Physical stages 2026
The University:Future Festival was a three-day hybrid event, bringing participants together at five locations from 22 to 24 June 2026.
All of our stages feature outstanding speakers, networking opportunities, and special local offerings.
We presented the main stage of the festival in Berlin, which featured contributions from our community alongside appearances from national and international experts. The Berlin stage took place on 22 and 23 June 2026. The programme began at 09:30 on 22 June and finished at 17:30 on 23 June. A reception for all participants took place on the evening of 23 June. Location: Festsaal Kreuzberg, Am Flutgraben 2, 12435 Berlin.
Innovative learning had it’s centre stage at NRW:Stage in Essen. The focus was on current approaches and developments in digital teaching, accessibility and the teaching and learning methods of the future. In addition to the stage programme, NRW:Stage offered a wide range of opportunities for networking and exchange. The Digitale Barrierefreiheit.nrw network meeting took also place as part of the partner stage. The NRW:Stage was organised by ORCA.nrw, the networks hdw nrw and Hochschuldidaktik NRW, KI:edu.nrw, Moodle.nrw and ILIAS.nrw, as well as the Kompetenzzentrum Digitale Barrierefreiheit.nrw and the digiLL university network. The stage took place on 22 June 2026. Location: Unperfekthaus, Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 18-20, 45127 Essen.
Learning and teaching—as an ideal, a subject of research, an established practice, and sometimes even a dystopia. The Future-Tech:Stage in Braunschweig focused on emerging technologies and the question of how they are transforming learning spaces, exam formats, and university culture. The Technical University of Braunschweig explored the topic from various perspectives: technical and pedagogical, but also strategic and human. In addition to the content-related aspects, the venue offered numerous opportunities to network both within and outside the program and to foster inter-university dialogue. The Future-Tech:Stage was organized by the Emerging Tech Lab, a subproject of the Digital Teaching Hub Lower Saxony, with the participation of TU Braunschweig, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences, the University of Hildesheim, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute, and the Stifterverband. In addition, the Media Lab offered a second in-person stage with the Media Lab:Stage and focuses, among other things, on the topic of virtual learning spaces. The Future-Tech:Stage and Media Lab:Stage took place on June 23, 2026, in the old building of the Technical University of Braunschweig (Pockelsstraße 4, 38106 Braunschweig).
At the partner stage in Graz, TU Graz the significance of artificial intelligence for universities together with experts, university staff and interested parties was discussed. The focus was on the practical application and impact of AI in research, teaching and administration. The AI:Stage in Graz took place on 23 June 2026. Location: Ground floor of the building at Stremayrgasse 30, 8010 Graz, Austria.
In Nuremberg, the Technische Hochschule and the Technische Universität organised the joint partner stage Shifting:Stage for the third time. On 23 June 2026, the stage offered an exclusive insight into innovative teaching and learning approaches and present the latest research findings. Location: Ohm Innovation Centre, Brucknerstraße 11, 90429 Nuremberg.
At Open for Change:Stage in Hamburg, the University of Hamburg and #OERcamp jointly invited participants to rethink openness as the key to the future of schools and teacher training. The focus was on questions of open attitudes, open practices, and open institutions: How can universities prepare teacher training students for a world in which change is the norm? What role do OER and OEP play in this – and how can openness be anchored as a professional competence? The stage brought together scientists, practitioners, and interested parties who are jointly seeking ways to make education more courageous, flexible, and collaborative. Short inputs, inspiring perspectives, and space for exchange made the Open for Change Stage a place for inspiration and networking between universities, schools, and the education community. The stage in Hamburg took place on June 24, 2026. Location: YU GARDEN, Feldbrunnenstraße 67, 20148 Hamburg.
