Events and conferences

Founded by the Centre in 2001, INCLUDE is a leading conference series dedicated to inclusive and people-centred design. It serves as a unique platform for practitioners, academics, business leaders, and policymakers to collaborate.

INCLUDE London 2026

INCLUDE 2026 takes place in September at the Royal College of Art in Battersea, London, between 9–11 September 2026.  

We will explore how design research and practice considers ageing, gender, diverse abilities, neurodiversity, economic status, culture and social identity.

We invite participation in the conference through presentations, workshops or posters. Call for submissions closes on the 27 February 2026. 

The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design co-organises the Healthy City Design Congress.

The 10th Healthy City Design 2026 International Congress will be held at the Lowry in MediaCity, Salford, Greater Manchester, from 20–21 October.

The Call for Paper closes on the 1 April 2026.

The launch event will be held at the RCA (Battersea Campus) on the 24 February, from 5.30-8.30pm.

Centre staff are available to deliver lectures on a variety of topics based on topics including age and diversity; healthcare; inclusive design for business impact; and inclusive design for social impact.

Lectures can be tailored to a variety of needs and audiences.

Centre staff regularly feature at academic conferences, business forums, and as part of research or teaching engagements. Lectures cover methods, processes and case studies around inclusive design, design thinking and creative leadership.

The Centre supports conferences organised by other organisations, either through partnership or content provision. Major collaborations have included:

• Healthcare network Salus on two conferences - European Healthcare Design and Healthy City Design.
• The International Association of Universal Design conference series.

Alongside conferences, we also run and participate in seminars and workshops. We can partner with you to create a bespoke event or facilitate and produce small events on your behalf.

A highly successful format includes a four hour workshop using creative tools and methods to explore and map agendas for topics ranging from surgery to mobility, from autism to the office.

We have also delivered ideation events and internal workshops as part of professional development for government, business and the public sector, introducing people to the creative value of design.