More than four decades after the conference first brought the industry together, AIEC 2026 opened on October 27 under the theme “Future Thinking”.
Policy settings across major study destinations have tightened, student behaviours are changing and institutions are looking increasingly towards transnational education and new markets for growth. Meanwhile, AI is rapidly reshaping how prospective students discover, compare and choose their education.
Opening the conference remotely, Australian education minister Jason Clare sought to put the focus back on the impact of international education beyond its economic contribution.
“International education employs a lot of Australians. It makes an important contribution to our economy. But it does more than that,” Clare told delegates.
“It also connects us to the world.”
His comments came as Australia continues to recalibrate its own international education settings after several years of policy upheaval and efforts to slow migration and international student growth.
Clare acknowledged the “big challenges” facing the sector and said the government was working with industry to put it on a “more sustainable path”, while defending measures introduced to strengthen integrity, target unscrupulous operators and improve student protection.
But his speech also pointed towards one of the major themes emerging for Australian education: taking more of it offshore.
Five Australian universities have recently opened campuses in India, Clare said, with Western Sydney University preparing to open in Greater Noida. Vietnam has also approved an investment licence for RMIT’s new Hanoi campus.
“Not everyone can come here to study. Not everyone can afford it. But we can come to them,” he said.
That shift towards transnational education is among the topics on the agenda at AIEC this week, alongside AI, international talent and changing student expectations.
For IDP Education CEO and managing director Tennealle O’Shannessy, the conference’s 40th anniversary provides an opportunity to consider just how far the sector has travelled and how quickly it may need to change again.
International education looks very different today than it did 40 years ago. That evolution isn’t slowing down, and we need to come together to plan for the changes ahead, whether they’re driven by technology or policy.
Tennealle O’Shannessy, IDP
“International education looks very different today than it did 40 years ago,” said O’Shannessy.
“That evolution isn’t slowing down, and we need to come together to plan for the changes ahead, whether they’re driven by technology or policy.”
International Education Association of Australia (IEAA) CEO Phil Honeywood said the 40th anniversary was an opportunity to reflect on the sector’s evolution while looking ahead to what comes next.
“Shifts in geopolitics and policy will continue to force evolution in our sector, but there is an opportunity for us to take greater control of our future,” said Honeywood.
“That requires collaboration across institutions, industry and government, and AIEC is the perfect time to come together and align on our priorities into the future.”
The anniversary comes at a particularly consequential time for Australia, where international education remains both a major export industry and a recurring focus of the political debate around migration, housing and sustainable growth.
Clare, however, used the opening to emphasise the human story behind those debates. He told delegates about an Afghan woman who escaped Kabul and has now begun a PhD in Australia while her sister remains in Afghanistan, where women and girls face severe restrictions on education.
He reminded delegates of the “transformational power of education”.
Co-hosted by IDP Education and the IEAA, AIEC runs from October 27–30 at Sydney’s International Convention Centre.
The PIE News is a media partner for AIEC 2026 and will be reporting from Sydney throughout the conference.
