The Second Social Identity Summer School (SISS 2025) took place from 25 August to 1 September 2025 at the green Sportcampus Arenberg, KU Leuven, Belgium. Building on the success of the inaugural Winter School in June 2022 at the University of Queensland, and Leuven’s long tradition as a hub of social psychological scholarship, the week brought together a vibrant international community of more than 60 PhD students, junior academics and senior academics. Across eight intensive and energizing days, participants immersed themselves in the Social Identity Approach: studying it, debating it, living it, and, most importantly, building the shared identity that the theory so powerfully describes.

1. Organisation, participation and international representation

The event was organized by Filip Boen (KU Leuven), Jolanda Jetten (University of Queensland) and Radhika Butalia (KU Leuven/Goethe Universität), with the organisational and financial support of KU Leuven & the Leading Insights team (www.leadinginsights.be/en), the University of Queensland, and the European Association of Social Psychology.

Interest to participate in the Summer School was high. Out of 86 applicants, 43 PhD students were selected (32 females, 11 males), resulting in a competitive acceptance rate of 50%. The selected participants represented 20 diverse nationalities from five continents and were affiliated with 36 different universities located in 16 countries.

2. Academic Structure: Four Streams, One Shared Identity

The Summer School was organized around four thematic teaching streams, each represented during the group photo by its own color: Health (blue), Organisations (yellow), Politics & Society (black), and Sport & Exercise (red). These streams reflected key applied domains of the Social Identity Approach, yet throughout the week, boundaries between them remained intentionally permeable. Students were encouraged to explore cross-domain parallels and tensions, and to identify shared mechanisms linking identity, behavior, motivation, and collective functioning, inspired by the opening lectures of Alex Haslam and Jolanda Jetten on the state-of-affairs of the Social Identity Approach.

Each stream was supported by subgroup work, daily seminars, hands-on exercises, and intensive preparation for the Sunday presentations. On the final day, each stream had 30–45 minutes to present what they had learned, designed, or proposed in terms of research or applied interventions.

3. Teachers and Guest Teachers: A Community of Experts

The intellectual heart of SISS 2025 was the extraordinary group of 12 (co-)teachers, all of whom volunteered their time, expertise, and energy over eight days. For the Health stream these were: Catherine Haslam (University of Queensland), Mark Tarrant (University of Plymouth) and Laura Hollands (University of Plymouth); for the Organisations stream: Alex Haslam (University of Queensland), Rolf van Dick (Goethe Universität) and Radhika Butalia (KU Leuven/Goethe Universität); for the Politics & Society stream: Jolanda Jetten (University of Queensland), Yasin Koç (University of Groningen) and Kelly Kirkland (University of Queensland); for the Sport & Exercise stream: Matt Slater (Staffordshire University), Sean Figgins (University of Sussex) and Jamie Barker (Loughborough University).

In addition, these streams were supported by the occasional guest teachers, including Katrien Fransen (KU Leuven), Laurent Licata (Université Libre de Bruxelles), and Jasper Van Assche (Université Libre de Bruxelles).

Across streams, teachers brought cutting-edge insights from decades of communal research: identity leadership, health-related identity pathways, organisational change, collective action, inclusion, political behavior, and shared leadership in sport and exercise. Their engagement extended far beyond the lecture room—teachers participated in meals, social events, informal discussions, and mentoring conversations, contributing greatly to the sense of a shared learning community.

4. Social Identity in Practice: Evening and Community-Building Activities

A defining characteristic of SISS 2025—much like the Social Identity Approach itself—was the central role of shared experience. Evening events were optional but well attended and included two nights of werewolf games, a walking tour to explore Leuven’s historic city centre, a quiz night, and (in line with the EASP tradition) a football game. In addition, a life after PhD-session was scheduled where a panel of more experienced academics in various phases of their career answered PhD students’ questions.

5. Evaluation and conclusions

As is evident by numerous social media posts after the summer school, participants expressed excitement and gratitude to have been a part of this unique event. In addition, an anonymous survey among the participants revealed very high satisfaction with the overall organisation, with the teaching facilities, and with both the content and the format of the teaching (i.e., all mean scores higher than 8.5 on a 10-point scale). In the open-ended feedback they repeatedly referred to the community spirit and social bonding opportunities, the high-quality teaching and engaging lectures, the chances to discuss research with peers and faculty, and to the small scale of the event allowing for meaningful interactions.

As organisers, we feel grateful to have been able to facilitate these positive academic and social experiences. The week in Leuven demonstrated what can happen when researchers come together not only to learn about identity, but also to build it. SISS 2025 will be remembered not only for its lectures and workshops, but for its laughter, debates, shared meals, evening activities, collaborative projects, late-night conversations, and the enduring network it created. Here’s to the power of shared identity, learning and connection!

Filip Boen, Jolanda Jetten and Radhika Butalia