LEARNTEC 2025: Driving the direction of travel in an ever-changing educational landscape
Positive vibes, an engaged audience, high levels of satisfaction and trade visitors from 40 countries
Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to be the hottest topic in the education sector - and was also very much in evidence at this year's LEARNTEC at Messe Karlsruhe last week. The targeted use of AI as a strategically deployed support tool for people on their educational journey is crucial for learning success. The international exhibition and congress provided trade visitors with clarity in this rapidly changing market - and allowed them to explore and enjoy the latest learning technologies and numerous premieres at more than 350 exhibition stands, on twelve stages and in other individual areas.
Community hub for education experts
"The world is changing rapidly and so are the markets,” says Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of Messe Karlsruhe. “Technological leaps are taking place in ever-shorter periods of time. This calls for a community platform like LEARNTEC that brings people together, alongside innovative offerings, networking and training opportunities. With attendee satisfaction rates of over 90 per cent for the trade fair and the convention, we have once again succeeded in achieving our goal at this 32nd edition." This was confirmed by both attendees and exhibitors such as Benjamin Rosén, COO of Swedish provider TicTac Learn, who says: "LEARNTEC has been an exciting experience. We’ve had valuable conversations with visitors from across Europe, all eager to explore smarter, more flexible ways to work with digital learning, all powered by AI of course. The energy and curiosity have been inspiring!” Martin Binieck, Deputy Head of Marketing and Sales at Antrago, adds: "We experienced a diverse audience, with everything from seminar providers to large academies and universities represented. This range reflects our target groups and they all bring their own requirements and trends with them." One of the LEARNTEC visitors was Lucie Schumacher, Senior HR Digitalisation Officer at Rheinmetall, who reveals: "LEARNTEC was very exciting with lots of innovations. My focus was on the digitalisation of training in our company.”
Around 40 per cent of the approximately 13,000 participants from 40 countries, including Austria, the UK, France and the USA, made their way to Karlsruhe, making it the go-to hotspot for digitalisation in schools, universities and professional education and training. Gabriele Luczak-Schwarz, First Mayor of the City of Karlsruhe, said during her tour of the exhibition: "LEARNTEC and the Karlsruhe TechnologyRegion are a perfect match. In this inspiring ecosystem, the technologies of the future are being created."
Making employees, students and pupils fit for the future
Future skills, such as adaptability, problem-solving, flexibility and the willingness to commit to lifelong learning, were probably one of the most frequently mentioned terms at this year's exhibition and congress. In volatile times, the ability to embrace technologies such as artificial intelligence, metaverse and digital tools, and - as stipulated by lawmakers in the EU AI Act - to use them responsibly and safely is particularly important. Using AI as an example, numerous trade fair stands focused on its strategic and in-depth application for individualised learning paths, skills analysis and automated content creation. Other key topics included gamification, immersive learning worlds and learning and knowledge management systems that can be flexibly customised to the user - whether in the AR/VR area, the GAMES@LEARNTEC lecture series or the new school formats ‘Meet the Speaker’ and ‘Early Childhood Education’.
DigitalPakt 2.0: School authorities and management on the starting blocks
In the school@LEARNTEC area, the German DigitalPakt Schule 2.0, which has been agreed but not yet launched, has already cast its shadow: The exhibitors in the dm-arena - from learning apps and AI learning aids to digital and collaborative classroom equipment – alongside a specialist programme of over 80 sessions, offered school managers, board representatives and municipal school authorities guidance for future investments. Sandra Boser, State Secretary in the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, Ralph Müller-Eiselt from Forum Bildung Digitalisierung and Michael Zieher, Director of the Baden-Württemberg State Media Centre, discussed ‘DigitalPakt 2.0 - What matters now.’
Deep dive into the central EdTech topics: LEARNTEC Congress
Around 70 lectures and panels with around 100 speakers, including a daily English-language programme, provided a comprehensive insight into the challenges in education along with concrete solutions. It was clear from all the presentations that technology in education needs a strategy and must be designed in a human-centric way, and also constantly questioned. Top speakers included British AI education expert and Cambridge scholar Dr Philippa Hardman, robotics researcher Dr Jan Peters, Dr Birgit Stelzer, Managing Director of Entrepreneurs Campus, neurobiologist and brain researcher Prof Dr Martin Korte and psychiatrist and neurologist Prof Dr Volker Busch.
The programme, for which the congress committee Sünne Eichler and Prof. Peter Henning were responsible, struck a chord with the delegates, with over 91.5% saying they were satisfied/very satisfied in a follow-up survey.
Getting set for 2026
By the end of the event, around three-quarters of the planned exhibition space for 2026 had already been booked. Stefanie Ruf, Product Owner, said: "This is wonderful confirmation of the quality of the event. Next year, we will once again be a trailblazer in the dynamic education landscape at the meeting place for thought leaders and practitioners of digital learning."
