The World Digital Education Conference 2026 will be held from May 11 to 13 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, according to the Ministry of Education.

Themed "AI+ Education: Transformation, Development and Governance", the conference aims to build an open and inclusive global dialogue platform and promote consensus and norms on AI governance in education.

Several major digital education achievements will be unveiled during the event, said Yang Dan, director of the ministry's Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, at a news conference held in Beijing on Thursday.

They include the China Smart Education Development Report (2025-2026), which reviews the evolution of smart education in China and examines global trends, and the Global Digital Education Development Index (2026), which establishes a benchmark for measuring digital education worldwide.

The conference will feature four segments: an opening ceremony, plenary sessions, parallel sessions and a closing ceremony. Seven themed visit routes will also be arranged before the conference.

Each route will include one school, one enterprise and one cultural landmark. The visits will cover institutions at all levels, including primary, secondary, vocational and higher education schools, and feature leading high-tech companies such as Unitree Robotics and Alibaba.

Two standards related to AI application systems in education will also be released, focusing on AI implementation in education and the development of smart campuses, with the aim of providing practical solutions.

The China Smart Education public service platform will be upgraded with three core functions: a global AI education service platform, a lifelong learning hub and a Chinese-language learning community, offering high-quality digital resources and products to learners worldwide.

From 2023 to 2025, the Ministry of Education held the World Digital Education Conference for three consecutive years, with expanding scale, growing international participation and increasing brand influence.

The ministry-led National Smart Education platform has benefited users in more than 200 countries and regions, serving over 170 million learners. Its international version offers nearly 900 multilingual courses free of charge.