It's the moment you've been waiting for! The first wave of accepted sessions crowdsourced from PanelPicker is here!
More than 1,400 session ideas were submitted to PanelPicker this year. Over the last few months, 43,439 votes were cast by our passionate community and every proposal was reviewed by members of our dedicated Advisory Board and staff to thoughtfully narrow down the proposals. We are excited to announce 187 sessions that rose to the top, as well as a preview of 23 events.
“This year's PanelPicker proposals are some of the most thoughtful discussions and conversations we've seen to date. The first sessions announced from PanelPicker for our 15th year celebrate the powerful work of our community and we look forward to growing the dialogue on education and beyond in the coming months."
- Julia Shatilo
SXSW EDU Programming Director
These sessions address timely topics covering all areas of education including using AI ethically, investing in teacher pipelines, focusing on student agency, the benefits of informal learning spaces, and innovating higher education, among many others. The top track from the sessions announced today is Teaching & Learning, followed by Community Initiatives and Leadership for Tomorrow. These sessions represent more than a dozen countries and a wide range of education initiatives, innovations, challenges, and influences to be addressed throughout the conference and festival.
Dive into these inspiring sessions and exciting events, and start saving your favorites in the now-available SXSW EDU Schedule! Plus, don’t forget to register early to save on the walk-up rate for SXSW EDU 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Sessions
Conversations
- Advancing Educational Justice Through School Boards (Policy & Advocacy)
- America Calling: The Impact of Global Higher Education (Global Initiatives)
- Amplifying Student Perspectives & Learner Agency: UDL 3.0 (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Breaking Silos/Building Bridges (Teaching & Learning)
- Building a Pro-Indigenous & Pro-Black Preschool (Equity & Justice)
- Ed Finance Outlook: Which Districts Will be Buying? (Startups & Investment)
- Empowering Educators: Co-Creating with Teacher Partners (Teaching & Learning)
- How to Empower Women Through Cybersecurity & AI Education (Work Reimagined)
- Innovation & Change in Higher Education (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Integrating Healthcare & Early Childhood Education (Health & Wellbeing)
- Navigating the Future of EdTech: Insights from State Leaders (Policy & Advocacy)
- Passport to Equity: Transforming International Education (Global Initiatives)
- Responsible AI & Tech Justice for K-12 Education (Future of Tech)
- Transformative School Leadership for Youth Civic Engagement (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- University Innovation, Against the Odds (Policy & Advocacy)
- XR as a Neurosolution: In Theory & in Practice (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Yes You Can! Boosting Student Confidence Raises Grades (Teaching & Learning)
Meet Ups
- Brazilian Community Meet Up @ SXSW EDU (Global Initiatives)
- Building Authentic Relationships: Networking (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Building the Foundation: Early Childhood Professionals Unite (Community Initiatives)
- Creative Youth Development Funders Meet Up (Arts & Storytelling)
- Elevating Higher Ed Entrepreneurship Centers with Technology (Startups & Investment)
- Environmental Education & Action Meet Up (Community Initiatives)
- Faculty Leadership Beyond the Classroom (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Games for Change Game Night (Arts & Storytelling)
- Getting Closer: Social Entrepreneur & Funder Mixer (Community Initiatives)
- Humanizing the Asynchronous Experience for Adult Learners (Teaching & Learning)
- Leadership Synergy: Connecting Innovative School Leaders (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Local Youth Innovation Coalition Building Meet Up (Community Initiatives)
- Maker Educator Meet Up: Agency by Design (Teaching & Learning)
- Math Pathways: Achieving System Change in Varied Contexts (Teaching & Learning)
- Neurodiverse Educators, Learners, & Families Meet Up (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Newcomer Families Empowered by Community Meet Up (Community Initiatives)
- Red Pecan Learning Community 2035 Open House (Teaching & Learning)
Panels
- $mart Moves: Investing in Teacher Pay & Retention (Policy & Advocacy)
- A Path Forward: Strengthening Pre-K Across the Nation (Policy & Advocacy)
- A Windy City Breakthrough: Data to Drive Youth Progress (Policy & Advocacy)
- AI & the Future of Work: Essential Competencies (Work Reimagined)
- AI & the Skills-First Economy: Navigating Hype & Reality (Work Reimagined)
