Come together at our first ever Members' Day!

05 March, 2025 News 3 minute read

Leading OT into the future: Impact, influence and innovation

We’re thrilled to host our first-ever Members' Day in Edinburgh on Tuesday 17 June 2025. It's a fantastic opportunity for us all to celebrate the centenary year of occupational therapy in Scotland.

We’re inviting you – our members - to join us for an exciting day dedicated to connecting with your professional body, networking with peers, and expanding your knowledge within our dynamic and thriving community.

We'll explore the future of occupational therapy through impactful practices, influential leadership, and innovative approaches.

Book your place

Spaces are limited – so book now to secure your ticket.

Date and time: 8.00am–6.30pm

Location: Edinburgh International Conference Centre, 150 Morrison St, Edinburgh EH3 8EE

What to expect:

Networking opportunities: Meet and connect with fellow members, listen to speakers from RCOT, and engage with our new networks and the volunteers who make them work.
RCOT Communities: By June, we hope many of you will be active on our new RCOT Communities platform. This platform will help you find like-minded professionals, form lasting relationships within your area of practice or region and break down barriers to specialist knowledge. Bring these online connections into the real world and contribute to the conversations shaping your professional organisation.
BAOT Annual General Meeting: Attend our British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT) AGM to ask questions about our governance and vote on any resolutions being raised.

The day will cover:

Driving our profession forward: Attend sessions led by us and UK OT leaders including discussions on research, innovation and AI.
Pillars of your communities: Meet with some of our new volunteers – leading networks and make invaluable connections.
Leadership and community change: Engage in discussions on occupation, leadership and community change with OT leaders.
Networking as a CPD opportunity: Discover how networking can enhance your professional development.

This is a fantastic opportunity to make connections, start conversations, and build lasting relationships. You'll have the opportunity to reflect on the future of the profession, gain new insights, and explore innovative ideas.

On the day

As sessions are confirmed we’ll update the agenda and confirm timings. You'll have opportunities to network throughout the day, and we've built in ‘time for you’ breaks. We're providing lunch and drinks during the refreshment breaks and we'd love you to join us for our networking drinks and nibbles after the AGM!

We look forward to seeing you there and continuing the conversations online afterwards!

Agenda

8.00am Registration opens

9.00-9.50am Opening plenary

10.10-11.55am Sessions

12.15-1.05pm Plenary session

2.00-2.50pm Sessions

3.05-3.50pm Plenary session

4.00-5.30pm BAOT Annual General Meeting

5.30-6.30pm Networking drinks

Ticket prices

Members £34.50

Learner members (students/apprentices) £19.50

Non-RCOT members £99

Just the beginning

This will be our first in-person event since the launch of our new RCOT Communities and other benefits. We'll be engaging with members in your networks to help inform and shape future regional and specialist events. 

We'll be using this year to reflect on and review our Annual Conference and how it works. We want to make it more accessible, support as many members of the OT community to attend as possible and continue to showcase occupational therapy to celebrate and raise the profile of the profession. 

We plan to bring an improved Annual Conference back in 2026.

Frequently asked questions

When will we hear more?

What about the AGM?

Why no Annual Conference this year?

We know that some members are eager for more in person events, and our Council are keen to hold our BAOT AGM in person. We need some time to review Annual Conference so that it best meets member needs, whether that’s online, as it has been for the past four years, or in person. While we’re doing that, we’re going to hold a slightly different and smaller event – a Members’ Day. This will be an in-person event, with the AGM as part of it.

When will the next Annual Conference be?

What about my 2025 abstract submission?

As we’re not running Annual Conference in 2025, it won’t be possible to submit abstracts. You could instead consider submitting your abstract:

to a specialist scientific conference
as an article for the British Journal of Occupational Therapy (BJOT)
as a poster for The OT Show taking place on Wednesday 26–Thursday 27 November 2025.

We’ll share more opportunities to submit abstracts when we hear about them. If you have a suggestion please let us know at Hello@rcot.co.uk.

Can I defer my abstract?

But we love Annual Conference!

We know how much attendees loves the Annual Conference – over 90% of delegates have rated recent conferences as 'good' or 'excellent.' However, even with around 1,000 attendees in both 2023 and 2024, we're still only reaching a small portion of our 36,000+ members. We want as many of you as possible to experience the Annual Conference, so we're focusing on making it more accessible to increase attendance. We're taking a close look at how we can achieve this in our planning and analysis.

What events are you running this year?

The Elizabeth Casson Memorial Lecture, on Wednesday 30 April 2025. It will be an online event, with Dr Charlie Chung delivering the lecture about the power of connecting, collaborating and mentoring.
Members’ Day, on Tuesday 17 June 2025 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre. It’ll be a great opportunity for members to network, listen to speakers, and engage with and help shape RCOT strategies.
BAOT AGM will be part of Members’ Day on Tuesday 17 June 2025.
We’ll also continue to have a significant presence at the OT Show, which this year will be held on Wednesday 26–Thursday 27 November 2025.

Sponsor an event

Our events bring together a thriving community of occupational therapists and support workers – including leaders, self-employed OTs and those with purchasing power.

If you'd like to get your product or service in front of an engaged audience at any of our events, contact advertising@rcot.co.uk to discuss partnerships and sponsoring opportunities. 

Sponsor an event

Our events bring together a thriving community of occupational therapists and support workers – including leaders, self-employed OTs and those with purchasing power.

If you'd like to get your product or service in front of an engaged audience at any of our events, contact advertising@rcot.co.uk to discuss partnerships and sponsoring opportunities.