Your Congress Education, Learning and Development Programme 2026

RCN Congress 2026 will be held from Monday 18 – Thursday 21 May as an in-person event.

The Congress Education, Learning and Development Programme (ELDP) is a dynamic line-up that brings together traditional fringe, student, nursing support worker, wellbeing and sponsor sessions. The 2026 programme is being overseen by a member-led group with representatives from across the UK.

The programme will be accessible onsite from Monday 18 – Wednesday 20 May and then, where agreed and appropriate, recordings will be available to watch on-demand after the event.  Attendees will be able to choose sessions by theme to tailor Congress to their own interests.

Remember, each session also supports CPD and can be used to contribute to revalidation.

Congress 2026 will be an in-person event and it is expected that all ELDP presenters, chairs and panel members will be onsite to deliver their session.  For more information, please contact congress@rcn.org.uk. 

Interested in submitting an item?

Any RCN forum, board, branch, network, group, RCN department or country/regional office is invited to submit a proposal. It is desirable that these groups or members work in collaboration with at least one other group or body to produce a joined-up content within the themes. Please note, submissions must be RCN led, external organisations are not eligible to be the main submitting entity or to host a session.

In 2026, the ELDP will be aligned with the RCN Institute, the organisation’s own centre of excellence for education, learning, research, and policy. As such the themes for the programme have been linked to each of the institute’s five academies – nursing workforce, nursing practice, nursing leadership, international nursing and activism.

Congress 2026 ELDP themes:

• Nursing Practice Academy: Clinical and practice development - education, learning, research, digital transformation
• Nursing Leadership Academy: Leadership and management
• Nursing Practice Academy: Regulation, quality improvement and innovation
• All Academies: Wellbeing, mental health and self-care
• Activism and Nursing Workforce Academies: Workforce – recruitment, development and retention, organising for change, safe staffing, pay, terms and conditions

International Nursing Academy may apply to any of the above themes.

If you have an exciting idea for the programme that connects with one of the themes, then the ELDP member-led working group will be delighted to hear from you.  Please work with an RCN entity you are linked with to submit a paper before the deadline.

Should you need support using the submission form due to accessibility reasons, please contact congress@rcn.org.uk.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on Wednesday 7 January 2026.

Some useful hints and tips to support you in submitting an item for the Congress Education, Learning and Development Programme:

The format this year will once again bring together fringe, student, nursing support worker, wellbeing and sponsor sessions to create a comprehensive programme at Congress 2026.

All delegates can attend any of the sessions at Congress. They support CPD and contribute to revalidation requirements. To make these sessions widely accessible, where agreed and appropriate, they may also be recorded and available to view on demand after the event.

What makes a good ELDP session?

When the panel reviews each submission they look at whether the session:

• demonstrates collaboration, for example with another RCN group, external organisation or commercial partner
• has synergy with the themes
• will add value to Congress
• will encourage employers to support their staff to attend
• is relevant to nursing support workers, student and/or nurse members
• involves patients, or service users if relevant
• if aimed at all delegates, demonstrates an awareness of different positions across the UK and of both the NHS and Independent Sector
• is evidence-based and will be properly quality assured
• has clear learning outcomes identified
• demonstrates explicit links to other areas of RCN work including educational events and programmes
• session aims and objectives are achievable within 45 minutes.

Before applying, ensure the session meets as much of the above criteria as possible and explain this as clearly as possible in your submission.

Choosing when to host your session

Session slots will be 45 minutes long and take place across lunchtime and early evening on Monday, then breakfast, lunchtime and early evening on Tuesday and Wednesday of Congress week.

We recommend allocating 30 minutes for presenting and 15 minutes for audience Q&A and a maximum of 3 speakers for a panel discussion.

If your session is selected, you will be contacted via email in February 2026 to confirm the details and your allocated time slot within the programme.

The format of your Education, Learning and Development Programme session

Your session could be in any one of the following formats:

• Lecture: A talk/speech on a specific topic by a specialist/expert
• Seminar: An informal interactive study on a specific topic, with a range of speakers
• Discussion/debate: A topic introduced by a speaker who then facilitates open audience participation seeking their viewpoints, usually with a panel of presenters
• Q&A session: Audience-led questions to a person or panel (usually senior in their field) without agenda.

It may be possible to offer a different delivery style of presentation at Congress 2026. You will be asked on the submission form if you have a preference and would like your paper to be considered for these options.

You may wish to consider running a partnership session which may feature external (i.e. non-RCN) organisations but these must be led by the RCN. These should focus on the partnership and must not be a showcase for third-party products or services. Don’t forget to describe the format of your session when filling in the application form.

Travel, accommodation and expenses

Presenters attending Congress exclusively to deliver an ELDP session will have travel and accommodation covered in line with the RCN expenses policy.

If your submission is selected, travel and accommodation must be arranged with the relevant supporting RCN Directorate/Department/Professional staff lead who will make the booking through the RCN’s approved travel agent.

The RCN will not cover travel and accommodation costs if the presenter is already funded to attend Congress and it is unable to pay speaker fees or honorariums, any additional AV requirements, over and above the standard package, or any other costs related to your session.

Submitting authors are asked to be mindful around costs when planning - sessions are only 45 minutes in length and so up to 3 contributors for each lecture or seminar is considered a reasonable maximum. Panel discussions or debates may justify additional contributors and approval via congress@rcn.org.uk should be sought in advance.

All expenses are paid in line with the RCN expense policy. Please refer to this document, particularly pages 7-11, for guidance on booking arrangements and eligibility for travel and accommodation before inviting or agreeing presenters for your session.

Please email congress@rcn.org.uk if you have any specific questions.

What happens next?

Submitters will receive an email in February 2026 with the outcome of the review panel. We expect to receive many more submissions than we have space for on the programme so please don’t be too disappointed if your paper is not accepted. Collaborative submissions are encouraged to bring together multiple entities and create a comprehensive programme for all delegates. The review panel provide feedback for everyone after the selection process has taken place.

If your paper is selected, the RCN Events Team will be in touch to provide you with guidance on how to plan for your session. The RCN’s Quality Assurance team will also provide support and guidance, and should your session be recorded, it may be selected for inclusion on RCN Learn.

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