The annual Hopkins symposium at The Royal Children's Hospital covers practical topics in paediatric neurology and is designed primarily for general paediatricians. It honours Dr Ian Hopkins, Australia's first trained paediatric neurologist and founder of the symposium, who sadly passed away in 2019. Dr Hopkins commenced work as a paediatric neurologist at RCH in 1967 and was the inaugural Director of Neurology between 1977 - 1987. He retired from practice in 2001. The symposium has been run annually since 1979.

This year, the symposium will be held on Wednesday 4th March 2026 commencing with Grand Rounds "Childhood Dementia: empowering unified efforts to address unmet needs" at 12.30 pm from visiting neurologist Nick Smith and then continue into the afternoon. The symposium will focus on a mix of common paediatric neurology topics with highlights including childhood epilepsy, acute weakness and other important neurological presentations. We are also very fortunate to have Associate Professor Richard Goldstein, MD, visiting from Boston.  He will share with us his work on unexplained paediatric deaths. The program will finish with the quiz, with a prize for the winner. It will finish no later than 5 pm.  

This year, the symposium will again be held face-to-face with videoconference limited to regional centres only.  There is no registration fee.  Please register and indicate dietary requirements for afternoon tea (lunch will not be provided).

Hopkins Symposium 2026 Tickets, Ella Latham Lecture Theatre, Level 1, HELP, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville | TryBooking Australia

2026 Program