Roadmap to Reimagine Education & Promising EdTech startups from around the world.

Hello 👋

Higher education is evolving quickly, and the data is clear: institutions are accelerating their work on AI, digital capability, entrepreneurship, and sustainability. This year’s Reimagine Education program surfaces many of the same signals we’re tracking globally—new models for teaching and learning, stronger innovation ecosystems, and a deeper commitment to impact.

With a dense lineup of sessions and speakers, finding the most relevant conversations can be a challenge. We’ve highlighted three themes that cut across the agenda—forward-looking areas that reflect where higher education is heading next. Whether you’re leading strategy, shaping digital transformation, or building the next wave of edtech, these are the sessions to keep on your radar.

⭐ AI & Digital Transformation in Post Secondary

Artificial intelligence, data-driven decision-making, and digital infrastructure are reshaping how institutions teach, operate, and support learners. These sessions explore how universities are moving from pilots to institution-wide digital strategy.

• Agentic Learning: AI’s Shift from Delivering Content to Understanding Context Monica Arés (Microsoft) & Professor David Lefevre (Imperial College London)
• GenAI in Action: Exploring University Use Cases with OpenAI Kelly Webb-Davies (University of Oxford) & Carlotta Reviglio (OpenAI)
• Beyond the Hype: Insights on AI-Ready Universities from Global Research. Sara Toms (IMD), Gillian Pillans (Corporate Research Forum), & Maria Spies (HolonIQ / QS)

⭐ Universities as Innovation Hubs & Entrepreneurial Ecosystems

Universities are expanding their role as engines of innovation, supporting entrepreneurship, scaling applied research, and building cross-sector ecosystems.

• Universities as Innovation Hubs: Cultivating Entrepreneurial Mindsets and Ecosystems  Jenny Zapf (University of Pennsylvania), Doug Lynch (USC Rossier School of Education) & Rose Xue (JMDedu).
• Latin America Innovation Showcase Patricia Aldape & Leticia Castaño (Tecnológico de Monterrey)
• Global EdTech Testbed Network: Scaling Innovation Through Real-World Classrooms Alison Clark Wilson (UCL) with partners from IE, TDM, and Korea

⭐ Sustainability & Social Impact in Education

Sustainability and social responsibility are now central to strategy and student expectations. These sessions spotlight how institutions are embedding climate action, experiential learning, and global citizenship at scale.

• Sustainability and Student Choice: How Universities Lead and Why It Matters Per Mickwitz (Lund University), Dan Munnerley (ASU)
• SDG Skills in Action: Experiential Global Learning Dan Munnerley (ASU),Tim Quine (University of Exeter), Andrew Patterson (University of Auckland), Janine De Villiers (Lenovo), & Zoya Zaitseva (QS)
• Youth Voices: From Campus to Communities Aashna Shah (QS ImpACT), Paul Morrison (Zoom), Heather Haseley, (Imperial College London)

Reimagine Education brings together leaders advancing this work through insights, practical models, and collaborative discussion. As you plan your time at the conference, keep these themes and sessions in focus. The future of higher education is unfolding now, and this is your opportunity to engage directly with the ideas driving it.

🏆 Catch up on the most promising EdTechs from around the world.

Each year, HolonIQ by QS identifies the 1000 most promising EdTech startups globally. Region by region, we build a picture of each market and how technology is used in education, from PreK to Lifelong Upskilling. If you haven't checked out our lists to-date. Now's a great time before we finish up the regional analysis.

Drawing on data from HolonIQ’s Global Analytics Platform, the lists highlight emerging strengths, shifting sector dynamics, and where innovation is accelerating across global EdTech markets.

Check out each publish analysis here.

⭐ AI & Digital Innovation Spotlight

⚛  Kazakhstan signed an MoU with Coursera to build a national digital learning platform incorporating AI-enabled assessments, proctoring, global certificates, and localized Kazakh-language content aligned with international standards.

🤝 Georgia State University and Google are launching a $6M AI Innovation Lab, aimed at giving Atlanta high school students hands‑on AI and machine learning education and mentorship, and Google volunteers will provide technical support.

⚙️The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Google have partnered to offer all students free access to Google AI Pro.

🤝 Policy & Partnerships

🔠 South Korea will invest $1B to develop AI talent from primary school through postgraduate level, in its “AI Talent Development Plan for All”, expanding AI-focused high schools and launching fast-track post-secondary degrees.

✨ The US Department of Education will allocate $167M via the FIPSE program in FY 2025 to support AI integration, accreditation reform, and short-term workforce education and $50M is earmarked for AI use in postsecondary learning tools and foundational AI/cs training.

🌡️ Uzbekistan is partnering with NVIDIA to develop national AI infrastructure and to establish an “AI Excellence Center” for educator training and specialist upskilling.

💪 Power Moves & Funding

👩🏻‍🏫 PhysicsWallah, an Indian tutoring provider, initiated its IPO valued at over $3.5B . The highly anticipated transaction garnered a 7% subscription on its first day.

📈 Tetr College of Business, a global business school, raised $17.5M in its first funding round to establish three new campuses in the United States, Europe, and Dubai. 

🤖 Miko, an Indian robotics start-up, raised $10.5M in funding to expand the learning and entertainment ecosystem for young users. 

🔄 Filiz, a French EdTech startup, has raised $7.0M to help private schools digitalize and streamline their operation.