We explored a forward-looking vision for reimagining education in London, exploring a shift from rigid, siloed systems toward adaptable, inclusive, community-embedded learning environments. Education should prioritise creativity, values, wellbeing, and transferable skills that prepare learners for a fragmented labour market and jobs yet to emerge. Spaces must be designed with flexibility, interdisciplinarity, and lifelong learning in mind, enabling continuous evolution of curricula and teaching methods. 

Supported by various site visits, we realised that a fully youth-centred approach is essential, with students actively co-designing physical environments. Inclusivity, accessibility, neurodiversity, and mental health must be embedded into all learning settings. Technology and AI should be adopted with care, ensuring alignment with educational purpose rather than novelty. 

Strategic planning should connect education with housing, industry, regeneration, and community needs, supported by innovative funding models and masterplanning. Reuse and retrofit of existing buildings can unlock cultural value, reduce carbon impacts, and create unconventional, high-value learning spaces. Education institutions should act as civic anchors, engaging local communities, building trust, and supporting social value through multi-use spaces. 

Stronger links between education and industry are crucial, offering clear pathways, mentorship, and real-world experience. Surplus spaces should be leveraged as community assets, supporting enterprise, culture, and lifelong learning. 

Output 

Our Thought Guide for the Next Generation of Education sparks new ways of thinking — to inspire the right questions at the start of every project and to blend practical guidance with reflection and provocation. 

We have built on the principles of the New London Agenda which is our framework for best practice in city-making – Focus on Health, Plan for Future Generations, Think Beyond Boundaries, Value Diversity, Leverage Innovation and Work in Partnership- as well as environmental, social and economic sustainability. 

We invite everyone involved in designing, delivering, and experiencing education to engage with the ideas and case studies that follow — and together, to co-create a new narrative for learning that is bold, inclusive, and future-focused. 

Impact and Industry Relevance 

Reflections 

Education and Industry Alignment 

 

Opportunities for Collaboration  

Link to Innovation Districts  

In the university sector there is increasingly a focus on innovation alongside teaching and research, and there is a strong correlation between research power and potential for innovation.  

Universities and hospitals tend to be the drivers of innovation districts; universities and teaching hospitals are anchor institutions and have strong interaction with industry. Their impact is significant because of their workforce, its size and permanence. Innovation coming out of those institutions might reduce health inequalities and help people back into work. 

Focus for 2026 

Create a public discussion through panels and engagement about our provocations set in our Thought Guide including e.g. about 

Future Purpose of Educationand Considering a Shift in Educational Focus 

What can education institutions give back to London?  

In the future world of work, what is the value of education space and how can we make education relevant?  

How can education prepare students for the fragmentation of the work market? 

How can education become system-based not project-based, and how can spaces support this?  

Create Strong Inclusive Communities & Linking with Industry 

How can we link global talent to local talent? 

How can we link employers up with universities, colleges and schools, creating true outreach and inclusivity?  

How can we create spaces where people want to work and connect?

Should education be exclusive or inclusive?  

Should education facilities be inward or outward looking?