Here is a comprehensive list of the education events and opportunities that will support your continuous professional development - from webinars to conferences.
Click on a drop down to get more information about a particular event and as well as how to book or take part.
Please contact us at education@mndassociation.org if you have any queries about our education offering for health and social care professionals.
The Annual Stephen Hawking MND Lecture 2025
We are delighted to announce that registrations are open for the Annual Stephen Hawking Lecture, which will be delivered by Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics. This is a popular event that attracts hundreds of health and social care professionals each year to explore how to integrate current research in their MND practice. Learn more about past events here.
The genetics of motor neurone disease: why does genetics matter for people living with MND? - 4 November 2025
We are delighted to have Professor Ammar Al-Chalabi, Professor of Neurology and Complex Disease Genetics, deliver the 2025 Annual Stephen Hawking MND Lecture and explore the relevance of genetics for anyone living with MND. Join us online from 7pm (GMT) or attend the lecture in person at 1 Wimpole Street, London, where you'll have the opportunity to join a drinks reception following the lecture.
Aim: The aim of the Annual Stephen Hawking MND Lecture is to bring current research in motor neurone disease to members of the multidisciplinary team and demonstrate how this might feed into their practice.
Date: Tuesday 4 November 2025
Time: 7.00pm – 9.00pm GMT
Cost: Free to attend
Venue: Online via a dedicated platform or at the Royal Society of Medicine (Please indicate your preference on the booking form).
Objectives of the 2025 Lecture:
- to understand the relevance of genetics for everyone living with MND
- to provide an overview of what we know about genes and their role in MND
- to introduce and explore the process of genetic testing and the implications for people living with MND and their families – including diagnostic and predictive testing
- to explore how to support people living with and affected by MND with decisions relating to genetics.
By the end of the lecture, attendees will have:
- a better understanding of the genetic aspects of MND and the process of genetic testing
- been introduced to how genetics can be used in diagnosis and how it's relevant for unaffected family members
- an awareness of how genetic knowledge is shaping treatments
- an increased awareness of how to discuss genetics in a meaningful and useful way in their practice.
Please note this is a hybrid event. Indicate in the booking form whether you prefer to attend in person or online. In-person places are limited due to venue capacity, and they will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
Webinars
Complementary therapies: what are they and how might they be used with someone living with MND? - Date to be announced
Pre-recorded webinar – release date to be announced
Aim: To explore the range of complementary therapies which might be of use to people living with MND.
Objectives:
- to give an overview of what complementary therapies are
- to examine the use of complementary therapies for people living with and affected by MND
- to provide examples of how complementary therapies have been integrated with medical care
- to consider any research into the efficacy of complementary therapies in this patient group.
By the end of the session, you will:
- have an understanding of what is meant by complementary therapies
- be able to recall a variety of complementary therapies and how they might be employed in MND
- have been introduced to a setting in which complementary therapies have been successfully used
- have heard from a person living with MND about their experience with complementary therapies.
Speaker: Dr Lisa Bushby, Senior Occupational Therapist at St Oswald's Hospice, Honorary Research Fellow at Newcastle University and Honorary Contract for Specialist Occupational Therapy and clinical Hypnosis at the Newcastle Motor Neurone Disease Care and Research Centre
View speaker biography
Register to receive this webinar on its release
Lung volume recruitment (LVR) bags for people with MND - 21 October 2025
Time: 2.00pm - 3.00pm (GMT). Please note the time change from our normal schedule.
Aim: This MND webinar will explore the Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in Respiratory Care (ACPRC) technical standards for lung volume recruitment bags.
By the end of the session, you will have:
- a better understanding of what LVR bags and the physiology behind them
- an increased awareness of the evidence base for LVR bags
- an understanding of the ACPRC technical standards and how to assemble an LVR kit.
Speaker: Stephanie Mansell MSc BSc (Hons) MCSP, Consultant Physiotherapist, NIHR Doctoral Research Fellow, Honorary Research Fellow - Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, University College London
MND respiratory care in the community – 3 November 2025
Time: 11.00am – 12.30pm
Aim: To explore home based respiratory support for MND patients.
By the end of the session, you will have:
- an understanding of the operation of a home NIV service
- an understanding of the MDT members involved in supporting respiratory care at home
- an introduction into the basics of home NIV
- the ability to identify the common issues with cough augmentation for MND patients with bulbar weakness
- an understanding of the suggested strategies to optimise cough augmentation for MND patients with bulbar weakness.
Speakers:
- Kathryn Crawford, Respiratory Specialist Physiotherapist, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
- Charlotte Massey, Specialist Neuromuscular and Respiratory Physiotherapist, NIHR Doctoral Fellow, Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience
Speaker biographies:
Conversations with...
