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As I write this, I just received an email from McKinsey & Company entitled, “The strategic realities of a new era.” The research piece goes on to explore “signals” in technology, globalisation, capital flows and so forth now that the world, according to the authors, is transitioning from a “unipolar” orientation to a “multipolar” one. Per the article’s precis, “In a multipolar world, business leaders will need to cut through the static to find clear signals shaping the next era of global competition.”

After making a couple of edits to this tag line, I started to think about what education leaders would need to sort through to find signals shaping the next era of education, research, and employability. This naturally led me to consider some key signals or “headlines” that I will be looking for this year. Granted, these are not quite Alvin Toffler-like Future Shock events, but I do believe, as I stated at EduData 2025, that we are at a number of inflection points in global education, and unless we start to get ahead of them, the future will most certainly pass us by like we are standing still.

Consider some of the trends, below, and how your (and my own) institution is thinking about them, anticipating them, planning for them and hopefully proactively approaching them (instead of waiting to simply react to them, likely erratically, if/when they happen):

Trend 1 (Education): Humanity is “adulting”… with new (digital) sheriffs in town

Twelve percent of the world’s population will be over 65 by 2030… but with the “Gen Z” population accounting for almost half (45 percent) of the world. If university educators, researchers, and administrators do not believe that folks born between 1997 and 2012 are critical to higher education’s survival—“digital natives shaped by constant connectivity, social media, and global events like the COVID pandemic”—then they can at best be about half-right about the future.

What does Gen Z want and need from higher education? This group tends to be diverse, entrepreneurial and focused on mental health and social equity; two social (and public health) pillars that seem to be eroding, somewhat, in the McKinsey-an multipolar world. Gen Zers value purpose-driven brands and experiences over possessions (and “income”), distinguishing themselves from Millennials through their “born digital” perspectives and approaches to work, life, technology and education.

The concept of on-demand (or ubiquitous) education is essential for this generation. They want to learn what they want, when they want, and how they want, and not necessarily with respect to “degree collecting” or traditional, formal educational norms. So, what will we see the (sometimes massive) education-industrial complexes do in terms of flexible offerings, on-demand learning, (micro)credentials and certificates, and ongoing learning and training, as needed, for this generation to be successful? Unfortunately, our university “battleships” cannot always pivot or turn around that quickly, even when the rising tide in front of us is obvious.

Remember, this generation does not necessarily know about riding bikes without helmets, driving around without seat belts, or even submitting handwritten—or typed, God forbid—assignments. Oh, and Gen Zers do not necessarily know what it means to “fail;” everyone, at one time or another, got a participation trophy. But as the world polarises, participation may not be enough. And who will be responsible for preparing these students for such increased competition (from AI) and cooperation (with very different stakeholders)? That’s right: higher education. We had best be prepared. And continuing to offer the same products and services to them that served their parents, and expecting them to eagerly adopt them, will become quite Einsteinian in effect: insanity.

So, I am watching for significant, meaningful,] and very unorthodox disruptions in higher education, not because they are “cool” or “interesting” but because they are more valuable and necessary than we are offering today. Don’t believe me? Look at the winners from QS’s Reimagine Education 2025 conference in London. This ain’t your father’s Oldsmobile.

Trend 2 (Research): No single university (or “state”) will be able to tackle research challenges alone

Academic research has never been more competitive, with power shifts happening at warp speed. In recent press, several studies have noted how my country, the United States, and its research universities have slowed down and/or fallen behind others—most notably Chinese research universities—especially in biomedical research. Of course, China, among other nations, has invested heavily in university-building and research lab formation.

In addition, recent cuts in US (federal) budgets—and thus research grants—have contributed to the deceleration in American scholarly publications. However, those countries and institutions that are doing more and better scholarly work are remarkably different, now, compared to the past: they are working in concert with other, and often much more diverse, research institutions to further the planet’s understanding of the world (and universe) around us.

Universities are now crossing geographical—and geopolitical—boundaries to further research in several academic disciplines. In addition, schools are also partnering with industry to innovate, create, and sustain significant long-term projects. A colleague of mine once noted that major research universities are nothing more than investment firms with an education side hustle. This may be truer, today, than ever before.

Universities and colleges are treating academic and research partnerships as “real options,” in investment terms, and are managing these like private equity firms would manage their portfolio companies. Serious, professional management is being brought to bear on what was traditionally thought of as “ivory tower,” think-tank research. And the results—especially those from cross-border/global collaborations from (very) diverse stakeholders—have been impress.

