- Compliance is the burning issue, but who is too hot to handle?
An expert panel of institutions, members of the International Compliance Network (ICN) and immigration lawyers will be holding a forum on operational challenges, visa delays, the new BCA metrics and the draft proposals for the RAG ratings due to come into force in June 2026. This is an essential session for UK universities given the current climate and threat to sponsor licences.
Other sessions are focusing on agent management, high-risk markets, preparing for audits, the changing use and popularity of different language tests, and new technology for regulation and reporting. We will also be asking the UK’s international education champion Sir Steve Smith about the stakeholders and timeline for the new Education Sector Action Group (ESAG) announced in the revamped international education strategy.
Check out: Expert community: UKVI compliance & BCA update (Day two, 2pm) and UKVI audit readiness: are you prepared for a Home Office compliance visit? (Day one, 4.30pm). - We’re lobbying in the wrong place, so what can we do?
The sector can often feel like an echo chamber where we preach to the choir about the value of international education. The rise of protectionist politics across the world suggests that we aren’t doing a great job at internationalisation at home. Public sentiment does not value the role of higher education, languages and internationalisation as highly as it once was.
So, we’ve assembled a range of speakers from outside of the industry to challenge your perspective and help us bridge the divide in our local communities and influence social change. From a million stories of impact to big data that proves we are educating the world, you will feel motivated to fight the good fight once again.
Check out: Expert community: We’re lobbying in the wrong place – reputation, trust and public scrutiny (Day two, 12.15pm) and Could you help international education win a Nobel Prize through storytelling? (Day one, 5.15pm). - Lords, ladies, leaders… and you
OBEs, MBEs, Knighthoods, Damehoods, BAFTAs and Nobel Prize-winners – we’ve got more Orders of the British Empire than Buckingham Palace at this year’s conference! The reputation of The PIE continues to grow in the halls of Westminster, too, as we welcome another House of Lords peer, Lord Ed Vaizey, as our political commentator this year.
Nishan Canagarajah (University of Leicester), who was named in the New Year’s Honours List, Lee Schuneman, the BAFTA-winning games director for Nintendo and Xbox, and Nobel Prize-winning Jerry White are all examples of the serious credentials in the lineup. But this is an event open to all. It is about celebrating our sector, rubbing shoulders and breaking bread with people you can trust, learn from and collaborate with – and who knows where it might take you?
Check out: Keynote from Lee Schuneman on AI-powered learning; a Q&A with Sir Steve Smith (Day two, 9am) and Come fly with me: what happened when 125 CEOs, VCs and the Prime Minister flew to India (Day one, 12.15pm) - Information is beautiful (and powerful)
We welcome a headline data superstar to the stage this year in David McCandless (pictured). A journalist and author, he explains the world through beautiful infographics that will help you understand the size and shape of populations, government budgets, socio economics and future skills. Check out his TED talk on YouTube and mark his unmissable headline session at The PIE Live Europe in your agenda.
Other data-dons this year include Nic Dillon (Nous) speaking on the international levy, Sylvia Jons (IIE) mapping the international partnerships landscape, Ben Brindle (Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford), and Dave Amor (Higher Insights), who will be running the data round in our Kahoot! quiz chaos.
Check out: Keynote: David McCandless, Information is Beautiful (Day one, 5.15pm) and Let’s get quizzical – the BIG Kahoot! Quiz, sponsored by Duolingo (Day one, 5.30pm). - Video killed the radio star
With AI swamping admissions and HR offices with generic SOP slop, the use of video is rising once again as a way of creating authentic interviews and an audit trail of who said what. From thesis defences to pre-CAS interviews, how long before video becomes an essential part of the process for every university?
Check out the wide range of edtech showcase sessions at this year’s conference, so that you can see the UX for yourself and better understand what technology will save you time, money and your backside if things go wrong.
