Save the date Friday 8 / Saturday 9 May 2026
We are proud to host the 2026 ISLANDS meeting in Berlin. The likely dates will be Friday 8 / Saturday 9 May 2026.
For the local organizing committee, Wolfgang Henrich, Larry Hinkson, Boris Tutschek
Provisional planning:
Format: hybrid=in-person and online
Dates Friday 8 and Saturday 9, May 2026
Venues
- Charité Campus Mitte (Friday course 16.00-19.00), Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin
- Charité Campus Virchow (clinic tour Friday 14.00-15.00), Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin
- Faculty hotel (TBC, near Charité Mitte)
- private location (Faculty dinner Friday 20.00-23.00)
- Congress TBC (Saturday, near Charité Mitte) TBC
- Congress dinner (Saturday 20.00-23.00), TBC
Events
- Guided tour Charité Virchow Obstetrics: Charité Campus Virchow (Friday 14.00-15.00, Henrich)
- Pre-congress course: Charité Mitte (Friday 16.00-19.00, Henrich, Hinkson, ISLANDS Faculty)
- Faculty only: Dinner Friday 20.00-23.00 at private location (20.00 bus transfer to faculty hotel and 23.00 back to hotel)
- Saturday CONGRESS (Saturday 8.30 to 17.30, near Charité Mitte)
- Saturday evening: Congress dinner, open to all registered participants, registration required
Participation fees
- Saturday Congress and Friday pre-congress course Euro 100 p.p. (in person or online) I For midwives and Midwifery trainees only: pre-congress Friday only, online only: Euro 50 p.p.
- Congress Dinner (separate registration required) Euro 100 p.p., open only for congress attendees and accompanying persons
Congress and course content outline
The Saturday congress MUST NOT contain any overview or how-to lectures.
ONLY unpublished data or presentation of recently published studies (publications during the 24 months preceding the congress) will be considered.
Each participant may present ONLY ONE lecture live. Submission of further lectures is possible, but such lectures MUST be submitted as video recording (max 10 minutes each) before the event and, if accepted, will be available to registered participants for eight weeks after the event.
For ISLANDS Faculty only: Mini-lectures: = overview lectures of no more than 5 min duration are requested from ISLANDS Faculty for the mini-lectures for the Friday course. Additional or longer lectures (overview, historical or others) may be sent in beforehand as video recording (NOT PPTX; video length: unlimited) for display by registered course participants via the course website.
Live lectures must be presented in person and in Berlin. Other lectures (video recording, max 10 minutes each) may be submitted by congress participants and may be accepted, but will be available ONLY for review via the course website and will NOT displayed during the congress.
Detailed program Pre-congress course Friday (Venue: Charité Mitte):
| Starting from | Topic | Duration of lecture (minutes) | Lecturer |
| 16.00 | Opening, Welcome, Program overview | 10 | Henrich |
| 16.05 | Pre-recorded mini-lectures max, 5 min each by ISLANDS founders (total 1 hr) | 60 | ISLANDS Faculty |
| 17.05 | Lecture: How labor word newbies are introduced by experienced trainees in Charité Obstetrics | 20 | NN Charité staff |
| 17:35 | live scan 1 (15 min, from Charité Mitte labor ward, 10 min discussion): How we do an admission US | 15 | NN Charité staff |
| 18:05 | Lecture: Which techniques we use to determine birth progress (for head station, occiput position) | 20 | Hinkson |
| 18.35 | live scan 2 (20 min, from Charité Mitte labor ward, 5 min discussion): How we determine birth progress and what we assess before OVD | 25 | Hinkson |
| 19:00 | Closing remarks | ISLANDS faculty | |
| From 20.00 | ISLANDS Faculty only: Faculty dinner |
Note: Pre-recorded mini-lectures by ISLANDS founders, max. 5 min each, (total 1 hr), MUST be submitted electronically to Boris by 30 April 2026. A video containing all these lectures will be produced and shown during the opening of the Friday course.
Program outline Congress Saturday (Venue: location near Charité Mitte):
| Starting from | Topic | Duration of lecture (minutes) | Chair |
| 8:30 | Opening, Welcome, Program overview | 10 | Henrich |
| 8:40 | Section 1: pre-labor studies | 60 | ISLANDS Faculty |
| 8:40-10:40 | Each lecture may be max. 10 min presentation each plus 5 min discussion
|
8*15 | |
| 10:40-11:10 | Coffee break | 30 | |
| 11:10 | Section 2: intrapartum/birth progress | ISLANDS Faculty | |
| 11:10-13:10 | Each lecture may be max. 10 min presentation each plus 5 min discussion
|
8*15 | |
| 13:30-14:30 | Lunch break (lunch provided on site) | 25 | |
| 14:30 | Section 3: US before and during OVD | 60 | ISLANDS Faculty |
| 14:30-16:40 | Each lecture may be max. 10 min presentation each plus 5 min discussion
|
8*15 | |
| 16:30-17:00 | Coffee break | 30 | |
| 17:00 | Section 4: new developments | ISLANDS Faculty | |
| 17:00-18:30 | Each lecture may be max. 10 min presentation each plus 5 min discussion
|
6*15 | |
| 18:30 | Closing remarks | Henrich, ISLANDS faculty | |
| from 20:00 | Congress dinner | Faculty, all registered participants |