Festival highlights

Where inspiration meets innovation

From the energy on the Festival floor to the deep dives in our conference halls, the Future of Surgery Festival proved that meaningful change happens when the entire surgical community unites. 

Thank you to all those in attendance and we cannot wait to see you next year on 13–14 April at the Liverpool Experience Campus. 


We heard from pioneers who are reimagining what a surgical career looks like and showing us how to stay human in a high-tech world. From Jo Salter on performing under pressure, Dr. Patrick Dixon on the AI reality and Mindy Nunez Duffourc’s speaking about the ethics of innovation, the Festival was a space for us all to come together and explore how these tools are changing the way we work.

The next generation of surgical leaders showed us that challenging the status quo and driving for improvement is constant at the Poster Village. Our Professional Development Hub was the Festival’s sanctuary for the people behind the mask, through 1-2-1 mentoring, career-longevity workshops and honest discussions. 

This year's Festival may be over, but the work to lead surgical change is just beginning. 


Abstract winners 


This year’s Poster and Oral Abstract competitions showcased a breathtaking level of innovation, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in surgery and technology. The submissions highlighted the brilliant minds driving the evolution of surgery. Awarded through a competitive process, our judging panel hand-selected the most impactful work from a vast pool of talent. 

Congratulations to all the awardees:

Jayaruban Sivakumaran, Winner of the Oral Abstract competition at the Future of Surgery Festival for their presentation Giant Fusiform Left Middle Cerebral Artery Aneurysm in a 7-Year-Old: A Rare Paediatric Presentation.

Maxime Giot, Winner of the Oral Abstract competition at the Future of Surgery Festival for their presentation Intraoperative differentiation of tissue and lymph nodes using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy in upper gastrointestinal surgery.

Sophie Forster, Winner of the Oral Abstract competition at the Future of Surgery Festival for their presentation Surgical set rationalisation can save time, money, space and energy.

Akshaya Rajangam, Winner of the Poster Abstract competition at the Future of Surgery Festival for their presentation Smart Scalpel: Obstetric Films for Training and Education.

Princewill Ukpeh, Highly commended for the Poster Abstract competition at the Future of Surgery Festival for their presentation Preliminary Analysis of the State of Current Surgical Education in National Training: A UK-wide Survey of Final-Year Medical Students