The standout education events of 2027 start early: Bett UK runs 20–22 January 2027 at ExCeL London — the world’s largest education technology show, free for educators — followed by SXSW EDU in Austin on 13–16 March, and ISTELive 27 in Boston on 27–30 June. Between them, the year’s calendar covers classroom technology, school leadership, higher education and education business, on three continents. This guide lists the events worth your limited travel budget, with confirmed dates where organisers have published them and honest “to be confirmed” labels where they have not.

Education events are not interchangeable. A classroom teacher, a school-group IT director and an EdTech founder can attend the same show and need completely different things from it. Use the “best for” column first, dates second.

Freshness note: dates and prices in this guide were checked against the organisers’ own websites on 24 October 2026. Entries marked TBC follow each event’s usual pattern and will be updated here as organisers confirm their 2027 editions — always re-check the official site before booking travel.

The 2027 Education Calendar at a Glance

Dates are the organisers’ published dates at the time of writing; those marked TBC follow their event’s usual pattern and must be confirmed on the official site before booking.

Bett UK — The Biggest EdTech Show on Earth (20–22 January, London)

Bett is where the global education technology industry does its January business: over 35,000 education professionals, 600-plus exhibitors and hundreds of speakers at ExCeL London. Teachers and school and university staff, government and non-profit attendees register free; commercial attendees pay, with published 2027 ticket prices starting at £325 and rising towards £750 at the show — a strong argument for registering early. Go to compare classroom technology hands-on, attend the leadership and IT strands, and use the meeting programmes (Connect @ Bett, TableTalks) that turn a wander around an expo into actual scheduled conversations. Its higher-education strand, Ahead by Bett, makes it relevant beyond schools.

SXSW EDU — The Ideas Festival (13–16 March, Austin)

SXSW EDU is the thinking person’s education event: keynotes, policy debates, film screenings, a learning expo and a student startup competition, immediately before the main SXSW festival (15–21 March). Recent editions have drawn around 8,000 attendees — small beside Bett, deliberately so, since the conversation is the product here. It suits educators interested in equity, innovation and the future-of-learning conversation rather than product shopping, and it is the easiest education event to combine with a wider professional trip — many attendees stay on for SXSW itself. Registration runs through the SXSW system; see our SXSW 2027 badge guide for how Austin pricing and logistics work.

ISTELive — The US Teacher Favourite (27–30 June, Boston)

ISTELive, run by ISTE and co-located with the ASCD annual conference in 2027, is the largest North American event built around classroom practice: thousands of sessions, hands-on labs and an expo focused on what teachers can use on Monday morning. Recent editions of ISTELive have drawn in the region of 15,000–20,000 attendees once the co-located programme is counted, which makes Boston’s hotel market as competitive as the session catalogue that week. It is the best pick on this list for practising teachers and instructional coaches, and district teams attend in groups. Boston in late June also makes it the most family-combinable trip on the calendar.

ASU+GSV, OEB and GESS — The Business and Global Picks

ASU+GSV Summit (San Diego; usually April, 2027 dates TBC)

Where EdTech founders, investors and large-institution leaders meet — part conference, part deal-making, run jointly by Arizona State University and Global Silicon Valley. The programme mixes company showcases, investor meetings and big-stage debates about where education spending goes next, and the attendee list skews senior: this is the room where partnerships and funding rounds quietly start. It is the right pick if you are raising, buying or selling education technology, and a poor one if you want classroom practice — there is almost none. Book meetings before you arrive; the summit rewards schedules, not wandering.

OEB Global (Berlin; usually December, 2027 dates TBC)

Europe’s leading event for workplace learning and digital training, drawing L&D leaders from large employers, universities and training providers to Berlin in the first week of winter. Where Bett is about schools and products, OEB is about how adults learn inside organisations — corporate academies, skills policy, learning technology in practice. Sessions are discussion-heavy and international. If your budget-holder sits in HR or a university’s continuing-education arm rather than a school, OEB is the European event written for you, and its December slot makes it a natural end-of-year planning trip.

