The International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics (ISPO) has opened applications for participation grants designed to help professionals from low- and middle-income countries attend the 21st ISPO World Congress in Bangkok, Thailand, from 22–25 March 2027.
For prosthetists, orthotists, educators, researchers and other rehabilitation professionals across much of the IMEA region, the scheme could significantly reduce one of the biggest barriers to participating in major international congresses: cost.
Eligible applicants can receive complimentary World Congress registration together with financial support of between €250 and €1,000 towards attending the event.
Applications are open until 1 November 2026 at 23:59 UTC, according to ISPO’s announcement.
The initiative is specifically aimed at improving representation from countries where the cost of international registration, flights and accommodation can otherwise make participation difficult.
Who can apply?
The grants are open to ISPO members in good standing who are both native to and resident in a country classified as a:
- Low-income country
- Lower-middle-income country
- Upper-middle-income country
Eligibility therefore potentially covers a large proportion of professionals working across Africa, South Asia and parts of the Middle East.
This is especially relevant for the IMEA community because many of the regions facing the greatest shortages of rehabilitation professionals and assistive technology are also those least represented at major global scientific meetings.
ISPO already uses World Bank income classifications within its World Congress registration structure, with fees linked to the income category of the country in which a participant works.
The participation grant programme takes that principle further by providing direct financial assistance to eligible members.
Complimentary registration plus up to €1,000
Successful applicants will receive complimentary registration for the ISPO World Congress as well as a participation grant ranging from €250 to €1,000.
For professionals travelling internationally, this does not necessarily cover the entire cost of attending, but removing the registration fee while contributing towards travel or accommodation could make the congress significantly more accessible.
That is particularly important for younger CPOs, university educators, researchers and clinicians working within government or charitable rehabilitation services where international conference budgets may be extremely limited.
For some applicants, a grant may be the difference between following the event online and being able to participate directly in Bangkok.
Bangkok becomes the global P&O meeting point
The 2027 congress will take place from 22 to 25 March 2027 at the IMPACT Forum, part of the IMPACT Exhibition and Convention Center in Bangkok.
ISPO describes its World Congress as its flagship international meeting, bringing together professionals working in prosthetics, orthotics, wheelchairs, assistive technology and rehabilitation services. The event is held every two years in different parts of the world; Bangkok follows Stockholm in 2025 and Guadalajara in 2023.
The theme for 2027 is:
“A World Connected: Advancing Assistive Technologies for Global Equity.”
That theme is particularly appropriate given the participation grant programme.
Global equity in assistive technology cannot only mean making devices more accessible to patients. It also requires giving clinicians, educators and researchers from lower-resource healthcare systems opportunities to participate in the conversations that shape the profession.
More than a scientific conference
For CPOs from emerging markets, the value of attending a World Congress can extend well beyond individual lectures.
The four-day programme will bring together speakers and participants from different clinical disciplines and healthcare systems, while the international exhibition will provide access to new prosthetic, orthotic and assistive technologies.
For professionals who may have limited opportunities to visit international manufacturers or specialist training centres, a congress can compress a considerable amount of professional exposure into several days.
Participants can compare technologies, meet other clinicians facing similar challenges, discuss education models and develop relationships that may later lead to training, research or clinical collaboration.
These connections can be particularly valuable for clinicians working in smaller P&O communities.
Important opportunity for educators and students
The World Congress is also becoming increasingly important for P&O education.
ISPO has actively encouraged early-career researchers and students to participate in the 2027 scientific programme.
Free-paper and poster abstracts remain open until 7 September 2026, while a 3 Minute Thesis competition is also included for students.
That creates an important opportunity for universities across IMEA.
A young researcher from Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria or another eligible country could potentially submit research for presentation while separately applying for financial support to attend the congress.
For P&O programmes attempting to develop stronger research cultures, international presentation experience can be particularly valuable.
Why representation from IMEA matters
The majority of global rehabilitation needs do not exist in wealthy countries alone.
Across IMEA, CPOs manage enormous caseloads associated with diabetes, road traffic trauma, conflict, congenital conditions, neurological disorders and ageing populations.
Many clinicians also work in circumstances very different from those found in highly resourced European or North American healthcare systems.
Those experiences need representation within international discussions.
A prosthetic solution that depends on expensive consumables, specialist maintenance or complex reimbursement may work extremely well in one health system and be impossible to sustain in another.
Likewise, approaches developed in lower-resource settings can offer valuable lessons in affordability, decentralised service delivery and local manufacturing.
Increasing attendance from emerging economies therefore benefits the wider profession rather than simply the individual grant recipient.
Bangkok provides easier access for much of Asia
The decision to hold the congress in Thailand also has practical advantages for professionals travelling from the Indian subcontinent and large parts of Asia.
For many attendees from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, Bangkok is geographically far more accessible than previous congress locations in Europe or the Americas.
ISPO itself describes Bangkok as an important gateway to the Asian market and an attractive international location for the 2027 meeting.
Combined with grant funding, this could make 2027 one of the more accessible World Congresses in recent years for professionals from the region.
CPOs should not leave applications until the deadline
The deadline for participation grant applications is 1 November 2026 at 23:59 UTC.
Professionals considering applying should first ensure that their ISPO membership is current and confirm that they meet the income-country and residency requirements set out by the organisation.
Those intending to present research face an earlier deadline: free-paper and poster submissions close on 7 September 2026.
The congress itself is increasingly taking shape, with participant registration opening in August 2026 and the full programme scheduled for publication in December.
For the IMEA P&O community, the participation grants represent more than subsidised conference attendance.
They provide an opportunity for clinicians and educators who are often geographically and financially distant from the centres of the international P&O industry to become directly involved in its largest global meeting.
And with Bangkok bringing the World Congress considerably closer to much of Asia in 2027, this may be one of the strongest opportunities in years for professionals from emerging economies to participate.
- ISPO – International Society for Prosthetics and Orthotics
- ISPO 21st World Congress 2027
- ISPO 2027 World Congress Event Information
- ISPO 2027 Call for Papers
- ISPO World Congress – Venue Information
- IMEA CPO