Education & Training

THE World Academic Summit 2026

THE World Academic Summit 2026 brings together global leaders in higher education, research, and policy to Cape Town, South Africa, marking its first appearance on the African continent. The summit will explore how universities can harness intelligence - human, artificial, and collective - to shape fairer, more sustainable, and future-ready societies. Attend…

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99Speakers
2Sponsors
136Sessions
68Companies · in total

Speakers

Programmed at THE, in alphabetical order.

Abdullah Elias
Director of Rankings, Strategy and Institutional Advancement · Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University
Abhishek Sinha
Pro Vice-Chancellor · University of Petroleum and Energy Studies
Abhi Veerakumarasivam
Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor · Sunway University
Adam Habib
Vice-Chancellor · SOAS University of London
Alberto José Cardelle
President · State University of New York
Aliana Leong
Associate Vice-President of International Affairs · Macau University of Science and Technology
Aliana Man Wai Leong
Associate Vice-President of International Affairs · Macau University of Science and Technology
Alizedney Ditucalan
Chancellor · Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology
Anders Söderholm
Rector · KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Anicia Peters
Chief Executive Officer · National Commission on Research, Science and Technology
Anne Marie Kanstrup
Pro Rector for Education · Aalborg University
Anthony Rionda
Senior Associate Vice-President · Florida International University
Bin Yang
Vice-Chancellor of the University Council · Tsinghua University
Bjørn Thomassen
Acting Pro Rector · Roskilde University
Brandon Collier-Reed
Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Teaching and Learning · University of Cape Town
Carmen Lamagna
Academic Adviser and Member of the Board of Trustees · American International University – Bangladesh
Chris Havergal
Editor · Times Higher Education
Christian Wolfrum
Deputy President and Provost · Nanyang Technological University
Christophe Lerouge
President · IMT Atlantique
Dag Rune Olsen
Rector · UiT The Arctic University of Norway
David Garza
President · Tecnológico de Monterrey
Deog-seong Oh
Professor · Woosong University

Sponsors

The companies behind the program. Tiers as disclosed.

University of BristolCo-host
University of Cape TownHost partner

Agenda

Selected from 136 sessions.

  • 10:05 AM - 10:35 AM GMT +2

    From retention to personalisation: How is data rewiring the global university?

    Universities have never had more data about their students, yet many institutions struggle to convert that information into meaningful action. Retention can no longer be treated si…

  • 10:05 AM - 10:35 AM GMT +2 / 4:05 AM - 4:35 AM Your local time (30 min)

    From retention to personalisation: How is data rewiring the global university?

    Universities have never had more data about their students, yet many institutions struggle to convert that information into meaningful action. Retention can no longer be treated si…

  • 10:05 AM - 10:35 AM GMT +2 / 4:05 AM - 4:35 AM Your local time(30 min)

    From retention to personalisation: How is data rewiring the global university?

    Universities have never had more data about their students, yet many institutions struggle to convert that information into meaningful action. This session explores how predictive …

  • 10:05 AM - 10:35 AM GMT +2 / 4:05 AM - 4:35 AM Your local time (30 min), 29 Sept

    From retention to personalisation: How is data rewiring the global university?

    Universities have never had more data about their students, yet many institutions struggle to convert that information into meaningful action. Retention can no longer be treated si…

  • 10:05 AM - 10:45 AM GMT +2 / 4:05 AM - 4:45 AM Your local time(40 min)

    Higher education in the Intelligent Age: Purpose, people, pedagogy and planet

    The role and purpose of higher education has evolved in the past 20 years. Amid international competition, technological acceleration, geopolitical fragmentation and environmental …

  • 10:45 AM - 11:25 AM GMT +2 / 4:45 AM - 5:25 AM Your local time(40 min)

    From brain drain to knowledge circulation: African leadership in talent, innovation and mobility

    Africa has the youngest population in the world, with more than 400 million young people between 15 and 35. This presents higher education institutions with a profound opportunity …

  • 10:55 AM - 11:55 AM GMT +2

    The presidential perspective: Driving societal impact through research

    This panel brings together four university presidents to explore how universities can reposition research as a driver of societal impact. Moving beyond traditional publication and …

  • 10:55 AM - 11:55 AM GMT +2 / 4:55 AM - 5:55 AM Your local time

    The presidential perspective: Driving societal impact through research

    This panel brings together four university presidents to explore how universities can reposition research as a driver of societal impact. Moving beyond traditional publication and …

    Day 1
  • 10:55 AM - 11:55 AM GMT +2 / 4:55 AM - 5:55 AM Your local time (1 hour)

    The presidential perspective: Driving societal impact through research

    This panel brings together four university presidents to explore how universities can reposition research as a driver of societal impact. Moving beyond traditional publication and …

Company intelligence

What does it mean when 68 companies show up, and 2 bet on three roles at once?

68 companies. two are betting more than once.

The numbers below are derived from the speakers, sponsors, and exhibitors on this page, cross-referenced into one ledger. They are the only thing here that 10times.com cannot tell you.

Who's in the room
2All threespeak · spons · exh
0Sponsoringsponsor only
66Speakingspeaker only

In all three roles

University of Bristol·University of Cape Town

Speakers by seniority

21% of the speakers carry senior titles: C-suite, Founder, VP, or Director-level.

  • C-suite55%
  • Founder / Owner22%
  • Director / Head of1414%
  • Manager / Lead55%
  • Product11%
  • Research / Science33%
  • Marketing / Brand11%
  • Other roles6869%

Of 99 speakers · classified by free-text title

Most-represented companies
Sponsors by tier
co-host1
50% of 2
host partner1
50% of 2