GESS Dubai (Dubai; autumn pattern, 2027 dates TBC)

The gateway event for the Middle East’s large private-school market: an exhibition and conference where suppliers, school groups and ministry buyers meet, and where education professionals have typically been able to register free. GESS is the practical choice for any company testing Gulf demand before committing to a regional presence, and for school leaders in the region it is the local equivalent of a Bett trip without the flight to London. Autumn dates follow the event’s usual pattern and were TBC at the time of writing — confirm on the official site, and plan meetings ahead, as with every business-side event on this list.

More Summits Worth Your Calendar

The events above are the global anchors. These nine are the regional and specialist fixtures that fill the rest of a serious 2027 calendar — each is the biggest or most useful event of its kind in its region or segment.

The US practitioner circuit

FETC — Orlando, January (pattern; TBC)

The Future of Education Technology Conference is the district-technology counterpart to ISTELive: where ISTELive serves teachers, FETC serves the people who buy, deploy and secure the technology — CIOs, technology directors and administrators, with a large expo attached. Held in Orlando in January in recent editions, it opens the US education year. If your job involves district-wide rollouts rather than your own classroom, FETC is arguably your first conference, and ISTELive your second.

TCEA Convention & Exposition — Texas, winter (pattern; TBC)

One of the largest educator-run technology conventions in the United States, organised by the Texas Computer Education Association and rotating around Texas host cities. It is practitioner-led — sessions by teachers, for teachers — at a scale and price point below ISTELive’s, which makes it a realistic first national event for US educators whose districts fund one trip a year.

CoSN Annual Conference — USA, spring (pattern; TBC)

The Consortium for School Networking’s conference is the specialist room for school district technology leadership: infrastructure, cybersecurity, data privacy and the policy side of running technology across hundreds of schools. Small beside the giants on this list and entirely unbothered by it — if you are a district CTO, this is the most relevant week of your year.

EDUCAUSE Annual Conference — USA, autumn (pattern; TBC)

Higher education’s technology flagship: the event for university CIOs, IT teams and the vendors who serve them, covering campus systems, research computing, cybersecurity and the digital student experience. Rotating US host city, with a substantial online component in recent editions. School-sector readers can skip it; anyone working in or selling to universities cannot.

Europe, Asia and beyond

Learning Technologies — London, spring (pattern; TBC)

Europe’s largest workplace-learning exhibition and conference, held at ExCeL London in recent editions — the same venue as Bett, aimed at a different crowd: corporate L&D teams rather than schools. The exhibition has been free to enter in recent editions, with the conference programme paid. Pair it with OEB in Berlin for the two halves of the workplace-learning year.

EDUtech Asia — Singapore, mid-year (pattern; TBC)

Asia-Pacific’s largest education technology event in recent editions: a Singapore expo and conference drawing school groups, universities and ministries from across the region. Expo elements have been free while the conference is paid. For suppliers, it is the single best room for reading demand across Southeast and East Asia in one week.

Bett Asia — Kuala Lumpur, later in the year (pattern; TBC)

The Bett family’s Asia-Pacific edition, run on the same model as London — educator registration typically free, commercial attendees paid — and sized for the region rather than the globe. If Bett London is the world show, Bett Asia is where Southeast Asian school groups actually do their buying. Dates follow the event’s usual pattern and were TBC at the time of writing.

DIDAC India — India, autumn (pattern; TBC)

South Asia’s major education exhibition and conference, and the entry point to one of the world’s largest school systems. The audience is Indian schools, training providers and the companies supplying them; international exhibitors use it to find distribution partners. Host city varies by edition — check the organiser’s site for 2027.

eLearning Africa — rotating host city, mid-year (pattern; TBC)

The pan-African conference for ICT-supported education and training, moving between host countries and drawing ministries, universities, NGOs and technology providers working on access at scale. Its agenda — connectivity, low-cost devices, teacher development — is unlike anything on the US or European circuit, and it is the essential event for organisations working in African education.

How to Choose and Budget

Teachers: Bett (free, January, London) or ISTELive (June, Boston). School and trust leaders: Bett’s leadership strands, or OEB for training-focused agendas. EdTech businesses: ASU+GSV for the US market, Bett for global reach, GESS for the Gulf. Whoever you are, add travel honestly — our Cost of Attending a Business Conference guide’s structure (registration, flights, hotel, daily costs, contingency) applies to education events exactly, and international visitors should read our conference visa guide before booking anything non-refundable.

