This year, I had the pleasure to be a mentor and contributor at SXSW EDU 2026, which took place in March. My focus was on how technology, and in particular networking, connectivity solutions and Artificial Intelligence (AI), can support education, inclusion and new forms of collaboration.
SXSW EDU is always a useful place to take the temperature of education, and this year at SXSW EDU 2026 in Austin, Texas the conversation about technology and AI in education has moved from theory to practice. The most interesting discussions were no longer about whether technology should have a place in education, but about how to use it thoughtfully and in a more inclusive manner, how teachers and students can have a voice in a seemingly AI-dominated sector and how to ensure it supports richer and more meaningful ways for people to learn and work together. It was fascinating to see the shift from using AI in education to merely create content, to reducing the admin workload or repetitive tasks and, at the same time, creating more space for the human work that matters most.
There was a strong emphasis on inclusion, access, empowerment and the future of learning, making it clear that equity, accessibility and participation are no longer side issues in discussions about innovation, but central concerns. Research and education networking communities worldwide are playing an important role in bridging the digital divide, and that work goes well beyond supporting universities and laboratories alone. NRENs in Europe and beyond also serve schools, libraries, museums and other cultural institutions, including in rural and tribal contexts around the world.
The structure of the event itself this year reinforced that sense of change, because with the Austin Convention Center out of use during redevelopment, SXSW EDU adopted a more distributed model across the city. This broader setting made the discussions around connectivity feel even more relevant and personal, and throughout the week I spent much of my time speaking with educators, teachers and researchers about networked technology in practice. I ran a series of mentoring sessions on using network technology in the classroom, using live demonstrations from my laptop not only to share tools and approaches, but also to highlight the work we do across GÉANT and with our long-standing partners at Internet2. In those sessions, I showcased the latest version of eduMEET and discussed how lightweight, browser-based video collaboration tools can support more flexible (and sustainable) forms of teaching, participation and exchange, particularly in settings where ease of access and low technical barriers are essential.
I also shared practical tips on running CESNET’s free, cross-platform audio-video tool, UltraGrid, on laptops and inexpensive computing equipment, which initiated quite a few conversations about portability, accessibility and the importance of making real-time media workflows more approachable for educators who want to experiment without needing specialist infrastructure.
From there, the discussion moved naturally into the domain of networked performance and creative collaboration and NPAPW (the Network Performing Arts Production Workshop), where advanced networks are used not simply to transfer data, but to create shared performance spaces. It was very inspiring to talk about virtual stages, the inclusive aspect of technology in performing arts and to introduce some collaborative theatre works, such as Romeo and Juliet Online. This fascinating project, developed by the University of Coventry and ESADIB in Palma de Mallorca, and presented at the last two editions of NPAPW, demonstrated in a practical and accessible way, how networking infrastructure is not simply a back-end technical tool, but something that can directly shape pedagogy, creativity and inclusion by allowing people in different places to rehearse, perform, teach and create together in real time.
That same idea was also at the basis of a public talk I gave at Austin Central Library on creating art with networked tools, and it was an excellent setting for that conversation because the library itself offers a strong example of how public institutions can combine technological excellence with a deep civic purpose. The talk explored how networked infrastructure can enable artistic collaboration across distance, while also showing how creative practice can help people understand the value of connectivity in a more immediate, accessible and human way.
I concluded with a live demo that used the GÉANT and Internet2 networks to create live music from a custom-made co-creation platform, running on GÉANT infrastructure. It was a simple but effective reminder that research and education networks are not abstract systems operating quietly in the background, but they are de-facto cultural infrastructures, teaching platforms and community spaces.
Digital collaboration, virtual reality, AI, matter most when they help people connect better, participate more fully and build something together. I feel SXSW EDU this year offered many examples of that shift, from practical AI and inclusive learning to distributed festival spaces, student creativity and networked art, while also showcasing something we see clearly in our work across research and education networks: when connectivity is a community enabler rather than simply an infrastructure, it opens up genuinely new ways of learning, teaching and collaborating. Something everybody can truly enjoy, treasure, and pass on to the next generations.