"Conversations with..." are brief, 30-minute events that explore topical issues in MND care, driven by the needs and interests expressed by the professional community. They are always online and feature an informal conversation between a host and a subject specialist, responding to questions submitted by the MND community either before or during the event.
The aims are to provide professionals with opportunities to:
- share their interest in areas of MND care
- have their questions answered by subject experts
- highlight specific needs within the MND community.
Questions for each event can be sent to education@mndassociation.org.
Booking is not required - simply drop in using the Zoom link provided in the event description.
All "Conversation with..." will be recorded and uploaded to our webinars page for future viewing.
Details of future sessions coming soon.
Workshops
A workshop is a brief, intensive educational program focussing on techniques and skills delivered to a relatively small group of people. Workshops are usually delivered face to face, but with careful planning could be online. The features of a workshop are that they:
- pass on knowledge and instruction around a specific skill set
- provide significant real time opportunities for participants to practice the skills being taught
- wherever possible will have some form of formal accreditation for the skills being passed on.
We use our MND Association workshops support when a key skill deficit has been identified and it is appropriate for the Association to make a response. The aim, as with all of our education provision, is to supplement existing health and social care training with MND-specific content to enhance professionals’ understanding of the disease and how to provide the best possible support. In a workshop this enhancement is very practical with clear links to practice.
Dietetics workshop - The nutritional management of people living with MND (Various dates and locations)
Dates and Locations:
- 17 November 2025 – National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL
Time: 09:45-16:00
Cost: £50.00 View Events Cancellation Policy
These workshops will be delivered by subject experts. It has been endorsed by BAPEN and has CPD accreditation.
Aim: To introduce members of the MDT to the effective nutrition management of people living with MND.
By the end of the one-day session, participants will understand:
- the impact of nutritional status on the outcomes of people living with MND
- how to identify and monitor the nutritional status of people living with MND, including malnutrition screening
- the nutrition support interventions available to prevent or resolve malnutrition including oral and enteral nutrition options
- the dysphagia management of people living with MND
- how to support people living with MND to make informed decisions about the option to have a gastrostomy
- the management of people living with MND on enteral nutrition
- how to apply the above in real-world practice.
Speaker biographies: Coming soon
MND Respiratory problems in MND: a multidisciplinary team approach (Various dates and locations)
Dates and Locations:
- 12 November – National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), Society Building, 8 All Saints Street, London, N1 9RL
Time: 09:00-16:00
Cost: £50.00 View Events Cancellation Policy
These one- day face-to-face workshops are aimed at all members of the MDT who would like to learn more or are interested in respiratory assessment and management. They will be delivered by subject experts and have been endorsed by SiLVaH and also have CPD accreditation
Aim: To introduce nurses and allied health professionals to respiratory assessment and management for people living with MND.
By the end of the one-day session, participants will:
- have been introduced to respiratory failure, and its progression, in the context of MND
- be better able to recognise the indications of possible respiratory failure from other symptoms
- be able to describe the respiratory assessments, including sleep studies, which may be performed on people living with MND with suspected respiratory failure
- have been introduced to evidence which supports the use of non-invasive ventilation (NIV) with MND patients
- understand the equipment and different modes and settings used in NIV
- be able to explain secretion clearance and cough assistance techniques in order to support the people with MND in their care and prepare them for the procedures
- have been introduced to some of the pharmacological options for secretion management
- have had an opportunity to explore case studies and through knowledge application and discussion identify the presenting problem and the appropriate action to take.
Speaker biographies: Coming soon
Competency sessions
A Competency Session provides tuition by an expert, or experts, delivered to an audience of health and social care professionals with a desire to build proficiency, knowledge and ability in a defined area of practice, to then implement and develop skills.
They may be delivered face to face or online depending on the subject matter. Wherever possible, they are accredited by the CPD Accreditation Service and a relevant professional organisation.
The features of a competency builder are that they:
- have a running time up to a full day, dependent upon the subject matter
- are taught by an expert that has achieved mastery of the competency
- may have a clearly defined practical element to them
- provide an opportunity for participants to interact with and learn from each other
- include the provision of a reference list of further reading and resources to support ongoing learning.
We use our MND Association Competency Sessions to respond to significant expressed or identified needs. The aim, as with all our education provision, is to supplement existing health and social care training with MND-specific content to enhance professionals’ understanding of the disease and how to provide the best possible support. In a Competency Session, this enhancement is at an advanced level.
Details of upcoming sessions coming soon.
Information and Knowledge Exchanges
Information and Knowledge Exchange events are exclusively for members of the MND Professionals' Community of Practice, a peer led group of health and social care professionals encouraging and supporting the development of good care for people living with, or affected by, MND.
