Robin’s Digifest Reflective

Digifest 2026 brought together experts and educators from across the globe to tackle the digital challenges facing us today and to collaboratively move from disruption to direction

It has been just over a week since Digifest 2026 closed and yet daily the socials are packed with an overwhelming positive buzz reflective of the inspiring conversations I had, the sessions I attended and the new connections I made. It was also wonderful to see so many Digifest first timers. The sector’s transformation is clearly in safe hands with this next generation of edTech professionals.

Year on year Digifest has a powerful ability to bring together a global audience of educators, experts, policymakers, industry partners and sector allies with a common purpose to overcome challenges, grasp opportunities and incite positive change.

You could be forgiven for thinking this event was about technology when it’s actually about the people, the visionaries, the pioneers and the disruptors that positively transform their institutional experiences.

We can all be changemakers

The theme of Digifest this year was ‘Disruption to Direction’ and the opening remarks from Jisc CEO Heidi Fraser-Krauss set the tone.

Heidi said what we were all thinking: that at this moment it can feel like we live in a fearful and divided world, and it is natural to wake up in the morning and think “what next?” But looking around the audience at Digifest I had hope. Hope that together we have the power to enact change, and that what we do matters.

The first keynote session of the day by changemaker and youth activist Melati Wijsen, solidified this as she encouraged the audience to not just let change happen, but to be the change they want to see in the world. And what is disruption if not the seed of change? I encouraged delegates to consider their vision for change, for their institutions, their communities, and their sectors.

She also imparted some excellent advice to start small. Always looking at the bigger picture can be overwhelming and often off-putting, but if we focus on what is in front of us, and find like-minded collaborators, then together we can make a real impact.

We’re stronger together

This theme of collaborative change echoed throughout the conference for me.

From interactive workshops at the community hub (which I consider to be the heart of Digifest), to practical sessions providing advice and guidance from colleges and universities already using digital to achieve their goals. The event also included several panel sessions bringing together speakers from across education, industry and policy to solve common problems such as “how can we make digital learning more accessible for all?”.

Our day two opening keynote panel on digital inclusion – featuring CEO of Hull College Debra Gray CBE, Archie Breare from Tech UK, Lisa Brown, COO of The Good Things Foundation and Professor Jane Mooney from the University of Manchester – exemplified the need for collective action.

What was billed as a deep dive into the Government’s Digital Inclusion Action Plan, and what it means for colleges and universities already grappling with digital inequality, quickly evolved into a call to action for institutions and policymakers to ensure digital inclusion is baked into policy, not retrospectively bolted on.

Debra Gray put it best when she said “digital exclusion is now social exclusion. Complete exclusion from society is what we are looking at unless we get digital inclusion right.”

Digital innovation in action

As always, Digifest is also a showcase for digital innovation across the tertiary education sector, which is becoming increasingly challenging as we all endeavour to keep up with the pace of change of technology.

The results of Jisc’s 2026 leadership survey show that yet again AI is the biggest challenge facing FE and HE leaders, but the conversation around the topic is changing.

We are seeing a move away from the initial fear of misuse towards opportunities for operational excellence, student support and skills for the future workforce, with a reminder that AI isn’t neutral and is, instead, shaped by powerful leaders with their own political and societal priorities. This point was highlighted in an excellent session by Jisc’s director of AI Michael Webb, together with colleagues Lawrie Phipps and Rebecca Flook, exploring global AI sovereignty. Incidentally, Michael outlined that colleges and universities are the perfect environment to unpack what this means for the future of education and work.

Professor Danny Liu from the University of Sydney queried whether we are asking the right questions of AI in his keynote session on day two and encouraged us all to consider how AI can support our role as humans. His human centric approach made me question what we might be losing in our rush towards efficiencies, and how educational experiences can honour both humanity and technology by including ‘self’ and ‘soul’ (the parts technology can’t imitate) alongside ‘stuff’ and ‘skills.’

Nothing new under the sun

As inspiring as it is to be surrounded by such a driven cohort of innovators every year at Digifest, the scale and speed needed to react to technological change can sometimes be daunting. So, it was refreshing to hear from Professor Victoria Baines (currently of Gresham College and previously head of EU cyber-threat analysis at Europol) who kicked off her day one closing keynote reminding us all that humans have actually been keeping pace with technological evolution for centuries.
Victoria’s session shone a light on the amazing technological breakthroughs that are advancing society and changing lives, and asked: with science fact increasingly imitating science fiction, what does this mean for learning, education, critical thinking and ethics?

The key, according to Victoria, is to study the disruptions of the past and learn from them to anticipate the opportunities of the future.

Hopes and fears for the future of education

Learning from the past, understanding the present and looking to the future of education was also the theme of the Jisc hub which took centre stage at the event and invited attendees to embrace the nostalgia with the original Mario Kart, iMac and ELIZA, one of the earliest examples of AI.
This interactive space wasn’t just a bit of fun though, as Jisc staff on the ground engaged with attendees to capture the day-to-day challenges impacting their operations, and the stunning live mural created by James the Scribe encapsulated members’ hopes, fears and ambitions for the future of education in real time. Unsurprisingly AI featured highly across both the hopes and the fears, but I was heartened to see themes such as inclusion, equity and the value of being human also play their part.
Together these interactions, rooted in where we’ve been, grounded in how we work today, and inspired by where we want to go next, will guide us as we support our members on their next stage of digital transformation.

As we unpack the lessons learned from this year’s event and start to plot how we will integrate new found insights, experiences and innovations into the work we do to support the sector, I encourage you all to register your interest here to be one of the first to receive updates on Digifest 2027 – we hope to see you there.

My key Digifest 2026 takeaways

• Lessons from history can help us anticipate the future, navigate challenges and maximise opportunity.
• Focus on the change in front of you and find like-minded collaborators.
• Honour both humanity and technology by including ‘self’ and ‘soul’.
• We are at our best when providing the platform for leaders and practitioners to share their digital transformation experiences.
• Community is the safe space we all need to learn, share our hopes, fears, and ideas.

By Robin Ghurbhurun, UK Managing Director FE and Skills; Executive Director Tertiary Leadership and Transformation at Jisc