10 big questions that will be answered at BRILLIANT Festival 2026
As AI is reshaping the classroom and the workplace, education is changing quickly. Technology is creating opportunities, but also new challenges. The skills young people will need are evolving, and schools are being asked to prepare students for a future that none of us can predict with complete certainty.
So, what should educators actually be doing about it?
That question sits at the heart of BRILLIANT Festival 2026.
On 10 November at Exhibition Centre, Liverpool, educators, school leaders, innovators and industry experts will come together to explore some of the biggest questions facing education right now.
We’ve taken ten of those questions directly from the conversations happening across this year’s agenda.
1. Are we preparing young people for the future workforce?
It’s one of the biggest questions on the BRILLIANT agenda – quite literally.
The panel discussing “Are We Preparing Young People for the Future Workforce?” brings together voices from education, industry and future-readiness to examine whether what we teach, how we teach it and the skills we prioritise really match the world young people are going to enter.
The discussion will be moderated by Professor Andy Miah, Chair of Science Communication & Future Media at the University of Salford, alongside Professor Lynne Bianchi, Vice Dean for Social Responsibility, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Accessibility and Director of the Science & Engineering Education Research and Innovation Hub at The University of Manchester; Damien Reynolds BEM, Foundation Leader at Mindera UK Foundation; and Alex Zarifeh, Founder & Director of Futures Readiness Ltd.
With AI transforming jobs and employers increasingly looking beyond qualifications alone, what does genuine preparation for work now look like?
Expect a conversation about the skills, experiences and opportunities young people need – and what schools, employers and industry can do together to provide them.
2. EdTech vs Tech-Ed: are we solving the right problem?
Schools have access to more technology than ever before, but is adding more technology actually the answer?
That’s the question at the centre of the “EdTech vs Tech-Ed: Are We Solving the Right Problem?” panel.
The panel will be moderated by Nachelle Crowther, Founder & CEO of Gen Evolve, and features Dr Velislava Hillman, Founder & Director of EDDS Institute; Matt Jessop, Head Teacher at Crosthwaite C.E. Primary School; and Claire Owen, CEO & Co-Founder of PupilPower.
Instead of asking which new platform, device or AI tool schools should adopt next, perhaps the better starting point is what problem are we trying to solve?
This panel will explore how schools can make decisions about technology that begin with pupils, teachers and learning, rather than the technology itself.
3. How do we prepare young people for work in an age of AI?
The workplace our pupils will eventually enter is already changing.
Laura Summers, Director at Maykn Agency, tackles that challenge directly in her “Rethinking How We Prepare Young People for Work in an Age of AI” keynote.
If AI can increasingly complete tasks that once required human input, which skills become more important? What should careers education look like? And how can schools prepare pupils for jobs and careers that may look very different by the time they enter the workforce?
This isn't simply a question of teaching pupils how to use AI. It's about thinking much more deeply about what being ready for work will mean.
4. How can we build an inclusive future for every learner in the age of AI?
AI has enormous potential in education, but only if its benefits reach every learner.
Human Intelligence + AI: Building an Inclusive Future for Every Learner will be moderated by Al Kingsley MBE, CEO of NetSupport, MAT Chair and author.
He’ll be joined by Emma Darcy, AI and Technology for Learning Consultant; Gemma Gwilliam, Head of Digital Learning, Education and Innovation for Portsmouth: The Digital City Project; Paddy McGrath, Executive Leader, Education, AI Transformation; and Jon Neale, Growth Director, UK & Ireland at Kahoot!
Where can AI remove barriers? How can it support different learning needs? And how do schools make sure technology doesn't create new inequalities while trying to solve existing ones?
For leaders thinking about AI strategy, SEND, inclusion and digital learning, the fundamental questions will be answered by our panel.
5. How do we tackle AI bias in the classroom?
Using AI effectively is only part of the challenge, understanding its limitations matters too.
In her “Easy Activities to Beat AI Bias in The Classroom” talk, Victoria Hedlund, AI Bias Researcher, Consultant and Founder of GenEd, will bring the issue directly into a practical classroom context.
How do we help young people understand that an AI-generated answer isn't automatically an objective one? How do teachers identify bias themselves? And how can those conversations become part of learning rather than another issue for schools to fear?
As AI literacy becomes increasingly important, understanding bias needs to sit alongside understanding how to use the technology.
6. What does a classroom designed for difference and belonging actually look like?
Inclusion is easy to talk about, but designing learning environments that genuinely work for different pupils is much harder.
In “The Adaptive Classroom: Classrooms Designed for Difference, Built for Belonging”, Michelle Morgan, Co-Founder of The Adaptive Classroom, will explore what happens when difference isn't treated as an exception that needs accommodating, but as something considered from the outset.
