Annual Meeting 2026 - Oxford, UK: Overview

The meeting will take place from 8th to 11th December 2026 and will be based primarily at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford.

A workshop on quantitative approaches to palaeobiology as well as tours of the Museum of Natural History collections and the University’s colleges will take place on the morning of 8th December. These will be followed by a themed symposium on “The Deep Time Insights into Major Evolutionary Transitions”. The symposium will include a diverse range of researchers at different career stages to showcase how fossil specimens reveal major evolutionary transitions. An ice-breaker reception will be held that evening at the Museum of Natural History, providing the opportunity for delegates to take in the new re-display project in its main court.

The main scientific sessions of talks and posters will be held on 9th and 10th December. The Annual Address will be given by Professor Anjali Goswami FRS in the late afternoon of 9th December and will be followed that evening by the Annual Dinner at historic Merton College, founded 1264.

In order to register for the Annual Meeting, please log into the Palaeontological Association website. Conference registration is available via a link in the Events tab at the top of your user dashboard, shown below (for a logged in member). 

Members: All members automatically have an account: please click on the black button below left to visit the dashboard.

Non-members: In order to register for the conference, you will first need to create a user account on our website. This will provide access to the user dashboard, via which registration and abstracts are processed. Please click on the yellow button below right, to create a user account, and when you have done so, visit your dashboard.

Oral presentations (full 15 min talks and shorter lightning talks) will be held across parallel sessions. There will be dedicated poster sessions each day.

All delegates should plan to attend in person; unfortunately, we do not have the facility to allow for virtual attendance at the meeting in Oxford.

Oxford is a compact city with excellent transport links and several hotels and areas for eating and drinking within walking distance of the meeting venue. The meeting venue, the Mathematical Institute, is on the edge of the vibrant Jericho area of Oxford and neighbours the new Schwartzman Centre for the Humanities.

Walton Street and Little Clarendon Street in Jericho host numerous bars, restaurants, and eateries. The nexus of Radcliffe Square, Broad Street, and High Street is around 5 mins walk and, during the meeting, Broad Street will host the city’s annual Christmas market. Blackwells bookshop with its vast Norrington Room is well worth a visit, and the University’s Ashmolean, History of Science, Natural History, and Pitt Rivers museums, as well as the Bodleian Library and the University’s Botanic Gardens are all in close proximity to the meeting venue. 

Information about visiting the University of Oxford and a University Map are also available.

Getting to Oxford by train: Oxford has a train station with direct links to both London Paddington (Great Western Railway) and London Marylebone (Chiltern Railways) as well as cross-country services. To book trains please visit nationalrail.co.uk. 

Getting to Oxford by air: Oxford is around 1 hr from London Heathrow with a direct coach service, Oxford Airline regularly connecting the airport to the city centre. The same coach service also serves London Gatwick. 

Getting to Oxford by road: It is best to use the park-and-ride services to access the city centre if coming by car. Parking is available at the Westgate Centre  and other central Oxford car parks but there is now a congestion charge. It is planned to replace the congestion charge with traffic filters by the time of the Annual Meeting. If travelling from central London, bus travel is also available to central Oxford via the Oxford Tube.

Delegates are strongly encouraged to book their accommodation as early as possible to avoid disappointment and to get the best rates. There are numerous options for accommodation in central Oxford from hotels to college rooms.

College Rooms 

The organising committee has secured a suite of double en-suite rooms at University College’s new Univ North site specifically for PalAss. The site is located between Staverton and Rawlinson Roads. The rooms cost £132 per night inc. breakfast. To book, please visit University Rooms and use the code: PALASSCONFERENCE. 

Hotel Accommodation

Hotel accommodation may also be booked through the usual online resources. Hotels in proximity to the meeting venue include: 

Premier Inn Westgate

Easy Hotel Summertown 

Mercure Oxford Eastgate

A limited number of oral and poster presentation slots have been ring-fenced for delegates from low- and middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) who submit an abstract for consideration and are able to attend in person. Registration fees can be waived for researchers from low- and middle-income countries (LMIC). In this instance, please email the Executive Officer, Dr Jo Hellawell (executive@palass.org) for a link to allow you to complete registration and then upload your abstract. Please note that registration fee waivers are only available to LMIC delegates, solely for the purpose of facilitating presentation of their research.

Grants are made to support student members (doctoral and earlier) travelling from outside Oxford to attend the Annual Meeting to present a talk or poster and who have no other recourse to funds. Payment of these awards is given as a disbursement at the Meeting, not as an advance payment. Please see the requirements and appropriate uses of funds on the Association website. Details for how to apply will be announced in the summer.

Bursaries of up to £300 are made to support attendance at the Annual Meeting by Association members with caring responsibilities. Applications will be assessed by the PalAss Diversity Group and awards will be made on a first-come first-served basis. Successful awards will be paid retrospectively on the submission of receipts. Please see the requirements and appropriate uses of funds on the Association's website under the 'Resources and Support' tab. Deadline is 8th November 2026.