The Annual Podium Conference on Sports Medicine & Technology is a two-day academic conference hosted by the Podium Institute and chaired by The Podium Institute’s Director, Professor Constantin Coussios OBE FREng, at the University of Oxford.
Our first two conferences have brought together an outstanding international community of researchers, clinicians, engineers, and sports professionals for two days of high-impact exchange focused on improving athlete health and safety. The conference aims to showcase enabling scientific developments that advance the prevention, detection, and treatment of sports injuries, with particular emphasis on the development, application, and validation of innovative wearable, vision-based, biomarker, AI, and robotic technologies. These advances are explored across youth, community, and professional sport, with the goal of transforming safety standards at every level.
Highlights from our first two previous conferences include keynote contributions from academics such as computer vision expert Professor Andrew Zisserman, alongside participation from major sports bodies, industry partners, and academic institutions. Contributors have included representatives from the Equestrian Safety Vest Working Group (ESVWG), the British Army, Rugby Football Union, Gloucester Rugby, NHS, and academics from the University of Bath, Imperial College, University College London, Boston University, Brunel Medical School, and the University of Oxford, among others.
All presentations are delivered in person in Oxford, fostering interesting discussions and collaboration throughout the conference.
Programme & Abstracts for the Podium Conference on Sports Medicine & Technology 2025
Programme & Abstracts for the Podium Conference on Sports Medicine & Technology 2024
Our inaugural conference, held at the University of Oxford on 26th –27th September 2024, featured sessions on Technologies for mental health, sleep, and rehabilitation – Wearable technologies – Computer vision – Big data and modelling – Personal Protective – Equipment (PPE) – Imaging and neuroimaging – Biomarkers. The first day ended in a gala dinner at Balliol college’s impressive dining hall.
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The second conference, held on 25th -27th September 2025, included over 30 presentations addressing key topics such as concussion, biomechanics, injury prevention, wearable technologies, and the ethics of biometric monitoring.
Standout sessions presented new insights into cumulative head impacts and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), innovative approaches to ACL reconstruction, and data-driven strategies to support youth athlete wellbeing. Spirited debate sessions added energy and depth, encouraging open dialogue on data governance, surveillance boundaries, and the balance between performance optimisation and long-term health.
On this occasion Podium also collaborated with Wiley to award three prizes for Best student presentation; Best young researcher presentation; Best newcomer presentation, and authors are invited to submit a manuscript to the journal Advanced Intelligent Systems.
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News item published on September 30th 2025