Therefore, I am looking at the most novel research (and teaching) partnerships out there. A private equity-backed start-up using a university lab and research consortium across several countries to quickly prove what works—and does not work—for example, in a certain cancer therapeutic or medical technology application. Beware of the weirdest and strangest bedfellows you see out there in the next year or so; the most bizarre, multipolar collaborations may yield the fastest, most novel results imaginable (or unimaginable, now), and advance our understanding of the arts, science and technology even faster than Moore’s Law might have predicted.

Trend 3 (Employability): Future generations will feel worse off than their parents…

…but will still be well off! Although real income growth in some counties is slowing, global innovation and quality are accelerating. Newer, more unique, and higher-quality products and services are coming from more diverse locations these days. From manufacturing competence in sub-Saharan Africa to online mental health services from therapists’ basement home offices, the “cool” factor of what’s coming into the global markets these days is impressive.

However, with multipolar economics coming into play—tariffs, stagnant wage growth, inflation, public unrest, and ever-increasing globalization—future generations may feel like the “greatest” generations already came to pass before them. While it may be true that past generations may have saved more and are poised to create the largest intergenerational wealth transfer ever to their descendants, current and future generations still feel “starved” a bit and as though the “golden days” have already happened.

Future generations, though, will continue to be well-off thanks to ever-accelerating advances in technology, healthcare and more efficient “direct” business models. Although I challenged myself to write this article without using the term “AI,” I cannot help it. AI is here, and it’s here to stay for a while. Although the real benefits of AI are yet to be seen at scale in terms beyond simply better instant internet search results—this author’s opinion!—we cannot ignore the impacts of even the most nascent AI gains in higher education.

From supporting recruiting efforts, career services, academic research and even teaching and learning, AI tools, even in their most primitive forms, are making higher education leaders question what “learning” really is, what constitutes plagiarism and “original” thought, what human subjects research is if aided by machine learning, and how to best match student application “demand” with the assets and learning portfolios that presumably “supply” matriculants with skills to equip them for careers in industry, academic, and entrepreneurship. But while the expected future effects cannot be ignored, the “what do we do about it now” question remains at least difficult to answer it not at most impossible to even scope and to get our arms around it.

So, what will it mean to be—or to even feel—“employable” in the multipolar future? Will it be a resume full of specific (global or regional) skills? Certifications by “accredited” learning tools and methods? Degrees and/or credentials proffered by a combination of online and human suppliers? Or demand-driven by employers looking for demonstrations of specific skills to meet specific task and management demands? The answer, fortunately but also sadly, is probably all of the above. And while this answer may present a daunting existential threat to our existing battleships, it also presents a number of opportunities to not only think about—but to also completely rethink—what higher education could be and needs to be to meet a set of new and improved set of demands we are just now beginning to see.

When it comes to employability, I am really looking for headlines and signals that indicate radically new skill and competency demands from employers, governments, start-ups, and funders. Sure, “AI” is out there as a requirement, now, but what’s the next level down? AI how? For what purpose? For what job? For what market? For what need? All too often we look at the supply side—what we offer and what we do—instead of what our customers, benefactors, stakeholders, and funders (think they) need. Moving from a supply-side to a demand-side driven education system is tough. But there is no other path. I am looking for big swings in demand patterns…and not just the ones that are induced by the supplies we create.

In conclusion, in 2026, I am looking for headlines and signals that indicate unusual, unexpected and unorthodox, “crazy” new learning methods in education, research problems that can only be addressed through atypical—and perhaps extremely unconventional—partnerships, and what the real demand curve looks like in employability and labor markets. Because while we tend to think of just one future to address, there are, in fact, many, many other possible ones out there. And in the end, only one future will come our way, so we can only do our best to either shape it proactively based on signals or be prepared to react to it—likely erratically and too quickly—and fall further behind.

In the somewhat edited words of Walt Whitman, don’t assume. Stay curious. Read—and write!—the headlines; don’t presume you know the news, already…especially in the increasingly multipolar ecosystem we live in. That way, we will end up doing what Sir Winston Churchill once said when asked how he thought the future would view him. He replied, “The future will be kind to me for I intend to write it!”

Dr Paul Thurman, a multiple teaching and service award recipient, has extensive advisory and management experience helping a variety of global firms realise value from innovative business, operations and technology strategies. He has held senior positions at Booz Allen Hamilton and American Express, and has served public and private sector clients on six continents. Dr Thurman currently teaches strategic management and data analysis courses at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health.