Go-creating the future of international education

As 2025 comes to a close, we look forward to a new chapter with hope, drawing resilience and courage from the strong global community we form as the EAIE, together with our sister associations worldwide.

This past year has been one of political instability that has challenged our work and tested our international partnerships and commitments. At the same time, it has united us even further, regardless of where we come from, around several core issues: the value of international education in cultivating more skillful workers and the need for more tolerant, critical-thinking citizens. Addressing these issues goes hand in hand with prosperity, openness, and solidarity in societies and universities. This message is underpinned by research, history and personal stories, so our voices should be loud and clear.

This past year has been one of political instability that has challenged our work and tested our international partnerships and commitments. 

As the EAIE, we like to ‘walk our talk’ and have been actively participating in global dialogues in Asia, Africa and the Americas, demonstrating our commitment both to the Global South and to traditionally open-door countries. With the GO-create theme as our guide, we also gathered a very diverse crowd in Gothenburg, bringing the world to Europe, including universities from conflict zones. The EAIE Conference and Exhibition enabled colleagues to connect and articulate collaborations for sustainable structures and opportunities in higher education.

This valuable community gathering reminds us of the power of dialogue and mutual understanding. We understand the potential of bottom-up initiatives and collaborations to transform careers and minds, as well as institutions and organisational cultures – and, in the long term, maybe even societies and values.

The EAIE Conference and Exhibition enabled colleagues to connect and articulate collaborations for sustainable structures and opportunities in higher education.

In addition to being recognised as a platform for connecting and peer-learning, the EAIE continuously strives to stay true to our values, and calls for a more equitable, responsible and responsive approach to international education. This fundamentally human approach – human-to-human learning in the age of AI - was highlighted by the closing keynote speaker, Andreas Ekström, who advocated for organic intelligence alongside the rise of artificial intelligence. We were invited to shape the future use of AI by actively valuing knowledge, experience and authentic connections.

In what we do as the EAIE, human touch remains at the heart of everything, thanks to all the volunteers who so generously give back to the community and contribute to the Association. From our EAIE Academy Classroom courses to our Annual Conference, the focus remains, and will remain, on the power of connection. In this way, it is our hope that professionals in international higher education will recognise the Association as a community to nourish and flourish.

Human touch remains at the heart of everything, thanks to all the volunteers who so generously give back to the community. 

Innovation in multiple areas also marked the EAIE’s year. 2025 saw the launch of the new EAIE Conference App, the expansion of the Academy On-Demand portfolio, the transition of Forum magazine to a dynamic digital format, the introduction of our new doctoral research grants and the launch of the EAIE Job Board. Each new initiative adds value to the field, to higher education institutions, and to individual professionals.

What can you expect in 2026? We are working to deliver brand-new membership benefits and on-demand training opportunities, improved digital tools and resources, and a new Barometer survey. We are also excited to welcome you to EAIE Glasgow 2026, where our global community will once again come together to share ideas and build partnerships.

I wish you all the best for 2026, a year when the EAIE will launch its renewed strategy to ensure that we stay relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of our industry. Stay tuned for EAIE Glasgow 2026 - and for the rhythm of the revolution!