Dr Renata Martinčić Marić presented at the University of Lisbon the project Neurocognitive Abilities and Early Bilingual Development: Language Exposure and Executive Functions — NeuroLEEF, led by Associate Professor Nada Poropat Jeletić

As part of the international dissemination activities of the scientific research project Neurocognitive Abilities and Early Bilingual Development: Language Exposure and Executive Functions — NeuroLEEF, Dr Renata Martinčić Marić stayed in Lisbon from 12 to 17 May 2026 at the Department of Educational Sciences of ISEC Lisboa University, within the framework of Erasmus international mobility. On this occasion, the NeuroLEEF project was presented to an international academic audience as an interdisciplinary research initiative bringing together cognitive neuroscience, psychology and linguistics. This mobility confirmed the importance of the project as a scientifically relevant and socially responsible research endeavour funded by the European Union. Under the leadership of Associate Professor Nada Poropat Jeletić, the NeuroLEEF project develops an interdisciplinary model for investigating early bilingual development, language exposure and executive functions, while simultaneously strengthening international cooperation, digital research infrastructure, science communication and the transfer of scientific knowledge into educational contexts.

During the presentation held in Lisbon, Dr Renata Martinčić Marić introduced the project’s core research objectives, its methodological architecture and its planned activities. Particular emphasis was placed on objectives related to examining the relationship between early bilingual exposure and executive functions, including inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, task-switching ability, non-verbal divergent thinking and working memory. In this way, the project was presented as a scientifically relevant contribution to contemporary debates on the conditions under which multilingual experience may contribute to the development of children’s cognitive and linguistic abilities. The dissemination activity carried out in Lisbon contributed to the international visibility of the NeuroLEEF project and to strengthening the scientific profile of the “Juraj Dobrila” University of Pula. The presentation of the project to students and teaching staff at ISEC Lisboa University enabled the connection of research findings, teaching practice and international academic cooperation, while also opening space for future forms of collaboration in the fields of early childhood and preschool education, teacher education, educational psychology, multilingualism and children’s cognitive development.