Date: 4 November 2026

Location: NH Brussels EU Berlaymont Hotel – Brussels, Belgium

The European Epilepsy Summit 2026 will bring together stakeholders from across the epilepsy and brain health communities to discuss the positioning of epilepsy within emerging brain health ecosystems and explore opportunities to strengthen collaboration and advance epilepsy priorities in Europe.

Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director of the European Brain Council (EBC), will participate in the Leadership Panel: “Positioning Epilepsy in Emerging Brain Health Ecosystems”. The session will take place on 4 November, from 15:55 to 16:25, and will address the role of epilepsy within the evolving brain health landscape.

For further information about the event and the programme, please visit the official European Epilepsy Summit 2026 website.

Date: 9 November 2026

Location: Maison Irène et Frédéric Joliot-Curie, Brussels, Belgium

The NeurotechEU Alliance will host Connected Brains, Connected Europe: NeurotechEU Brussels Forum on 9 November 2026 in Brussels. The event will bring together stakeholders from research, industry, education and European policy to discuss developments in the neurotechnology ecosystem and explore opportunities for collaboration across sectors.

The forum will address European research and innovation policy, the challenges facing the neurotechnology ecosystem, and ways to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness in this rapidly evolving field.

Frédéric Destrebecq, Executive Director of the European Brain Council (EBC), will participate in Panel 2: “Co-innovating the Future – Joint Recommendations for the Neurotech Ecosystem.” The session will bring together perspectives from academia, industry and European policy to identify key barriers, explore actionable solutions and develop recommendations for a stronger, more resilient and competitive European neurotechnology ecosystem.

For further information about the event and the programme, please visit the official NeurotechEU event page.

We are delighted to bring the brain community together once again for the 6th edition of the Brain Innovation Days, a dynamic two-day event designed to inspire collaboration and accelerate innovation across the brain ecosystem.

On 18–19 November 2026, this year’s event will take place at Area 42 in Brussels, offering a vibrant setting for creativity, knowledge exchange and partnership-building. The programme will feature inspiring plenary discussions alongside interactive sessions designed to spark dialogue, collaboration and new ideas across the brain community.

Innovation Hall

The Innovation Hall is the vibrant networking hub of the Brain Innovation Days, where attendees can discover cutting-edge technologies, breakthrough research and emerging solutions shaping the future of brain health. It is the perfect place to connect with innovators, researchers, clinicians, industry leaders and investors in a dynamic networking environment beyond the plenary programme.

Are you developing an innovative solution, product or service in the brain space? Apply to showcase your work in the Innovation Hall and connect directly with a multidisciplinary audience of experts and decision-makers.

Pitch Competition

Advancing Care Pathways for Ataxia and Rare Neurological Diseases in Europe

10th of December 2026 | European Parliament

Rare neurological diseases represent a complex and under-recognised challenge for European health systems. These conditions are chronic, progressive and highly heterogeneous, requiring timely diagnosis, specialist expertise and long-term multidisciplinary care. Yet across Europe, patients still face diagnostic delays, fragmented referral pathways, uneven access to specialist centres and insufficient coordination between medical, rehabilitative and supportive services.

The European Brain Council’s Value of Treatment (VOT) project on ataxia, a rare neurological disorder that causes a loss of control of voluntary muscle coordination, has generated an important evidence base by demonstrating that patient care pathways matter. These studies found that patients attending specialist ataxia centres reported better understanding of their condition, more tailored care, better coordinated referrals and better satisfaction trends than those in non-specialist settings. The accompanying cost analysis showed that, within countries, resource use and total costs were broadly similar between specialist and non-specialist settings, while inpatient stays remained a major contributor to overall costs. The innovation of this work is therefore not only clinical, but also organisational and policy-relevant: it shows that better coordinated specialist care can improve patient experience and pathway quality without clear evidence of a systematic cost penalty. At the same time, innovation in ataxia is entering a new phase. Advances in genomics, biomarkers and emerging therapeutic approaches — including gene replacement, gene editing, oligonucleotide and protein-based strategies — are creating new opportunities in hereditary ataxias, even if major translational and access challenges remain. This makes the need for structured care pathways, expert centres and coordinated research-ready systems even more urgent, so that patients can benefit from both current best care and future therapeutic innovation.

Within EBC’s Rare Brain Disease Ecosystem (RBDE), the ataxia case study forms part of a broader project portfolio aimed at bridging neuroscience, clinical innovation and patient needs across rare brain conditions. In that sense, ataxia serves as a strategic entry point for addressing wider challenges shared across rare neurological diseases, including inequalities in access, fragmented care, emerging needs in genomics and health data, and the need to translate expertise into more coordinated and patient-centred pathways. The challenge is no longer only to document unmet needs, but to build shared priorities for implementation: how to improve earlier diagnosis, organise multidisciplinary follow-up, connect national systems with European expertise, and ensure that innovation translates into tangible improvements in patients’ lives. Such a meeting is essential to move from evidence generation to actionable policy recommendations and to ensure that future rare neurological disease strategies are informed by clinical expertise, lived experience and health system realities alike.

Meeting objective

This invite-only meeting aims to translate the European Brain Council’s Value of Treatment findings on ataxia into concrete scientific and policy priorities for Europe, while positioning ataxia within the broader Rare Brain Disease Ecosystem. Using ataxia as a strategic case study, the event will bring together experts, patient association representatives and policymakers to identify how earlier diagnosis, specialist multidisciplinary care, rehabilitation, patient-centred outcomes and cross-border expertise can be better integrated into care pathways for ataxia and other rare neurological diseases. The goal is to support more coordinated, equitable and forward-looking care models and to inform the next phase of European action on rare brain diseases.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Biogen for sponsoring this event.

The 13th Congress of the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 12–15 June 2027, bringing together neurologists and healthcare professionals from across Europe and beyond for four days of scientific exchange, education and collaboration.

With the overarching theme “Transforming Neurology: Embracing Every Brain”, the congress will explore the latest advances across the full spectrum of neurology, with a particular focus on the frontiers of treatment and the opportunities offered by rapidly evolving science and technology. Topics will include genetics, immunology, neuroprotection and precision medicine, as well as disease-modifying therapies, personalised interventions and integrated digital health approaches.

A comprehensive scientific programme of lectures, symposia, workshops and interactive sessions will showcase new insights and developments in neurological research, diagnosis, treatment and patient care, while providing opportunities for discussion and exchange with experts and colleagues from around the world.

Against the backdrop of Gothenburg, EAN 2027 will offer an inspiring setting to discover the latest developments in neurology, share knowledge and connect with the wider neurological community.

The 2027 IBRO World Congress will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 13–16 September 2027. Organised by the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), the congress will bring together neuroscientists, clinicians, researchers and students from around the world to exchange the latest advances in neuroscience.

The 2027 edition will be the first IBRO World Congress to be hosted on the African continent.

Further information on registration, the scientific programme, abstract submission and accommodation is available on the official congress website.