Liverpool has been successful in its bid to host the 21st International Microscopy Congress (IMC) in 2026.
The IMC is held every 4 years and regarded as the ‘Olympics of Microscopy’. The Congress will be attended by approximately 3,500 delegates from academia and industry in the microscopy world, along with a trade show involving almost 200 participants, many of them bringing electron microscopes.
The proposed theme for the event is ‘The Next Generation – Embracing the Responsible AI Revolution’ and the congress will provide a forum for lively scientific debate involving attendees ranging from Nobel laureates and industry leaders to technical experts and starting graduate students..
Leader of the bid and the congress chair, Professor Nigel D. Browning, Chair of Electron Microscopy in the School of Engineering at the University of Liverpool said:
“The congress provides a great opportunity to present to the world both the community spirit of the Liverpool City Region and the leadership in electron microscopy that is being established by the University of Liverpool, STFC Daresbury and other research institutions in the UK NW region”
A formal bid to host was submitted the International Federation of Societies for Microscopy (IFSM) at the end of November 2023, with partners Liverpool Convention Bureau and the Royal Microscopical Society (RMS), with the latter acting as Professional Conference Organisers. This included letters of support from University of Liverpool’s Vice-Chancellor, the EPVC Science & Engineering, the EPVC Health & Life Sciences, Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram, the Microscopy Society of Ireland, RMS, and the Electron Microscopy & Analysis Group.
A key part of the bid was to hold Early Scholars Program activities such as tutorials, workshops, demonstrations on University of Liverpool campus. These will be supported by the senior microscopists and instrument vendors from around the world.
Followingthe successful bid, further promotion of the congress for 2026 will be made available via a designated website. In the meantime, if you would like further information please contact the IMC21 head of operations, Jan Nugara from the Department of Materials, Design and Manufacturing Engineering at: fergujm@liverpool.ac.uk