What will the next model of education look like?

Higher education is being reshaped from several directions at once. 

AI is changing how students learn and how capability is assessed. Employers are reconsidering the skills they need. International student demand and mobility are evolving, while universities are making difficult decisions about where to invest, how to grow and what institutional value will look like in the years ahead. 

At QS Reimagine Education 2026, these conversations come together. 

From 6–8 December in London, university leaders, educators, policymakers, employers, investors, founders and technology leaders will explore the changes already affecting education and the decisions institutions need to make next. 

The questions shaping education's future

What should the university of the future prioritise? 

Explore how institutions are responding to AI, changing student expectations, new learning models, research commercialisation and pressure to demonstrate stronger graduate and societal outcomes. 

Where will the next opportunities in international education emerge? 

Examine changing student flows, transnational education, global partnerships and new approaches to international presence as institutions reconsider where and how they grow. 

How should learning change in the age of AI? 

Move beyond the question of whether AI belongs in education and consider how assessment, teaching and learning should evolve when technology can increasingly produce sophisticated answers. 

What will count as proof of capability? 

Explore how employability, skills, lifelong learning and flexible credentials are changing as employers rethink what graduates need to know and what they need to demonstrate. 

Which education innovations can make the jump from idea to adoption? 

See how institutions, technology providers, founders and investors are approaching responsible AI, new learning models and the challenge of turning promising ideas into solutions that can work at scale. 

These conversations span the Future University, Future of International Education, Future of Learning, Future of Skills & Work and Investors tracks, creating opportunities to look beyond individual challenges and understand how the different parts of the education ecosystem connect. 

See education innovation in practice

Reimagine Education is also an opportunity to see what organisations around the world are already building and testing. 

This year's Reimagine Education Awards attracted 2,226 project entries from 101 countries, assessed by 1,634 expert judges, bringing a wide range of ideas in AI, assessment, learning design, employability, access and education transformation into the event.  

Come to London to compare ideas, challenge assumptions and explore what the next era of education could look like. 

QS Reimagine Education 2026 

6–8 December 2026 | London, UK

Best wishes,

QS Team