Free and Online Education Events in 2027

Travel budgets decide most teachers’ calendars, so here is the honest free tier of 2027 — named events, not vague promises. Three kinds of free exist in education events: free registration for working educators, free exhibition entry alongside a paid conference, and fully online events. All three are worth using properly rather than treating as consolation prizes.

Free in person, if you are an educator. Bett UK (London, 20–22 January) is free for teachers and school and university staff — the single best free ticket in global EdTech. GESS Dubai has typically offered free registration to education professionals, and Bett Asia runs on the same educator-free model as London. The Learning Technologies exhibition in London has been free to enter in recent editions, with only its conference programme paid. In every case the free tier is for practising education professionals; commercial attendees pay, and you should expect to show your role at registration.

Free and online. Fully online education summits have matured into real programmes rather than webinar filler. The best-known model is the free online PD summit format popularised by events such as the Ditch Summit (a free, multi-day online event for teachers, traditionally held in December — confirm the 2027 edition on the organiser’s site before relying on it), alongside the fast-growing online AI-in-education summits that run several times a year. EDUCAUSE and ISTE also run substantial online programmes around their in-person flagships. Online attendance is the right first step for teachers whose schools cannot fund travel: attend virtually in 2027, build the case with what you learned, and target Bett or ISTELive in person the year after.

The practical route through all of this. Free registration windows close and free tiers fill — Bett’s educator registration and the free online summits alike reward signing up the moment dates are confirmed. And whichever route you take, the money logic is the same as for the paid giants: our guide to the cost of attending a business conference shows how to build the case for funding, and international visitors attending in person should read our conference visa guide before booking anything non-refundable.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the biggest education technology event in 2027?

Bett UK, 20–22 January 2027 at ExCeL London, is the world’s largest EdTech show, with over 35,000 attendees expected. Educators attend free; commercial passes start at a published £325 and rise towards the event.

Which education conference is best for classroom teachers?

ISTELive 27 (27–30 June 2027, Boston) is built around classroom practice, and Bett’s teacher strands are excellent and free for educators. Choose by continent and by whose sessions you most want to attend.

Is SXSW EDU separate from SXSW?

Yes — SXSW EDU (13–16 March 2027) is its own event with its own programme and badge, ending as the main SXSW festival begins (15–21 March). Many visitors attend both in one Austin trip.

Are any major 2027 education events free to attend?

Bett UK is free for educators, school and university staff, government and non-profit attendees. GESS Dubai typically offers free registration to education professionals. Most other summits on this list charge registration fees, with early-bird discounts.

When should I register for 2027 education events?

As soon as your attendance is approved. Bett’s published prices rise from £325 towards £750 at the show, and popular summits sell out their cheapest tiers and hotel blocks months ahead.

What is FETC, and how is it different from ISTELive?

Both are major US education technology conferences, aimed at different chairs in the same school district. FETC (Orlando, January, following its usual pattern) is built for the people who buy and run technology — district CIOs, technology directors and administrators — with a large expo and a leadership-heavy programme. ISTELive (Boston, 27–30 June 2027) is built for the people who use it in classrooms — teachers and instructional coaches — with thousands of practice-focused sessions. Districts often send their technology leadership to FETC and their teaching staff to ISTELive; if you can only attend one, choose by your job description, not by the bigger name.

Which 2027 education events can I attend online or for free?

More than most teachers realise. In person, Bett UK is free for educators (20–22 January, London), GESS Dubai typically registers education professionals free, and the Learning Technologies exhibition in London has been free to enter in recent editions. Online, free multi-day teacher summits in the Ditch Summit mould and the growing AI-in-education online events carry serious programmes at no cost, and EDUCAUSE and ISTE run online programming around their flagships. Free tiers change year to year, so confirm the current offer on the organiser’s site — and register early, because the free educator tiers are the first to fill.

Conclusion

For 2027, anchor the year with one big show that matches your role — Bett for EdTech scale, ISTELive for classroom practice, SXSW EDU for ideas, ASU+GSV for business, FETC for district technology — then fill the gaps with the regional fixtures and free options this guide now names, from EDUtech Asia to the online summits that cost nothing but time. Book while the early prices and free educator registrations are still available, confirm TBC dates on official sites before paying for travel, and browse more in our Education category, including our guides to SXSW 2027 and planning a trip around a major event.