The conversation around inclusion continues with Kate Heath, Founder & CEO of Gaia Learning, in “Helping Learners Bloom: Re-engaging Learners with SEN to Love Learning”.
The question isn't simply whether our classrooms are inclusive, it's whether every young person genuinely feels they belong in them.
7. Why does creativity matter more than ever?
With AI capable of generating text, images, ideas and answers in seconds, it might be tempting to think technology makes human creativity less important.
BRILLIANT is asking whether the opposite is true.
“Why Creativity Matters More Than Ever” will be moderated by Alan Thompson, Chief Executive of hi-impact, with Kate Cotterell, Founder & CEO of Altru Drama CIC; Professor Sean McNamara, Principal and Chief Executive Officer of Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA); Dr WeZ Nolan, Programme Leader for Media Production at Liverpool John Moores University; Shahneila Saeed, Head of Education at Ukie & Director of Digital Schoolhouse; and Andrew Swanson, Executive Producer at BBC Bitesize.
Elsewhere on the agenda, Trudi Barrow, Design Education and AI in Education Specialist at CLEAPSS and Blue Lias Consulting, will explore The Intersection of AI and Creativity.
If knowledge becomes easier to access and content easier to generate, the ability to imagine, question, create and think differently could become even more valuable.
8. What digital world are young people actually living in?
Policies matter, safeguarding frameworks matter and rules around technology matter.
But do they reflect what young people are actually experiencing online?
Amit Singh Kalley, Digital Parenting and Digital Safeguarding Specialist and Founder of For Working Parents, will tackle exactly that in “The Digital World Young People Actually Live In (and Why Policy Alone Isn't Enough)”.
Later, Angela Muñoz Aroca, Senior Campaigns & Communications Officer at the Internet Watch Foundation, will lead “Talk about Awkward: Tackling Emerging Online Threats in the Classroom”.
For educators, the challenge is increasingly about keeping pace with a digital world that can change far faster than policy.
BRILLIANT will create space to understand those changes – and explore what they mean for the pupils sitting in our classrooms today.
9. What role should gaming, esports and immersive technology play in learning?
For millions of young people, gaming isn't a niche interest, it's part of everyday life, so what happens when education meets that world?
“Level Playing Field: Gaming, Esports and Immersive Learning” will be moderated by Melanie Tagg, Principal Analyst and Head of Education at Futuresource Consulting, alongside James Fraser-Murison, Head of UK at EStars, and Bubba Gaeddert, Senior Lecturer at the University Campus of Esports (UCES), with further panellists to be confirmed.
The agenda will also hear from Dr Sara de Freitas, CEO of Weypoint, with “Immersive Education: The Next Frontier of Digital Education”.
This isn't about putting games into classrooms for the sake of it, but about asking whether the environments young people already find engaging can help us rethink participation, skills development and learning.
10. Which skills will matter most in a future shaped by AI?
Perhaps this is the question connecting almost everything happening at BRILLIANT.
“The Perfect Formula: Essential Skills as a Catalyst for Success in STEAM” will be moderated by Connor Llewellyn, Lead Associate at Skills Builder Partnership, alongside Joshua Burns, IT Consultant Degree Apprentice at Kyndryl UK&I; Dan Powell, Head of Neon at EngineeringUK; and Grace Stewart, Head of Data & Research at Skills Builder Partnership.
Charlie Rogers, Author & Founder of Undefinable Life Design, will then look towards a world where careers themselves may become less linear in “The Life Design Toolkit: Preparing Students for Portfolio Careers and AI”.
Preparing young people for the future isn't simply about predicting which jobs will exist, it's about helping them become adaptable enough to thrive when jobs, technology and entire industries change.
The future may be uncertain, but our responsibility to prepare young people for it isn't.
Come to BRILLIANT with questions and leave with ideas you can use.
These are only ten of the questions being explored at BRILLIANT Festival 2026.
Across the day, the agenda goes much further. From AI literacy and safeguarding to STEAM, careers, inclusion, creativity, digital standards, esports, green skills and the relationship between education and industry.
You'll hear from school leaders, teachers, researchers, authors, technologists, employers and people working directly with young people – bringing different perspectives to the challenges schools are facing now and those coming next.
BRILLIANT isn’t designed to tell educators that there's one answer to the future of education, but to bring together the people asking the right questions, trying new approaches and willing to share what they're learning.
On 10 November 2026 at Exhibition Centre Liverpool, you can be part of those conversations.
BRILLIANT Festival is free to attend. Register now and join thousands of educators, innovators and industry leaders exploring what comes next for education.