CIRSE 2026 Sustainability Travel Grant winners go the distance

September 16, 2026

To promote sustainable travel to CIRSE 2026 in Copenhagen, grants were awarded to delegates choosing environmentally conscious routes to the congress. The three recipients with the most sustainable travel plans – Stefan Milošević, Naomi Ní Chléirigh, and Coosje Verhagen – were selected by the CIRSE European Trainee Forum jury to receive additional funding. The winners, who travelled by bus, rail, ferry, and even bike, were invited to share their journeys with CIRSE Insider.

This grant initiative was kindly supported by the City of Copenhagen. 

The top three Sustainability Travel Grant recipients from left to right: Naomi Ní Chléirigh, Coosje Verhagen, and Stefan Milošević

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your involvement in IR?

Milošević: I am a radiologist and Subspecialty Fellow in Interventional Radiology at the Center for Radiology, University Clinical Center of Serbia in Belgrade. Alongside my clinical training, I am a PhD candidate specializing in radiology. My daily work focuses on diagnostic abdominal and emergency imaging as well as minimally invasive endovascular and percutaneous procedures. At this stage of my career, my goal is to build advanced procedural skills, contribute to clinical research, and incorporate modern, evidence-based interventional techniques into patient care at my home institution.

Ní Chléirigh: I am a second-year radiology registrar on the Higher Specialist Training scheme in Cork, Ireland. I’ve been lucky to have some inspiring mentors in IR who have influenced my interest in the specialty and encouraged me to explore it further. IR brings together the things I enjoy most about radiology imaging – anatomy and problem-solving – but with a direct impact on patient care. The CIRSE Annual Congress is a really valuable opportunity to see how the specialty is developing internationally, learn from people with expertise in different areas, and bring some of that knowledge and enthusiasm back to my own training in Cork.

Verhagen: I’m a medical doctor currently doing my PhD at Leiden University Medical Centre in the Netherlands. My PhD focuses on thermal ablation of malignant liver tumours.

What motivated you to apply for the CIRSE 2026 Sustainability Travel Grant and to choose a more sustainable way of travelling to Copenhagen?

Milošević: As an early-career radiologist, attending the CIRSE Annual Congress is a vital opportunity for my professional development, but long-distance travel often comes with an environmental cost. The grant inspired me to critically evaluate my own travel footprint. I wanted to demonstrate that as healthcare professionals dedicated to improving patient health, we should also be conscious of environmental health. Choosing an overland route allowed me to align my personal commitment to sustainability with CIRSE’s initiative, proving that attending international scientific meetings can be done responsibly without relying on high-emission flights.

Verhagen: Working in healthcare, sustainability in clinical practice is a topic that is regularly discussed. To me, that conversation should also include how we travel to scientific meetings. By travelling by bicycle, I hope to inspire others that low-emission international conference travel is not only desirable, but also feasible and, above all, great fun. I find it very encouraging that CIRSE offers sustainability grants to support initiatives like this. For me, the grant was extra motivation and, most importantly, a practical support that made this journey possible. I hope that offering this kind of support will also encourage and inspire other colleagues to consider more sustainable ways of travelling to scientific meetings!

Ní Chléirigh: I wanted to challenge the idea that flying is the only realistic way to travel to an international medical conference. Coming from Cork, travelling by rail to Copenhagen is obviously a much longer journey (1,200 km) but I wanted to see whether, with a bit of planning and support, sustainable travel could be a realistic option. I also think the healthcare sector has a responsibility to consider its environmental impact, and that should extend to how we travel to conferences. The Sustainability Travel Grant made it much easier to make that choice, but I was also keen to experience it for myself. I wanted to show others that it doesn’t necessarily mean compromising on the conference experience.

What do you think could make sustainable conference travel more realistic for others?

Milošević: First, financial and institutional support is key. Grants like CIRSE’s make eco-friendly options viable for young doctors on tighter budgets. Second, better integration and synchronization of cross-border rail booking platforms would make planning long overland trips much easier. Finally, recognizing sustainable travel within academic institutions, such as offering flexible travel days for conference attendees who choose low-carbon routes over flying, would encourage far more clinicians to adopt green travel habits.

