Women in IR workshops

Following the great success of the Women in IR workshop at CIRSE 2024, two workshops will be organized this year, targeting trainees and early career IRs as well as more experienced IR consultants.

Participants for the two workshops will be preselected as the number of participants for the two and a half-hour workshops will be kept small, to allow the group the space to explore the topics at hand in depth. This also allows the coach to design the session around participants’ needs. All interested female IRs are invited to apply for one of the workshops (depending on criteria) from April 17 to May 29 via the application links below.

All applications will be assessed, and applicants will be notified by mid-June whether they will have a spot in the workshops. There will also be a waiting list for additional participants.

Date and venue

Saturday, September 13, 2025

CIRSE Annual Congress, CCIB Barcelona

• Workshop 1 (trainees and early career IRs): 09:00-11:30
• Workshop 2 (mid-career IRs): 16:15-18:45

Application criteria

To participate in these workshops, applicants must:

• be female
• be registered for the 2025 CIRSE Annual Congress (valid registration by August 24 mandatory)
• submit an application for either of the workshops by May 29, 23:59 CEST
• meet the specific professional experience criteria of the selected workshop (see workshop description)
• confirmed participants will be asked to complete a short piece of reflection before the session to bring with them to the workshop

Workshop 1: Women in IR workshop for trainees and early career IRs

At this workshop, an experienced executive leadership coach will work with trainees and early career consultant IRs, providing insights, tips and tricks to help women gain the confidence to lead with assurance, yet stay true to themselves. This highly interactive workshop focuses on empowering female IRs to exude confidence, command attention and captivate an audience when sharing ideas, speaking in meetings or presenting.

This workshop is designed for trainees and early-career female IRs who would like to reflect on how they practice and what may be holding them back.

Please note that this workshop is very similar in content to the highly popular 2024 Women in IR workshop, so those delegates who attended last year should instead consider applying for the Mid-career women in IR workshop.

You can apply for this workshop if you meet the above-mentioned participation criteria and if you have up to 10 years of practice as a consultant.

Workshop 2: Women in IR workshop for mid-career IRs

Participants will work with a senior executive leadership coach to explore some of the challenges that they may be encountering as they progress in their career and to develop strategies to empower them in the workplace. This highly interactive workshop will focus on themes such as building trust and credibility, leading with authority and negotiating with confidence, with an emphasis on practical skills as well as mindset.

This workshop is new for 2025. It is designed for mid-career female IRs who have experience of some of the challenges at this career stage and who are looking for strategies to help them thrive.

You can apply for this workshop if you meet the above-mentioned participation criteria and if you have more than 5 years of practice as a consultant.

Session coordinators

Dr Alex Barnacle
Interventional radiologist

Sarah Perugia
Executive leadership coach

Feedback and highlights from the 2024 workshop

“I am so impressed with this event. I joined the workshop because, not so long ago, one of my male colleagues had to give a presentation but he could not do it in the end, so the presentation was given to me and I found myself without any presentation skills and tools. This event is fantastic and I am so impressed with the organization, it’s excellent”

“It was an excellent workshop which really gave me awareness of ways to improve how I approach and better my presentation formal informal situations. Really great! Thank you, Sarah, Alex and CIRSE!”

“This was such an amazing topic and one of the first of its kind that I have seen at any IR conference. It focused on not the topic of medicine but developing you as a person, which some might say is more important. Kudos to CIRSE for supporting this.”

If you should have any questions regarding this workshop, please contact us at [email protected].

These workshops are kindly supported by Varian Medical Systems, Inc.

The support is provided through an educational grant without any attempt to influence the events programme, subjects for discussion, content, or choice of faculty members. The programme is compiled at the sole discretion of an independent programme committee.