The Rhythm of Revolution: IAU at the EAIE 2026 Conference
Glasgow, Scotland | 8-11 September 2026
From 8 to 11 September 2026, the European Association for International Education (EAIE) held its 36th Annual Conference in Glasgow, Scotland, bringing together over 7300 international educational leaders and practitioners from 107 countries. Representing the International Association of Universities (IAU), Dr Hilligje van’t Land, Secretary General, and Giorgio Marinoni, Manager of Higher Education and Internationalization, contributed to 3 pivotal sessions addressing the evolving challenges facing higher education globally.
The Meaning of Mobility
In the session “From movement to metrics: Is mobility losing its meaning in European alliances?” (Session S2.12), Giorgio Marinoni was joined by Niina Huovinen (Metropolia UAS / U!REKA) and Alicia Betts (University of Girona) to critically examine the European Commission’s ambitious 50% mobility target in European Universities alliances and what is counted under "mobility". Presenting data from the spring 2026 FOREU4ALL survey, the panel highlighted strong sector-wide concern: 89.2% of respondents called for clear, harmonized mobility definitions, and over 93% favored modifying or dropping the target in the next Erasmus+ cycle (2028–2034).
Drawing on IAU's knowledge and experience, Marinoni warned that mixing virtual formats of internationalization with physical mobility experiences into a single numerical quota risk diluting both the sense of the numerical target and the meaning of the different internationalization experiences, which by no means lead to the same learning outcomes. He called for clear terms, arguing that "mobility" should refer strictly to physical individual movement, while online learning and virtual exchanges are valuable tools for internationalization at home. Ultimately, the panel urged alliances to prioritize qualitative intercultural impact over purely statistical compliance.
Power Dynamics in Transnational Partnerships
In the session “From expansion to equity: Navigating power dynamics and quality assurance in transnational education partnerships” (Session S7.03), Dr Hilligje van’t Land led the discussion alongside Stig Arne Skjerven (Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills) and Sumara Khan (Coventry University/ AAAoclimited).
Focusing on significant expansion of cross-border higher education, which has grown from less than 50 international branch campuses in 2000 to over 300 today, the session examined empirical research on UK university partnerships and branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates. Panelists talked about uneven power dynamics, regulatory compliance across different quality assurance regimes, and academic autonomy in host territories. Dr van’t Land highlighted that transnational education should not operate as an asymmetrical commercial export, but as a fair and equal partnership operating in mutual capacity building and ethical quality standards.
Empowering Changemakers
In “Educating critical minds: Empowering actors of change” (Session S5.02), Dr van’t Land drew on extensive IAU work alongside Council of Europe and UNESCO initiatives and addressed the fundamental democratic mission of universities.
Despite its usefulness, critical thinking as mere analysis of information and questioning of the statements is not enough nowadays. According to Sjur Bergan and John Lawrence Dennis, in order to raise a new generation of changemakers, universities must be real-life examples and act as civic anchor institutions, working with, not solely in, their surrounding communities. Producing authentic changemakers also requires fostering moral agency: encouraging students to ask not only “Is this true?” but “Is this right?” “What are the consequences?”, and most importantly “What should I do?”. The main idea of this session was that universities are not merely knowledge factories. They help students find their moral compass, consciousness, social awareness, and judgement to navigate this ambiguous world.
Collaborating and Connecting beyond the Conference Halls
While in Glasgow, the IAU delegation also engaged in strategic side events and bilateral forums, including co-hosting the high-level EAIE–IAU International Leadership Dialogue at the University of Strathclyde, which convened 28 senior internationalization leaders to discuss how to lead internationalization in challenging times. (Read our full report on the EAIE–IAU Leadership Dialogue here: IAU-EAIE Internationalisation Leadership Dialogue 2026 — International Association of Universities.)
Alongside the main EAIE 2026 conference proceedings in Glasgow, the International Association of Universities (IAU) engaged in dedicated series of high-level multilateral forums, partner visits, and network assemblies across Scotland to advance responsible internationalization and institutional solidarity.
Chief amongst these meetings was the IAU visit to the University of St Andrews for the university's dedicated Partner Day. Secretary General Dr. Hilligje van't Land and Internationalization Manager Giorgio Marinoni met with University of St Andrews’ internationalization leaders and global partners. Themes discussed during the Partner Day were: emerging models of international collaborative research, regional civic engagement, and sustainable campus governance.
Septemebr 2026 Meeting of the Network of International Education Associations in Glasgow, Scotland.
The EAIE conference was also the occasion for the Network of International Education Association (NIEA) to meet for its second official meeting of the year. This meeting was a particular successful one as all NIEA member organisations were present in Glasgow. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss concrete ways of collaborating to address challenges in international education and promote its value to local communities and society at large. APAIE, CBIE and IIE further enriched the meeting by sharing their initiatives for local communities and society.
These dynamic sessions reflect only a portion of the IAU's ongoing work to champion values-based, fair, equitable, and inclusive internationalization across the global higher education community. To discover more about our global surveys, institutional advisory services (HEIAS), and policy initiatives, we invite you to explore the IAU work on Internatioanlization. As this milestone edition concludes, the IAU warmly looks forward to continuing these vital dialogues and reuniting with our global partners next year at EAIE 2027 in Lisbon!