Verhagen: Sustainable travel is often more feasible than we think. There is a common assumption that sustainable travelling inevitably means much more travel time and effort, but with the options available nowadays, this is no longer true. Looking at the different approaches taken by my fellow grant winners, I am impressed by what is possible when the available options are properly explored and planned. Reflecting on my own way of travelling, I realize that my position as a PhD student (and of course the flexibility of my supervisor) gave me the unique opportunity to make this journey possible, since I was able to work remotely during parts of it.

Ní Chléirigh: The biggest barriers are probably time, cost, and convenience. If conferences provided clearer information about rail and other low-carbon travel options, and if there were financial incentives, I think more people would consider it. Time is probably the top issue for doctors in particular. If you’re taking several days to travel to a conference, it can be difficult when you’re already trying to organize annual leave and clinical/call cover. There’s also something to be said for changing the culture around it. If people see colleagues travelling by train, cycling, or using other alternatives and realize that it’s actually doable, it becomes less unusual.

Dr. Milošević

Dr. Milošević, you travelled from Belgrade to Copenhagen, combining bus and rail connections, including a night train. What was it like planning and completing such a long journey? How did the experience compare with flying?

Milošević: Planning required a bit more attention to logistics, especially coordinating the bus connection from Belgrade to Budapest due to the ongoing railway modernization along that corridor, and then aligning the EuroNight sleeper train to Berlin and the onward rail link to Copenhagen. However, the actual journey was remarkably smooth and enjoyable.

Compared to flying, where you deal with airport security, strict baggage limits, and wasted waiting time, travelling by night train turned travel time into restful sleep and productive prep time for the congress. It was a scenic, low-stress transit experience across Europe, proving to be both cost-effective and more rewarding than standard air travel.

Dr. Ní Chléirigh

Dr. Ní Chléirigh, you traveled by rail from Cork to Copenhagen. What do you think you gained from choosing a more sustainable way of travelling to CIRSE 2026?

Ní Chléirigh: I’m usually a person who is focused on getting from A to B as quickly as possible. With most aspects of life, I’m probably guilty of always rushing on to the next thing, so having to slow down and let the journey take a bit longer was really refreshing.

Instead of the journey being something I just had to get through before the conference started, it became part of the experience. I got to sit back, look out the window, travel through different countries, and actually enjoy where I was going. There was also something quite satisfying about looking at the map and realizing just how far I’d travelled from Cork without getting on a plane.

I think it changed my perspective on sustainable travel. I expected it to be more difficult and inconvenient, but actually, I really enjoyed it. It reminded me that sometimes getting there isn’t just about getting there as quickly as possible. The journey itself can be part of the experience. I’ll definitely look at travelling this way again when it’s practical.

Dr. Verhagen

Dr. Verhagen, you cycled almost 700 km from Groningen to Copenhagen over five days. What was the journey like? What did your colleagues think?

Verhagen: I really enjoyed the whole experience! I cycle a lot in my daily life, but I had never gone “bikepacking” before. Figuring out the best way to carry all my belongings on my bike, finding the best route, and choosing places to stay along the way was fun. During the journey, I had to deal with some heavy rain and strong winds, and my equipment also let me down from time to time (think flat tires and broken repair kits in the pouring rain). Looking back, these are the moments I mostly laugh about now.

The surroundings were especially beautiful. I worked remotely for one full day from the Danish countryside, which is something I would never normally have done. By travelling more slowly and putting more effort into the journey, I appreciated each place I arrived at much more. The same goes for this year’s great CIRSE location: Copenhagen.

My colleagues were very supportive and encouraging. Other people I spoke to along the way and during CIRSE were inspired and also very positive about the idea (although some thought I was a bit crazy)! I’m looking forward to exploring how to attend next year’s CIRSE in a similar way.

Photos from Dr. Verhagen’s journey