Education has never been short of conversations about change. From artificial intelligence and digital transformation, to inclusion, teacher workload and the skills young people will need in the future, the challenges are well documented.
Educators are already balancing ever increasing expectations with limited resources, growing pressures on staff and the responsibility of preparing young people for a world that looks very different from the one previous generations entered.
While long-term strategies are important, many of these challenges simply can't wait for another academic year.
On 10th November, BRILLIANT Festival returns to Exhibition Centre Liverpool, bringing together educators, school leaders, technology experts and industry professionals to explore what comes next.
The focus isn't simply on discussing how quickly education is changing, it's on sharing the ideas, experiences and practical approaches that can help organisations respond.
Here are five conversations we need to be having now.
1. AI in education: moving beyond the debate and into the classroom
Artificial intelligence is already changing how young people learn, how educators work and how information is accessed. Yet many educational institutions are still navigating fundamental questions about its role in education.
How do we use AI responsibly? What does an effective AI policy look like? How do we protect pupils while helping them understand and use the technology? And perhaps most importantly, how can AI genuinely support teaching and learning rather than simply adding another layer of complexity?
These aren't questions that can be left unanswered until 2027.
Young people are already encountering AI outside the classroom, often without the guidance or critical understanding needed to evaluate what it produces. At the same time, educators are exploring its potential to support planning, differentiation, assessment and administration.
The challenge now is moving from experimentation towards confident, informed implementation.
At BRILLIANT, the AI & Emerging Tech programme brings these conversations into focus, with speakers including Dr Fiona Aubrey-Smith, Founder of PedTech, Trudi Barrow, AI in education specialist, and Al Kingsley MBE, CEO of NetSupport, bringing valuable perspectives on responsible adoption, classroom practice and the role of technology in education.
Their expertise will contribute to the wider discussions about how educators can approach AI with greater confidence, balancing innovation with safeguarding, ethics and educational value.
Attendees don't necessarily need to leave with an entirely new AI strategy, but they should leave with a clearer understanding of what they can do next.
2. SEND and inclusion: making meaningful change rather than waiting for reform
Few areas of education face greater pressure than special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
Schools, colleges, universities and other establishments are working hard to meet increasingly complex needs, often against a backdrop of stretched resources, rising demand and uncertainty about the future of the SEND system.
While wider policy changes and reform will undoubtedly shape what happens next, the pupils who need support today cannot wait for those decisions.
The conversation needs to move beyond identifying the challenges and towards sharing what is already working.
Importantly, inclusion shouldn't be treated as a separate conversation from the future of education. It needs to be part of every discussion about curriculum design, digital transformation, teaching practice and educational leadership.
At BRILLIANT, the SEND & Inclusive Education programme will bring these questions into focus, with contributions from specialists including Michelle Morgan, Co-Founder of The Adaptive Classroom, and Marie Beale, Deputy Headteacher and Inclusion Lead at Whitefield Primary School.
Their experience provides valuable perspectives on inclusive teaching, adapting learning environments and developing approaches that recognise the different needs of pupils.
Because meaningful inclusion isn't something we should be planning to achieve eventually, it's something we need to be working towards every day.
3. Digital skills: are we preparing young people for the world they're entering?
The skills young people will need when they leave education are changing, and educators are facing the difficult task of preparing students for opportunities and careers that may not yet exist.
AI, automation and emerging technologies are transforming industries, but the conversation about future skills needs to go further than simply teaching young people how to use new tools.
Critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, problem-solving and digital literacy are becoming increasingly important across almost every sector.
So how do we ensure these skills are developed meaningfully throughout education?
And how do we bridge the gap between what happens in the classroom and what employers increasingly expect? This is where stronger connections between education and industry become essential.
At BRILLIANT, the Industry Engagement, Creativity & STEAM, and Esports & Gamification programmes explore different approaches to developing these skills.
Speakers including Shahneila Saeed, Head of Education at Ukie and Director of Digital Schoolhouse, and Natalie Moore, CEO of Apps for Good, bring perspectives on how digital creativity, gaming and real-world technology experiences can help young people develop the skills they need.
Their work highlights why digital education should be about much more than using technology, it should also give young people opportunities to create, experiment, collaborate and solve problems.
The aim isn't to predict exactly what the workplace of 2035 will look like, it's to help young people develop the confidence, adaptability and skills to succeed whatever it becomes.
4. Teacher workload: innovation has to make life easier, not harder
There is an important contradiction at the heart of education's digital transformation.
Technology promises to save time, improve efficiency and support better outcomes, yet introducing new systems, platforms and expectations can initially create more work without the right planning and support.Educators are already balancing planning, assessment, administration, safeguarding, pupil support and an ever-growing range of other responsibilities.
As we explore AI and other emerging technologies, workload needs to be central to the conversation.
The question shouldn't simply be what new technology can do, but whether it solves a problem and delivers worthwhile benefits.
Across BRILLIANT's AI & Emerging Tech and Classroom of NOW programmes, these questions will form part of the wider conversation about how technology supports teaching and learning.
With education experts including Matthew Wemyss and Laura Knight contributing to BRILLIANT, schools will have opportunities to explore how digital innovation can support teaching, reduce unnecessary workload and make a meaningful difference to everyday classroom practice.
The priority must be ensuring that technology serves educators and pupils, with the support and training needed to use it effectively.
5. Preparing young people for the workplace: closing the gap between education and industry
For years, we've talked about the importance of preparing young people for the future workforce.
As industries change and employers reconsider the skills they need, it's worth asking whether education and industry are moving quickly enough together.
There is growing recognition that academic knowledge alone isn't enough. Young people also need opportunities to apply what they've learned, work collaboratively, solve unfamiliar problems and understand the different pathways available to them.
Employers, schools, universities, technology providers and wider industry have an important role to play in helping young people understand how their learning connects to the world beyond education.
The challenge is creating partnerships that go beyond occasional careers talks or one-off activities and instead offer meaningful experiences, inspiration and opportunities.
One of the key conversations taking place at BRILLIANT this November is Are We Preparing Young People for the Future Workforce?
Chaired by Professor Andy Miah from the University of Salford, the session brings together Professor Lynne Bianchi from the University of Manchester, Damien Reynolds BEM from Mindera UK Foundation and Alex Zarifeh from Futures Readiness Ltd to explore how education can better prepare young people for a rapidly changing world of work.
It's an opportunity to consider what future readiness really means, how you can develop stronger links with industry and what needs to change to ensure young people are equipped for the opportunities ahead because the future workforce is sitting in classrooms today, and the decisions we make now will help shape the opportunities available to them.
The next step matters more than another prediction
Sometimes transformation starts with a conversation between two leaders facing the same challenge, discovering an approach that's working elsewhere or making a connection with an organisation that can offer practical support.
That's what makes bringing education, technology and industry together so valuable.
As we approach the end of 2026, we don't need another reminder that education is changing quickly. We need opportunities to explore what those changes mean, challenge existing thinking and identify practical steps to take back into our own settings.
Whether that's reviewing how AI is being used, finding a new approach to inclusion, reducing unnecessary workload or creating stronger links with employers, the important thing is identifying what can happen next.
The decisions that shape education in 2027 are already being made and the conversations we have now will influence what happens next.
Join us at BRILLIANT Festival on Tuesday 10th November 2026 at Exhibition Centre Liverpool for a free day of thought-provoking discussions, practical insights and opportunities to connect with educators, innovators and industry leaders.