Sheffield’s conference scene is emerging from a packed few weeks, with three medical meetings and an international rail engineering workshop all coming to the city.
Three of the four events landed in a single September week. The 11th UK Congress on Obesity met at Cutlers’ Hall on 17-18 September, the Paediatric Pathology Society Annual Meeting ran from 17-19 September, and the International Collaborative Research Initiative (ICRI) on rolling contact fatigue and wear of rails and wheels began on 16 September at the University of Sheffield. They joined the Children's Hospital Alliance Education Specialists Symposium (CHESS) 2026 on 11 September 2026, at the Crowne Plaza Sheffield.
Between them, the events brought together clinicians, researchers, academics, healthcare professionals and railway industry engineers.
Sheffield’s Conference Ambassador programme played an integral role in securing the conferences for the city. The ambassadors are experts in fields from particle physics to orthopaedic surgery. They are connected to the city’s medical and educational institutions, including teaching hospitals, research facilities and two universities from which Dr Laura Gray of the University of Sheffield and Dr Catherine Homer of Sheffield Hallam University co-led the obesity congress.
The Paediatric Pathology Society meeting shows how the programme can build momentum. Marta Cohen OBE, a consultant paediatric pathologist at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, joined the programme after an invitation to its 2015 dinner. She has since brought the 2020 International Paediatric Pathology Association course, the 2023 International Stillbirth Alliance conference and now the 2026 society meeting to the city.
Run by Marketing Sheffield, the programme is one of the longest-running initiatives of its kind in the UK, celebrating more than 18 years of operations.
