Reflections by Jane Larsson, CIS Executive Director & Team

 

As international education faces increasing scrutiny and regulation worldwide, the need for informed, courageous advocacy is fundamentally essential.

Many in our membership community across 121 countries are hesitant to speak openly about these changes. They wonder: Will raising concerns hurt my institution, my colleagues, family, or career? The risks can be real, but silence carries its own cost.

We realize how important it is to use our voices as advocates for international education. Collaboration with a purpose is a powerful form of change.

In January, our Global Team reunited in person at our Leiden office in the Netherlands. We began by reflecting on our impact in 2025 to understand how we got to where we are and then turned our focus to where we are heading next.

There's no shortage of opportunities or challenges ahead.

 

To ground our discussions, we opened with questions posed by David French, New York Times Opinion Columnist, who wrote:

What does courage do for us?

‘We don’t know if we’re brave until we first face genuine physical risk.’

‘We don’t know if we’re honest until telling the truth carries a consequence.’

‘We don’t know if we’re kind until our kindness is tested by cruelty.’

Teaming

With the tone set, we centered our discussions around ‘Teaming’; how we come together across our areas of expertise to put our vision into practice.

Amy Edmondson, Leadership expert and economist, first defined Teaming in 2012 as ‘a dynamic, “on-the-fly” process of collaborating with diverse, often shifting team members to solve problems, innovate, and work towards common goals without relying on stable team structures.

‘It focuses on rapid, flexible coordination, continuous learning, and open communication to tackle complex, fast-changing tasks in industries like healthcare and tech’.

Do we all agree that international education now firmly belongs in the category of complex and fast-changing industries?

If yes, we’re each called upon to lean into ‘teaming’.

Envisioning our future

With teaming in mind, I asked my colleagues leading strategic areas at CIS:

If there were no barriers to progress, how might international education change in 2026? What will it look like when the CIS Vision comes true?

Here’s what they told me:

 

Frederico Silva, CIS Director of Higher Education Services

Our members champion understanding, celebrate differences, and demonstrate the strength that comes from resilient coexistence, countering ongoing global polarization.

Every CIS event pushes back against isolation by creating space for students, university admissions teams, student services professionals, and counsellors to connect, learn, and collaborate. All supporting positive educational transitions for young people from secondary to higher education.

Our conversations show that international student mobility continues to be a life-enhancing and positive experience, even in times of uncertainty.

Our preparation and transition support is indispensable when students explore new, less familiar destinations.

Schools and universities work seamlessly together to ensure each student’s journey from secondary to higher education is positive, supported, and successful.

 

 

Kim Czenszak, CIS Chief Operations Officer

Our community makes a meaningful difference in international education through socially responsible leadership.

Schools and universities find practical value in our high-quality, experience-informed guidance. They gain the confidence and autonomy to navigate opportunities and challenges so students can thrive.

Equally important, they learn from each other. They share ideas openly, turn insights into action, and celebrate what works.

Together, we elevate effective practices that benefit students worldwide.

 

 

Olivia Roth, CIS Director of School Evaluation & Development Services

My Three Ps for a vision-driven 2026.

Our protocol: Our protocol for developing Socially Responsible Learning Communities is widely recognized as a relevant and impactful approach to school improvement. Every CIS Accredited School uses it to map growth, strengthen resilience, and embed sustainable practices.

Our people: School leaders aspire to CIS International Accreditation as a powerful school improvement process that advances learning experiences. They align strategic priorities with community aspirations, and every leader and learner understands and demonstrates socially responsible leadership.

Our partnerships: Our partnerships model the values we champion. They keep us accountable and ensure mutual benefit for schools and the communities they serve. They enable us to remain active participants in our learning organization.

 

 

Cécile Doyen, CIS Head of Professional Learning & Development

When our vision comes to life, socially responsible leadership is a shared daily practice.

Relationships across the CIS ecosystem (between us and educational institutions, between our members, and between our members and their communities) shift from transactional exchanges to purposeful partnerships built on trust, shared purpose and a commitment to equitable, ethical, future-focused learning environments. 

Professional learning is connected, reflective, and actionable. Leaders and governance embrace feedback. Schools collaborate across continents. Communities anchor decisions in the best interests of learners and the long‑term health of their collective learning.

Educators and leaders engage in transformative, developmental learning experiences that strengthen both individual capability and collective responsibility. 

Ultimately, all participants in young people’s learning journeys, including students themselves, grow into the “good ancestors”* our world needs.

‘Being a good ancestor means creating institutions and cultures that outlast us. [...] Our greatest responsibility is to shape a future we will never see. [...] We must widen our circles of care to include people we will never meet.’

 

 

Bart van Polen, CIS Business Manager

In the ideal year ahead, we operate a strategically aligned organization that empowers a collaborative global community underpinned by long-term robust finances.

Our vision comes to life through sustainable revenue, smart and strong financial planning, and efficient systems that support member needs.

We build capacity by developing our global team, defining new and refining current services. We make use of emerging technologies to support our decision making.

With strong governance and a stable infrastructure, we enable schools and universities to share effective practices, nurture intercultural competence, and develop socially responsible leadership.

The result is a resilient, well‑resourced organization amplifying its impact across and shaping the future of international education.

 

 

Dan Furness, CIS Head of Safeguarding & Well-being

In short, our vision coming true would see the safe and responsible use of AI.

As we grapple with the immense changes AI introduces, it's essential that we identify and mitigate the risks it brings to our international school community.

Schools would be agile as they adopt this technology and utilise student voice to help develop their school safeguarding systems. Parental engagement is a key cornerstone of how schools support students to safely interact with AI.

And our role at CIS is continued research-informed guidance and expert-led training providing schools with the skills and knowledge they need to prevent and respond to AI-related online harm and abuse.

In an ideal future, student safety will be at the forefront of the AI conversation.

 

 

Mary Powell, CIS Associate Director of School Support & Evaluation—Strategic Initiatives

When our vision is fully realized, all our schools articulate, measure, and live their purpose through meaningful, sustainable development.

Each is a learning organization that is courageous in confronting its challenges, confident in its direction, and committed to developing learners who lead with empathy, integrity, and global responsibility.

We, CIS, are a connector. We link research, ideas, and people so schools feel supported, challenged, and inspired.

Schools embrace CIS International Accreditation as a catalyst for purposeful, targeted innovation, not an external requirement.

They embrace the agency they find in our Socially Responsible Learning Communities Protocol, choosing how to leverage the accreditation process to drive meaningful change.

Our collective work doesn’t just improve schools—it shapes the future of international education itself.

What does the ideal 2026 look like if your organization’s vision for international education comes to life?

 

 

 

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Key questions this post addresses:

• What trends and challenges are facing international education?
• What support do international schools need right now?
• How does CIS support schools and universities?