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2026 is a strong year to invest in your network and your learning.
Higher education marketing moves fast; new channels, new expectations, and new tools show up every semester.
Your university or college is juggling recruitment, retention, reputation, and real-time expectations from prospective students, current students, alumni, and staff.
Conferences give you something your day-to-day rarely does: uninterrupted time to learn from peers who are solving the same problems at their university or college.
They’re also where you pick up the practical “how did you actually do that?” tips you can actually use—stronger content, better web experiences, smarter campaigns, and clearer ways to prove impact.
That’s why they matter.
This 2026 list highlights the events worth bookmarking now.
Some already have dates, and others will publish full programs soon…but all of them have a track record of delivering value for higher education teams.
Dates: March 17–19, 2026, in Liverpool (UK)
If you work closely with digital, IT, or campus technology leaders, UCISA is a smart addition to your year.
It’s one of the best places to understand what’s changing on the technology side of higher education, and how that affects web, martech, data, and student experience.
The summit is usually positioned around leadership in IT and digital education, building on prior years.
Why it matters for higher ed marketers:
Even if you’re not in IT, your CMS roadmap, personalization plans, analytics setup, and accessibility progress often depend on cross-team alignment.
UCISA can help you build those relationships and speak the same language when priorities collide.
Dates:
- Minnesota Regional Conference: June 17, 2026, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (USA)
- California Regional Conference: June 24, 2026, Santa Clara University, California (USA)
DigiCol (formerly HighEdWeb) regionals are great when you want the “best part of a big conference” in a more focused, budget-friendly format.
They’re hosted on campuses, built for practical learning, and designed for real connection.
Two standouts to plan around in 2026 are the Minnesota and Califonian ones.
Why it matters for higher ed marketers:
Regionals tend to attract the people doing the work: web managers, content strategists, UX folks, and digital communicators.
That makes the conversations unusually actionable, especially if you’re improving content governance, rebuilding IA, or trying to move faster without breaking standards.
They’re also super-friendly and a lot of fun.
Dates: #PSEWeb is usually held in the summer and rotates around Canadian cities (location and date as yet unannounced)
If you’re in Canada (or you want a strong peer-led vibe), #PSEWeb is a standout higher ed conference.
It’s known for its community energy and its mix of strategy and hands-on insight across web, social, and digital communications, not to mention the good vibes.
Their social channels are clearly looking ahead—“See you in 2026!”—so it’s one to keep on your radar.
Why it matters for higher ed marketers:
This is the kind of conference where you’ll swap notes on what’s working right now at other institutions, with templates, workflows, content patterns, measurement, and what teams are prioritizing.
If your university or college is trying to do more with less, those conversations are gold.
Dates: July 14–16, 2026, in Orlando, Florida (USA)
eduWeb is one of those conferences that consistently feels built for higher education marketers.
It brings together enrollment, communications, web, UX, analytics, and content leaders who are focused on improving the full student journey.
Why it matters for higher ed marketers:
This is a strong choice if your university or college is trying to connect the dots between marketing performance and better digital experiences, with 2026 learning topics and call for speakers already published.
Dates: October 6–7, 2026, in Edinburgh, Scotland.
HE Connect is designed for higher education professionals who want deep discussion, not surface-level presentations!
It’s a strong choice if you’re leading digital transformation, running a complex web program, or coordinating across departments…or if you just truly enjoy connecting with higher ed professionals in a friendly, engaging format.
Why it matters for higher ed marketers:
This is especially relevant if your institution is working through multi-site governance, platform decisions, content operating models, or service design thinking.
The format tends to encourage honest, practical exchanges—exactly what you need when you’re trying to drive change across your university or college.
Dates: October 14-15 2026, delivered online.
If you work in higher education content strategy (or you want to), ContentEd deserves a spot on your calendar.
It’s global, it’s content-first, and it treats content as a strategic capability, not a production line. They’re actively building the 2026 program.
Why it matters for higher ed marketers:
If your team is wrestling with content debt, approvals, voice consistency, accessibility, or “we need to rewrite everything before launch,” this conference speaks directly to your reality.
You’ll likely leave with frameworks that make content governance feel possible.
Dates: November 8–11, 2026, in Aurora, Colorado (USA)
If your 2026 goal is to sharpen your admissions and enrollment marketing strategy (or if you want research-informed approaches), AMA’s higher ed symposium is a classic.
It’s also a strong vendor and solutions environment if you’re exploring tools and partners (come sya hi to us!).
Why it matters for higher ed marketers:
This is a great place to pressure-test your campaigns and positioning against what peers are doing across the sector.
It’s also useful if you’re building the case for investment, because the content often helps you translate “marketing work” into institutional impact.
A simple way to choose the right conference mix
It’s easy to overbook your team this year.
Instead, try building a “conference portfolio” that matches how your team needs to grow.
A balanced approach might look like:
- One strategy-heavy event (AMA Symposium or HE Connect) to shape priorities and build your roadmap.
- One practitioner-focused event (DigiCol Regionals or #PSEWeb) for tactics, templates, and real-world workflows
- One content and governance event (ContentEd) if content quality and consistency are central to your student experience.
- And if you’re planning a big platform shift or governance reset, UCISA can be a smart way to build alignment with the technology side of the house.
Your 2026 conference plan starts now...!
The best professional development can change what you do on Monday morning.
Pick the events that will help you ship better work, build better relationships, and create better digital experiences for students.
Which 2026 conference do you think is most likely to move the needle for you and your university or college this year?