World Class University Presidents Forum 2026 Higher Education Reimagined: Innovating for the Future

The World Class University Presidents Forum convenes the leaders of the world's foremost universities for a candid conversation about the future of higher education. At a moment of extraordinary change — driven by artificial intelligence, shifting geopolitics, new economic demands, and rising questions about the value and purpose of the university itself — the Forum asks not how universities can adapt, but how they can lead.

Under the theme "Higher Education Reimagined: Innovating for the Furture," the inaugural Forum brings presidents, rectors, and vice-chancellors together across borders and disciplines to examine the university through three lenses: the university in the age of artificial intelligence, the university and society, and the university in the long story of human civilisation. Through keynote addresses and intimate panel and roundtable dialogues, participants exchange candid questions — the kind that only peers who carry the same responsibilities can explore together.