Medicosnext
The Department of Health Professions Education (HPEd) at Birat Medical College Teaching Hospital (BMCTH), Biratnagar, is set to host HPEd-CON 2026, a National Conference on Health Professions Education, from 17–19 September 2026. The event marks a decade of the department’s academic work (2016–2026) and aims to bring together educators, clinicians, researchers, policymakers, residents, and students under one roof for what organizers are calling a landmark platform for the future of health professions education in Nepal.
Nepal’s medical education system stands at a critical juncture. The shift toward Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) is no longer optional, it is the international benchmark against which local training programs are increasingly measured. Yet the infrastructure to support that shift, structured faculty development, curriculum design expertise, and a culture of local educational research, remains thin outside a handful of institutions.
HPEd-CON 2026 positions itself as a direct response to this gap. Rather than treating medical education reform as an abstract policy conversation, the conference brings the discussion to where it needs to happen: among the faculty, clinicians, and
administrators who design and deliver training day to day. For postgraduate and undergraduate students, it also offers something rarer in Nepal’s academic calendar, a dedicated research platform and awards system that treats scholarly work as a career
asset rather than an afterthought.
Three Pillars: Innovation, Inclusion, Impact
The conference is structured around three connected themes:
Innovation covers modern teaching-learning strategies, simulation-based training, technology-enhanced learning, and the practical mechanics of implementing CBME in resource-constrained settings.
Inclusion pushes for cross-disciplinary dialogue, thereby deliberately bringing medical, nursing, and allied health professionals into the same room, rather than running parallel, siloed conversations that rarely intersect in Nepal’s academic culture.
Impact is framed around outcomes: educational scholarship, leadership development in academic medicine, and outcomes-based frameworks that tie better teaching to better patient care downstream.
What’s on the Program
The conference opens with a full day of pre-conference workshops on 17 September, run in collaboration with two of Nepal’s established academic institutions. A morning session on Artificial Intelligence in Teaching, Learning & Assessment is being organized with B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, while an afternoon session on Assessment in Competency-Based Medical Education is being run with Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur. Each workshop is capped at 30 seats on a first-come, first-served basis, with registration open from 1 July to 15 August 2026.
The main conference runs 18–19 September, featuring keynote sessions, scientific oral and poster presentations, educational innovation showcases, and panel discussions. Confirmed international speakers include Dr. Dinesh Kumar Badyal, Professor & Head of Pharmacology and Vice-Principal (Medical Education) at Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, and Dr. Purnima Barua, Professor of Microbiology and Medical Superintendent at Pragjyotishpur Medical College and Hospital, Guwahati, both bringing in regional perspective from India’s medical education reforms.Organizers expect over 200 delegates, drawing national and international participation from medical, nursing, and allied health institutions, alongside academic leaders, policymakers, and researchers.
Registration and Key Dates
Abstract Submission 15 June – 31 July
Early Bird Registration 1 July – 31 July
Pre-Conference Workshops 17 September
Main Conference 18–19 September
Official Portal: https://bmcteachinghospital.com/hped-con-2026/
Registration fees are tiered by category faculty, postgraduate/undergraduate students, and administrative/non-teaching staff, with early-bird rates (NPR 2,000–3,000) closing 31 July, regular rates (NPR 2,500–4,000) running through early September,
and spot registration available on-site at a premium. Pre-conference workshops carry a separate NPR 1,000 fee per session.
Organizing Behind the Scenes The conference is chaired by Prof. Dr. Hem Sagar Rimal, Head of the Department of HPEd and Professor of Pediatrics, serving as Organizing Chairperson, under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Gyanendra Man Singh Karki, Chairman of BMCTH, as Chief Patron. Dr. Kopila Agrawal (Associate Professor, Physiology) serves as Organizing Secretary, with dedicated scientific, registration, and logistics committees drawing faculty from across BMCTH and partner institutions.
Getting Involved
Abstract submissions and registration are open now through the official conference portal: https://bmcteachinghospital.com/hped-con-2026/. For a decade, HPEd at BMCTH has quietly built one of Nepal’s more structured departments dedicated to how doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals are trained. HPEd-CON 2026 is its attempt to turn that decade of internal work into a national conversation, timed, deliberately, at the moment Nepal’s medical education system most needs one.
