EAIE 2026: A new edition to "keep a finger on the pulse of change and drive it in Europe and beyond"

Novelties: A focus on China, a research angle and a study on international graduates

The 2026 EAIE will see a particular focus on China: "We are offering a Europe-China Forum in collaboration with the China Education Association for International Exchange. This is an opportunity to bring together delegates from China and Europe interested in Transnational Education in the Digital Age for a dedicated two-hour conversation," Rumbley explained. She also mentioned that this initiative aims to lay the groundwork to introduce other regional fora in the future.

The EAIE is also involved in the launch of a new report called Talent Without Borders. "This is the beginning of a longer-term project with Study Portals and Cambridge University Press, aiming to tell a meaningful, data-driven story about the experiences of international graduates: how it affects their trajectories and what we can learn about international education through those stories," Rumbley detailed.

The organisation is also launching two offerings with a research angle, an area in which the EAIE is doing more, according to Rumbley:

• "Last year, we launched a new programme to award five grants to individuals pursuing doctoral-level study and doing research specifically on internationalisation in higher education. Our conference is the culmination of these awardees' year-long grant experience. They will participate in various sessions to present their research, how the grant has affected their work and interesting research projects focused on our area.
• We are also launching the fourth iteration of the EAIE Barometer Survey. This is a large-scale survey of professionals who are working on internationalisation across the European Higher Education Area. We capture information about how they're seeing internationalisation playing out within their institutions and careers, and what it tells us about the health and vitality of the sector."

Key points of the conference: The ministers' roundtable, the European Commission and the alliances

The 2026 edition will also see key points of the conference making a comeback, like the ministers' roundtable session, with ministerial representation from Scotland, Ireland, Portugal, Ukraine and the European Commission for this fourth iteration.

"Alongside that, we'll be having a separate session bringing together actors from several key national agencies to talk about dynamics from their perspective. We're putting that session together with the Academic Cooperation Association (ACA)," Rumbley said.

Like in previous years, the European Commission will have a dedicated booth, surrounded by around 40 European university alliances. "For them to be there, to be so visible not only to European partners, but also as a global gateway to partners from outside Europe, hopefully has the value they are looking for," Rumbley added.

She said the Commission was one of the most important actors in the field, hence why they will have two dedicated sessions: one to present the latest developments and opportunities in the Erasmus+ programme and a special session on the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

"Because of the Commission's ambitions outside of Europe, they are also part of sessions with India and Africa, for example, and they are involved in a lot of sessions through topics like the Union of Skills, European university alliances and the European degree label," Rumbley concluded.

Countries and participants: "providing a space where diverging perspectives meet and find common ground"

Bakker was delighted to see the conference becoming "more and more global and, possibly because of developments elsewhere in the world, see a growing interest in collaborating with Europe". However, like in previous years, he wished to have more participants from Sub-Saharan Africa, a region they still try to attract to the EAIE "because of the relative underrepresentation, its geographic proximity to Europe and the growing importance in international education".

To do that, the EAIE has had an initiative giving participants from this region a special rate for the past two years. "And for the second year in a row, we set up a Study and Research in Africa Pavilion together with the European Commission and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). So there will be a special place for representatives from Africa to be visible at the conference and discuss their needs and wishes for partnerships," Bakker assured.

Participants from regions of conflict and vulnerable populations

With several parts of the world involved in conflicts and crises at the moment, the EAIE aims to be "a constructive and open platform where professionals working in international education can meet". Remaining "committed to the belief that international collaboration matters, now possibly more than ever", the organisation believes that its role is to "stand with academic communities facing severe threats to their ability to teach, learn, conduct research and collaborate internationally".

Recognising that ongoing conflicts have impacted international engagement and cooperation in recent years, Bakker said the EAIE has been wondering how to continue providing a space where diverging perspectives meet and find common ground, and if they can remain as inclusive as they've always been.

"We cannot and will not turn a blind eye to victims of the conflicts, where educational infrastructure is destroyed, education systems are jeopardised and colleagues and students don't have access to education, let alone international education," Bakker stated.

Therefore, the EAIE once again invited Ukrainian participants and the organisation Friends of Palestinian Universities to this new edition. "More recent initiatives include free membership and access to online and on-demand training for both Palestinian and Ukrainian colleagues," Bakker added.

Situation in the US: Not an opportunity, but a collective loss

Regarding the situation in the US, which led to some countries, institutions and individuals taking their distance and turning towards Europe instead, Bakker doesn't see it as an opportunity: "While conference numbers may ebb and flow, a strong international education sector is really a shared priority across the global community of international education associations and stakeholders."

However, he recognised that fluctuations could be an almost automatic outcome from certain developments. "But we see that US universities are still very ambitious to work with universities from all over the world, including Europe. Even if governments are taking some distance from each other, it doesn't mean that universities cannot work together across borders anymore," he said.

"The EAIE is part of a global community of associations for international education. We talk to, learn from and listen to one another, and we also suffer with one another when some of us are going through more difficult periods. Across the board, there is a passion for ensuring that international education is strong everywhere," Rumbley added.

Net-zero target by 2050: How the EAIE is working with participants and venues

In 2025, the EAIE committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, a goal that is progressing “in a very strong and positive direction”, according to Rumbley.

"Our work is focusing first and foremost on our individual actions and initiative: we have a fully plant-based menu, we do local sourcing, focus on energy efficiency, reduction of paper products, recycling, composting, etc.

We also provide participants with public transportation passes while they're at the conference and we work with them and exhibitors as active partners, trying to encourage green travel as part of the experience," Rumbley described.

For future editions, the EAIE is discussing with potential host venues how they can contribute to its net-zero target. The association is also leading a task force bringing together European associations to encourage venues and the wider events and conference sector to reduce their emissions.

Higher education in a context of pressure and uncertainty

According to Bakker, universities are operating in an increasingly volatile, violent, uncertain and complex world: "Geopolitical developments, armed conflicts, trade disputes/tariffs, etc., make ties with certain institutions sensitive or even impossible. In the national context, there are also fears of foreign interference, nationalism, worries about student housing, budget cuts, etc., that have caused more polarised debates around internationalisation and some pushback from society in a few countries."

He nevertheless remained confident, pointing out that universities are centuries-old institutions that have weathered many storms and crises in the past. He cited responsible internationalisation as a potential response to questions coming from these pressures. "It includes robust risk management frameworks, stronger engagement with local communities, creating more data and informed insights to be better aware and armed with data to talk about benefits, but also about the challenges that come with internationalisation, like alignment with environmental and social sustainability goals, fair access to international opportunities for students and equitable global partnerships."

In this context, the EAIE sees its role as providing a space for dialogue and for people to compare notes.

"Twenty years ago, everybody was in love with internationalisation, and the more internationalisation, the better. But society has changed and there is pushback. Different stakeholders in society need to be convinced or at least taken along in the process and shown what internationalisation means," Rumbley added.

For Bakker, "all the positive elements of internationalisation are still there, but there continues to be very real risks and challenges international education faces, at the domestic political level, in international developments and in relation to economic and demographic challenges. We're constantly receiving new inputs that seem to shift the colour of what's happening around us".