is well-connected to major Dutch and European cities, with regular train services from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (approximately 1.5 hours by train).
Accommodation
IAPCT Group Housing
The IAPCT is renting three holiday houses in the city of Kampen, relatively close to the conference site, thanks to a donation from Dag Forssell. Each house can accommodate eight to ten participants (28 persons in total). We need to know how many wish to participate in this group accommodation, with a commitment to attend the conference.
Find more information here: IAPCT Conference Accommodation
Alternative Accommodation Options
For those who prefer to arrange their own lodging:
- Airbnb: Browse local apartments and homes at airbnb.com
- Booking.com: Find hotels and other accommodations at booking.com
- Local Tourism Information: Discover more accommodation options and explore Zwolle at Visit Zwolle
Transportation
Public Transport
The venue is located just 300 meters from Zwolle central train station, which is a major hub in the Dutch public transport network. Amsterdam and The Hague are easily accessible by train (1 to 2 hours only).
Plan your journey: Use 9292.nl to find train times, costs, and connections throughout the Netherlands.
Car Rental
Car rental is available for those who prefer to drive. We recommend Sunny Cars, which has an excellent reputation for reliable service. Note that parking around the venue is limited and paid (max 10 euro per day).
Organization
This conference is organized by the IAPCT Board: Eva de Hullu (President), Warren Mansell (Vice President), Bruce Nevin (Treasurer), Joanne Forsyth (Secretary) and Hugo Cristo Sant’Anna (At Large Director)
For any questions or additional information, please contact us at board@iapct.org
Images by Unsplash:
- Sassenpoort (medieval tower): Photo by Marjan Samuel-Bredewold on Unsplash
- Banner image of the IJssel river near Zwolle: Photo by Lucas van Oort on Unsplash
- Featured image of the church tower: Photo by Bart Ros on Unsplash
