London EdTech Week returned this June with something that felt different from previous years: a shift in tone. The energy was still there - five packed days, 13 events, over 1,000 education professionals from 55 countries converging on the capital - but the conversations had matured. 2026 was the year the sector stopped asking what can technology do? and started asking how do we know it's working?
The word of the week: evidence
If one theme threaded through every panel, roundtable and reception, it was evidence. Pickatale's Chief Education Officer Emily Guille-Marrett captured it plainly: too often, educational innovation has been driven by enthusiasm rather than impact, and this week marked a clear appetite for something more rigorous.
The Redefining Learning Forum at the House of Commons - co-organised by EdTech HUB, techUK , Weypoint Ltd and Policy Connect - set the tone early. The message from policymakers, researchers, and founders alike was consistent: if education technology is to earn the trust of schools, investors, and government, the sector needs stronger shared evidence standards and a common language, especially as AI accelerates the pace of change.
EdTech Hub's post-week reflection summed up the emerging consensus: the future of EdTech will be shaped by strong ecosystems, trusted partnerships, and evidence-informed approaches that bridge the gap between research, practice, and industry. Innovation alone is not enough. That spirit was embodied in the 'EdTech Together – London: Validation Matters: Pilots, Evidence & Impact' session hosted by EdTech HUB - one of the week's most practically focused events which brought together founders and researchers to examine what rigorous pilot design actually looks like in an EdTech context.
AI: the question behind every question
Artificial intelligence was everywhere - but not in the triumphalist way of previous years. The conversation had grown more nuanced. The thread running through sessions at UCL EdTech Labs’ Global Startup Mini Summit, QS Quacquarelli Symonds' Responsible AI in Higher Education event, and Education Futures' AI x Education meet-up wasn't "AI is coming" but rather: what do we protect?
Sir Anthony Seldon, speaking at the UCL EdTech Labs Global Startup Mini Summit, hosted at Newton Prep in Battersea, put it sharply: "Without agency, then we are giving up what it means to be human." Jeff Lippman of Halcyon London International School echoed the concern: " There are inherent risks of allowing AI to rob of us our humanity and agency if we are not deliberate in our implementation”.
A panel at QS’ Responsible AI in Higher Education session - attended by speakers from Imperial College London, EDHEC Business School, and QS Quacquarelli Symonds - focused on what AI-ready universities actually look like and what genuine collaboration between institutions and industry requires. QS CEO Jessica Turner offered one of the week's most cited observations: the real opportunity in university-industry partnership lies in preparing graduates to actually use AI in the jobs they're walking into - work whose requirements are still being defined.
Giada Prini, who attended five events across the week, distilled the AI discussion into a single throughline: efficiency is easy. The real work is figuring out where AI augments people - and where it shouldn't touch the process at all.
Edprima's English One AG team, attending the EdTechX Summit, noted that personalised curricula and agentic teaching were among the most-discussed AI opportunities - but equally, the challenges facing a transformed learning market were front and centre. Their own framing - combining AI innovation with the essential human touch of academics and design - echoed the week's prevailing instinct: the technology is only as good as the human intent behind it.
Newton Prep, which hosted the Global Startup Mini Summit in partnership with UCL EdTech Labs, put the question most directly: how can AI augment great teaching rather than replace it? The Headteachers' Panel moved beyond the familiar "saving time" narrative, focusing instead on how technology can strengthen professional judgement, support reflection, and identify blind spots. There was broad agreement that schools must model responsible AI use openly and thoughtfully - helping young people develop the critical thinking skills they will need in an increasingly AI-enabled world. Olga Bladyka of Aristek, reflecting on the EdTechX Summit, captured a sentiment heard across many rooms that week: it's not our time anymore, it's our kids' - and we need to give it to them in the most responsible way.
The EdTech Exchange - A BESA Initiative event hosted in partnership with The Key Group - 'How do we empower humans on the AI journey?' - tackled the same question from an organisational angle, exploring how companies of all sizes are embedding AI into their products and operations while keeping people at the centre. A dedicated session by Zoho UK on AI-powered low-code solutions for campus operations pointed to a quieter but significant thread running through the week: AI's potential to transform institutional back-office functions, not just classroom experiences.
A global lens: Africa-UK EdTech partnerships
One of the week's most forward-looking sessions came courtesy of British Expertise International and the Africa Edtech Exchange - AEE, whose panel - 'Africa–UK EdTech Partnerships: Pathways for Youth Skills and Employment' - brought an important international dimension to the week's conversations. With Africa projected to be home to one of the world's largest youth populations by 2050, the session made the case that cross-border EdTech partnerships are not a niche interest but a strategic necessity. Ernest Gavor of the Africa EdTech Exchange and Harpreet Banger of Rosetta Stone Stone explored how UK and African EdTech companies can collaborate to expand access, accelerate innovation in training, and help build an internationally ready workforce. The message reinforced a theme running through the rest of the week: the problems worth solving in education are rarely local, even when the solutions need to be.
Investment: appetite, with conditions
The Ufi Ventures Breakfast drew investors for an off-the-record conversation on where capital is and isn't flowing across EdTech and vocational technology. The broader picture, discussed at multiple events including the British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) x Bett Global gathering at Cooley LLP, is one of selectivity: investors want to see evidence of impact, not just product demonstrations. The era of funding enthusiasm is giving way to funding outcomes.
Speaking at MuseCool's event, ‘From Scales to Scale: The Investment Case for Music Education in the AI Era’, Music Technology UK CEO Matt Cartmell offered a data point from the adjacent music education space: 11 UK music education companies have raised equity funding since 2020, and 11 more have received grant funding - a sign of real investor appetite, but also of an infrastructure gap between seed and growth stage that continues to challenge the sector.
The BESA x Bett Global gathering: a snapshot of the sector
The Empowering EdTech Innovators 2026 event at Cooley LLP - hosted by British Educational Suppliers Association (BESA) and Bett Global, with partners EDT&Partners and sponsor VenturEd Solutions - drew together founders, investors, researchers, and educators for one of the week's most substantive days. Four sessions covered EdTech evidence, policy and research, investment insights, and a conversation with Bett UK Event Director Michaela Fearon and NetSupport CEO Al Kingsley MBE.
The macro consensus that emerged, as captured by attendee Phoebe Ng of Excelas, was stark: the era of dropping standalone student-facing screens into classrooms is over. The future belongs to quiet, back-office infrastructure utilities that seamlessly integrate with existing pipelines and respect teacher capacity.
Bett's Michaela Fearon, reflecting on the day, offered what may be the week's most shareable closing thought: "The future of education technology won't be built by any one organisation. It will be built through collaboration, evidence and shared ambition."
The human texture of a remarkable week
The week began the way it should: with a full house. Brighteye Ventures and Cooley LLP hosted the traditional Opening Reception on Monday evening, bringing together friends and newcomers from across the learning and work tech community. It set the tone - warm, connected, and genuinely glad to be in the same room.
For all the policy debates and panel sessions, some of the most resonant reflections after the week were the personal ones. What came through clearly was that London EdTech Week means something beyond the agenda. It is where relationships that began at a previous edition quietly compound into partnerships, where a chance introduction at one event turns into a collaboration years later. That continuity - accumulated over editions, not just days - may be the best argument for what the week does that no single conference can replicate.
Looking ahead
London EdTech Week 2026 leaves the sector with a clearer set of questions than it arrived with. How do we build a shared evidence infrastructure that schools, investors, and policymakers can trust? How do we integrate AI in ways that strengthen rather than hollow out the human purposes of education? And how do we turn a week of momentum into a year of it?
The answers will take longer than a week. But the conversations have started.
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