Spinal Cord Injury Symposium
Driving Collaboration
Talk the Walk
The Spinal Cord Injury Symposium is an annual event to bring together those with a spinal cord injury, carers, clinicians, researchers and all interested stakeholders to present and explore the latest advancements in spinal cord injury research.
Included are presentations from national and international speakers who are dedicated to curing spinal cord injury. Discussions explore the latest advancements and the biggest challenges in spinal cord research. By fostering collaboration and communication, the Spinal Cord Injury Symposium seeks to share inspiration, motivation and insights.
The 2025 Spinal Cord Injury Symposium, Talk the Walk, was held at the University of Auckland on Thursday February 13th.
Attendees said:
“… a great combination of both science and patient-based talks.”
“Bringing researchers, clinicians, stakeholders, and people living with SCI together makes for a mixing pot of unique ideas and perspectives. “
“It’s really good to know the researchers, physio’s, OT’s and doctors are all looking at what developments can be made – not just walking. The nanotech I see each year still continues to surprise and supports that we’re moving in the right direction. I share some of this info with friends and family.”
“The calibre of the people involved was extremely high.”
“(As a researcher) having people with spinal cord injury in the same room was really great. Being given the opportunity to interact and learn from their expertise and their experience was very important and valuable to me. Internationally that’s very rare.”
“Having the ability to think and combine so many different disciplines and research problems, all in the same team – that’s world-leading.”
Prof. Darren Svirskis, Director of the CatWalk Cure Programme and Spine Squad lead, summed up Talk the Walk 2025.
“Thinking about the objectives we had, and on reflection, we achieved everything we wanted.
We bought people together. There were a lot of diverse discussions. We found overlap with other people in other institutions. We learnt from the paths that others have taken, like James St John from Griffith University. We learnt from the paths that Kitea Health has taken – in translating and commercialising science. It’s all really helpful to us. So, yeah, I think it was great.”
The 2025 Symposium sold out. Don’t miss your chance to attend Talk the Walk 2026. Check back here for details.
Spinal Cord Injury Symposium 2025
We drive:
Knowledge exchange:
To facilitate the sharing of cutting-edge research findings and innovative ideas.
Networking:
To provide a platform for networking and collaboration among spinal cord injury professionals and organisations.
Consumer defined needs:
To gather insights from those who matter most.
Strategic planning:
To align research efforts and set strategic priorities for the spinal cord injury research community.
