Keynote Speaker:

Prof. Andrew Mark Williams

The University of Utah, USA

Research Interests:  The neural and psychological mechanisms underpinning the acquisition and development of expertise

Introduction:Andrew Mark Williams is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at The University of Utah. His research interests focus on the neural and psychological mechanisms underpinning the acquisition and development of expertise. Professor Williams has published almost 220 articles in peer-reviewed outlets in numerous fields including exercise and sports science (e.g., Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Sports Medicine), experimental psychology (e.g., Acta Psychologica, British Journal of Psychology, Experimental Psychology, Visual Cognition, Journal of Experimental Psychology), neuroscience (Neuroscience Letters, Human Brain Mapping, Neuroimaging, Neuropsychologica) and medicine (The Lancet, British Medical Journal, Medical Education). He is Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Sports Sciences, the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, and the journal Human Movement Science. He sits on the editorial boards of the Scandinavian Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, Frontiers of Cognition, and Frontiers in Psychology: Performance Science and has acted as a Guest Editor for several special issues of Journal of Sport Sciences, Journal of Motor Behavior, Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, and Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied. He has mentored 10 Post-Doctoral Research Fellows and supervised over 50 doctoral students. He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society (BPS), National Academy of Kinesiology (NAK), British Association of Sport and Exercise Science (BASES), and the European College of Sports Sciences (ECSS). He is a Chartered Psychologist and Scientist and Accredited by BASES to work with high-performance athletes. He has been a Visiting Professor at several prestigious institutions including Florida State University, Loughborough University, University of Florida, University of Calgary, University of British Columbia, University of the Mediterranean, University of Salzburg, and KU Leuven. He has received more than $6 million in external funding from research councils in Australia (Australian Research Council - ARC) and the UK (Economic and Social Research Council; Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council - BBSRC; British Academy, Royal Society), industry partners, such as Nike and Umbro, and the US Military, as well as governing bodies of sport (The FA, FIFA, UEFA, UK Sport, USOC) and professional sports teams (Liverpool, Everton, West Ham).

Keynote Speaker:

Prof. William Gary Hopkins

Internet Society for Sport Science, New Zealand

Research Interests:  Research design and analysis; factors affecting sport performance.

Introduction: 

2002-2013 Professor of Exercise Science, AUT University, Auckland, NZ

2013-2022 Professor of Research Design and Statistics, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia

2023- Full-time retirement

William Gary Hopkins is a renowned expert in sports science and biostatistics. He earned his Bachelor of Science (BSc) and BSc with Honors in Physiology from the University of Otago (New Zealand), and completed his PhD in Exercise Physiology at the University of Queensland (Australia). 

Dr. Hopkins is internationally recognized for his research in athletic performance, sports training, and research methodology—particularly in statistical analysis. He is best known for developing and promoting concepts such as effect size, confidence intervals, and magnitude-based inference. His innovative approaches to analyzing small-sample data and practical significance have greatly advanced the tools and interpretation used in sports and health sciences.

Apart from publishing extensively in top peer-reviewed journals, William Gary Hopkins is the founder and editor of Sportsci.org, an influential online resource. Through the website, he has shared clear and practical guides on statistical methods, data analysis, and research design, helping thousands of scientists, students, and coaches worldwide to improve their research skills.

Dr. Hopkins is highly regarded for his work in science communication and for raising standards in research quality and applied sports science. His contributions have made him one of the most influential figures in the global fields of sports science, athletic training, and health research

Invited Speaker:

Dr. Job Fransen

Charles Sturt University, Australia

Research Interests: Motor expertise, Meta-science in sport, Skill acquisition, Motor learning and Control

Introduction: Job is a senior lecturer at CSU’s Port Macquarie campus who possesses a profound fascination with the intricacies of human learning, particularly the interplay between individual attributes and environmental factors in shaping movement. Job's extensive teaching portfolio spans diverse subjects such as skill acquisition, motor control, motor learning, and the cultivation of talent and expertise. He has extensive experience crafting tailor-made educational content for both industry and academic institutions. Job's dedication to pedagogy is underscored by a collection of teaching and learning accolades earned throughout his career, notably for fostering student self-discovery through non-linear pedagogy.

Job studies how experts and novices execute motor skills and make decisions within sports-related contexts. His contributions to the scientific literature include publications addressing talent identification and development programs in youth sports, the role of perceptual and cognitive abilities in sporting expertise development, and the evaluation and enhancement of collective behaviour. Job's most recent work adopts a meta-scientific perspective on skill acquisition literature, shedding new light on this complex domain.

Outside of academia, Job leads an international skill acquisition research group and a teaching and learning workgroup, fostering the exchange of innovative ideas in research and pedagogy. Notably, Job serves as an associate editor for Science and Medicine in Football and held an executive board position in the Australasian Skill Acquisition Network from 2018 to 2022.