The event featured lectures, debates, workshops, and kiosks in dozens of languages, with more than 1,200 institutions on display in the main exhibition hall.
In Scotland, the conversation around the university sector can feel very doom and gloom these days, a sentiment crystallised recently into cold, hard facts with the publication of the Pillar 1A report from the Future Framework for Universities project and the revelation of a £200 million funding gap in the sector.
But as EAIE executive director Mervin Bakker told me, “Despite geopolitical tensions and growing polarisation in many parts of the world, the appetite for international collaboration in education and research is stronger than ever.”
“The record-breaking attendance sends a powerful message that universities from all over the world see international engagement as essential to innovation, opportunity and mutual understanding,” he went on.
“At the same time, there is a broad realisation in the international education sector that internationalisation is understood not as something that happens alongside society, but as something that benefits society and that local communities should be more actively involved.”
Individual teams and institutions had opportunities to showcase projects that provide potential solutions to problems facing international students, recruitment, staffing, research, employability, and more. (Image: EAIE/Daniel Vegel)
Looking around the venue, it certainly gave the impression there was something more than optimism behind his words.
The packed SEC – and the weather, particularly on Thursday – made it clear that conference‑goers were not just in Glasgow for a holiday.
Taking a closer look at the exhibits and listening in on some of the sessions gave me a clear reminder that the higher education sector is full of big questions and big, often bold, attempts to answer them.
There were plenty of sessions and workshops for higher education insiders on strategies and lessons for marketisation, building partnerships, and recruiting students from around the world. There were also plenty of philosophical and practical discussions of how to navigate challenges in the sector without compromising the core mission of education provision.
While the weather cooperated, conference-goers had plenty of opportunities to play tourist during their stay in Glasgow. (Image: EAIE/Daniel Vegel)
Thursday closed with the EAIE debate over the question of whether artificial intelligence – a common thread in a variety of otherwise unconnected discussions throughout the week – can only serve to widen the digital divide between countries, institutions, and students with varying amounts of resources at their disposal.
The debate was lively, and although I had to leave before the verdict was delivered, it felt familiar in how it touched on a key tension running through the higher education sector.
I have encountered questions about AI countless times in recent conversations, whether at the EAIE conference or on campuses around Scotland.
Students and recent graduates worry about how AI will affect not only their studies but their future careers. At the same time, on those same campuses, researchers just down the hall push the technology into new areas and potentially crowd out a new category of workers.
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This question will not be resolved quickly or easily, not least because of the growing industry around artificial intelligence and the potential it creates for turning research and innovation into income.
But there was another session that jumped out at me, one which I immediately circled weeks ago when I first glanced at the conference schedule and made sure I had time to sit through in full.
Scottish higher education institutions were among the more than 1,200 on display at EAIE 2026, showcasing what studying in their region has to offer staff and students. (Image: EAIE/Daniel Vegel)
On Thursday, the University of Glasgow’s vice principal of external relations Rachel Sandison led a discussion around the question: “Is the end of internationalisation near?”
It stood out to me because the event description came very close to a question I’ve heard often from students and staff at many of Scotland’s cash‑strapped universities: with public funding not covering costs, staff being laid off, and courses being cut, is it really the time for universities to be opening campuses overseas, entering new partnerships, recruiting international students by the thousands, and growing their global footprints?
The discussion on Thursday touched on the financial and geopolitical challenges facing internationalisation efforts, but it was very clear over the course of the week that these efforts are happening – and at scale. (A later session presented survey data showing 67% of responding European higher education institutions had more than 100 institutional partnerships, most in other countries.)
As the conversation went on, it turned to a question particularly relevant to Scotland’s current financial climate: is internationalisation a goal in and of itself?
Dr Uwe Brandenburg, managing director of the Global Impact Institute in Czechia, warned that once internationalisation becomes a goal in itself, “it needs no justification, it needs no accountability,” which he said can lead universities to chase and celebrate efforts that achieve little.
Dr Samia Chasi, head of the Internationalisation and Strategic Partnerships Office at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, said internationalisation efforts are only meaningful when they’re part of a plan to help universities deliver meaningfully for students and stakeholders, in line with their mission.
Keynote speeches, lectures, debates, workshops, and hundreds of exhibits filled every corner of the Scottish Event Campus this week. (Image: EAIE/Daniel Vegel)
The same could be said for any other endeavour – and the message, I thought, was a timely reminder for the Scottish university sector, which is facing serious questions about what a sustainable sector actually looks like on the ground.
Overall, the week reminded me that the university sector is well-suited to tackle difficult fundamental questions, and well-stocked with individuals more than capable of finding solutions. It also reminded me, however, how fragile the system can be; how easy it is to veer off track, get distracted by trends, and lose sight of useful goals; and how having the time and resources to thoroughly investigate questions is a luxury, not a given.
As Mr Bekker told me in his concluding thoughts on the week, “The conference demonstrated both optimism and determination across the sector. International education is not retreating from global challenges.
“It is helping to build the connections, trust and collaboration needed to address them.”
Here’s hoping that optimism is well-founded and leads to answers.