ASM 2026 – Straight
to the Heart in Sydney
We are delighted to share that the 2026 CICM Annual Scientific Meeting 'Straight to the Heart', held at the Hyatt Regency Sydney, was an outstanding success, and a milestone event for the College.
With a record number of 640 attendees, this year’s ASM reflected the strength, engagement, and collaborative spirit of our intensive care community. The scale and quality of the meeting were made possible through the extraordinary time, effort, and attention to detail contributed by so many.
The ASM opened with a vibrant Pre-Conference Day, welcoming 300 participants across workshops, symposia, and hands-on learning sessions. The strong turnout demonstrated the value of early engagement and the tone for the days that followed.
A new highlight this year was the CICM Learning Hub, which hosted a series of well-attended College-led sessions, including Navigating the CPD Platform, the Education Lunch Session, the ANZCA/CICM Dual Training Recognition Procession Information and Q&A, Morning Tea with the Sustainability Special Interest Group, and a Return-to-Work session. All sessions proved extremely popular. We look forward to expanding College and Special Interest Group offerings at the 2027 ASM. If you are interested in hosting an event, please contact the CICM Events Team at [email protected].
The CICM
Lounge was another success, providing a welcoming space for genuine networking
and connection. It served as the home of the daily ePoster presentations during
Morning Tea and hosted the Paediatric Networking Corner lunch. It was
wonderful to see so many colleagues connecting throughout the conference.
Our sincere thanks go to the ASM 2026 Organising Committee, whose dedication shaped a rich and distinctive program: Co-Convenors Idunn Morris and Pierre Janin, along with Priya Nair, Lewis McLean, Elizabeth Fugaccia, Kylie McArdle, James Pearlman, Cartan Costello, Elena Cavazzoni, Marino Festa, Taylor Beatty, and Andrew Miller, plus ICU Update Co-Convenors Jeremy Cohen and Renee Battson, USIG Symposium Convenor Vinodh Nanjayya, and Trainee Symposium Convenor Derick Kofi Adigbli.
A key highlight of the ASM was the Graduation Ceremony, where we proudly celebrated 59 new graduands and recognised Bruce Lister’s outstanding contribution to intensive care medicine as the 2025 College Medal recipient. Bruce also gave an insightful oration that was both inspiring and though-provokingThe College also recognised excellence through our annual awards: Dr Ahmad Nasser (the inaugural Rinaldo Bellomo Award), Amy McGowan and Benjamin Young (Felicity Hawker Medal), Dr Yao Dong Tang (Best Free Paper), and James Berry and Thaveen Tellambura (Gillian Bishop Medal 2025).
Save the Date: The CICM ASM 2027 will be held in Adelaide at the Adelaide Convention Centre, with the Pre-Conference Day on 26 May and the Conference from 27–29 May, led by Co-Convenors Mark Plummer and Michael Farquharson.