Check out: Video killed the radio star – how video is changing admissions processing (Day one, 3pm) and hourly tech demos taking place in The Cutting Room cinema including IntialView, When in Culture, Studylink, Enroly, Hanover CRM, GERSA, ICEF Due Diligent, and many more. - Kathmandu or Kathmandon’t?
Navigating ‘high-risk’ markets is a tricky business that the government is making even harder. Diversity, by definition, is expanding your services to new markets in developing countries, and with that comes new risks. This year, we are welcoming delegations from Nepal and Pakistan to the conference, including university representatives, embassy figures and British Council workers to help us understand the opportunities and how best to work together to support students and manage expectations.
Colleagues from Australia, USA and European countries will also be in attendance, explaining their own interests in these markets and what sustainable recruitment looks like.
Check out: Integrity matters: rethinking recruitment practices in Pakistan (Day one, 5.30pm) and Kathmandhu or Kathmandon’t? Is Nepal a viable recruitment market? (Day two, 11.15am). - TNE takes centre stage
The transnational express isn’t stopping any time soon! Everyone is jumping aboard the push for multinational universities, overseas branch campuses, research alliances and networks – including the UK government via the newly released international education strategy. But will any of it be financially viable?
We will be looking at key markets such India and China, considering how Ireland links the UK, Europe and US, hacking out new ideas of partnerships and how to include industry, plus a United Nations-style networking session to bring our global audience together.
Check out: TNE: understand the global landscape of international partnerships, hosted by IIE (Day two, 11.15am) and TNE: China – national plan for a 10-fold increase in TNE enrolments (Day one, 2pm). - Erasmus and resetting the relationship with Europe
The UK’s return to Erasmus has been some welcome happy news in these difficult times – so what comes next? We’ve brought together UUKi, EAIE, and the European Universities Association to better understand what work needs to be done for a successful return and a reversal of the damage done to the UK’s reputation from Brexit.
Is it too late for modern languages as universities make cutbacks? Will the funding be sufficient to support the UK’s return? What demand will there be from both sides of the Channel and will this signal an deepening partnership with Europe once again on mutual research, cross border collaborations, fee parity and visa-free travel?
Check out: Erasmus+ and Horizon: resetting the UK-European relationship, hosted by Universities UK & EUA (Day one, 2pm) and The PIE in conversation with… EAIE President, Sara López Selga (Day one, 3.15pm). - Ask me anything about AI
Ironically, we could just replace this session with a chatbot. But instead, we thought we’d bring you some of the brightest human minds to answer your questions on the AI boom-bubble. This includes Jon Cardoso-Silva, assistant professor of data science (Education) at LSE, who can explain how to pilot AI use in your institution before rolling out in a bigger way.
Other tech-talks include the UK’s first teacherless GCSEs being delivered by AI at David Game College, how to market to students researching universities on ChatGPT, and the power of AI learning and machine powered due diligence in the compliance space.
Check out: Ask me anything about AI (digital fight club), hosted by LSE (Day two, 12.15pm) and Clicking with students who have stopped clicking: Understanding zero-click behaviour and AI-led university research (Day two, 9am). - We know you’re stressed. It’s time to look after yourself
In addition to providing a space to be among friends and colleagues, The PIE Live is known as conference that inspires new ideas and recharges the batteries. But this year we’ve gone one step further with a full wellness and professional development track, sponsored by Kaplan.
From massage chairs and meditation classes to professional workshops on the psychology of motivation, staff burnout and intercultural empathy, this space is the place to be at this year’s conference. If there is a return on investment on your attendance, then this is a good place to look. Your teams will thank you for it.
P.s. Look out for the secret campfire karaoke choir and the mocktails and dreams juice bar where the cool kids will be hanging out.
Check out: Why resilience matters in international education – and how to build it (Day one, 11.15am) and Workshop: From knowing to understanding – cultivating intercultural empathy in international education (Day two, 11.15am).
Tickets for The PIE Live Europe, 24-25 March 2026 are available here.