- AI in Action: Innovative Approaches in Schools & Districts (Future of Tech)
- AI in Education: Preparing Gen A as the Creators of Tomorrow (Future of Tech)
- AI Tools to Support Literacy & Computational Thinking (Future of Tech)
- Alternative Trade School for People Facing Systemic Barriers (Work Reimagined)
- Beyond Compromise: Mastering Negotiation to Advance Women (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Boosting Family Engagement: Public Media & State Synergy (Community Initiatives)
- Bridging the Gap: Centering Students with Disabilities (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Build Civics Skills with Educational Media for the Classroom (Policy & Advocacy)
- Building & Broadening the Education R&D Enterprise (Policy & Advocacy)
- Building Climate Resilient Schools: Insights from Barbados (Global Initiatives)
- Centering Equity amid Declining Enrollment (Policy & Advocacy)
- Cleveland’s Collective Impact Approach to Career Pathways (Work Reimagined)
- Climate Change, AI, & Future of the Planet (Global Initiatives)
- Community Power: Elevating Youth Through Learning Ecosystems (Community Initiatives)
- Community-Driven Approaches to Inclusive AI Education (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Data-Driven Equity: R&D Platforms for Math Learning (Future of Tech)
- Defending the Right to Read: Working Together (Community Initiatives)
- Developing Curriculum? Ask the Students First (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Digital Counterspaces for Black Women & Girls Post-DEI (Equity & Justice)
- Elevating the Teaching Profession with Latinx Educators (Equity & Justice)
- Empowering Media Literacy Through Games (Teaching & Learning)
- From Service to Success: Empowering Veterans to Enter Tech (Work Reimagined)
- Future Ready Impact: Redefining How Schools Measure Success (Teaching & Learning)
- Ghana & the Diaspora in Educational Dialogue (Global Initiatives)
- Great Expectations: Why High Standards Are Key to Success (Policy & Advocacy)
- How AI Makes Assessment More Actionable in Instruction (Future of Tech)
- How Popular Media Can Help Kids Navigate the Climate Crisis (Arts & Storytelling)
- How Sport Can Ignite Change Alongside Schools & Communities (Community Initiatives)
- Humanities 2.0: Data Storytelling Across Curricula (Arts & Storytelling)
- Innovate & Educate: Diverse Funding Models for Ed R&D (Startups & Investment)
- Journalism Training in Prison Teaches More Than Headlines (Equity & Justice)
- Learning from Social Movements: Insights for Neurodiversity (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Learning While Earning: Rethinking Student Employment (Work Reimagined)
- Leveling Up: Game Design Pathways to College & Career (Arts & Storytelling)
- Making Refugee Student Populations Seen: Data's Influence (Policy & Advocacy)
- Making Standards Worth Teaching To (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Making the Economic Case for Workforce Access for Immigrants (Global Initiatives)
- Mitigating Anxiety in the College Application Process (Health & Wellbeing)
- Navigating Mental Health When Calamity is Our New Ordinary (Health & Wellbeing)
- Navigation & Guidance in the age of AI (Work Reimagined)
- New Partnerships to Finance Workforce Mobility (Work Reimagined)
- New Philanthropy Playbook: Funding Innovation in Education (Startups & Investment)
- Partnership = Community Empowerment: UK & US Trailblazers (Community Initiatives)
- Perspectives on Working at Scale in K-12 STEAM Education (Teaching & Learning)
- Raising Up the Voice of Postsecondary Parent Learners (Equity & Justice)
- Reimagining Everyday Places as Early Learning Hubs (Community Initiatives)
- Rural Renaissance: Building Tech Talent Outside City Limits (Work Reimagined)
- Scaling Fast: Using Networks for Rapid Product Growth (Startups & Investment)
- Seeding Innovation: The Power of Breakthrough Funding (Startups & Investment)
- Sex Ed in Schools: Just as Important as ABCs & 123s (Health & Wellbeing)
- Statewide Inclusion Strategies Steering Student Success (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Stay Spicy: Elevating the Power of Neurodiversity (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Strengthening Family-School Connections with EdTech (Community Initiatives)
- Student Perspectives: Equitable Solutions in Rural Education (Equity & Justice)
- Teaching Climate Change Across Disciplines in 2025 (Global Initiatives)
- Teaching Difficult Histories: Private Colleges & Public K-12 (Teaching & Learning)
- Teaching the Headlines When World News Strikes (Teaching & Learning)
- The Ethical Use of AI in the Education of Black Children (Equity & Justice)
- The Future of Teaching in an Age of AI (Future of Tech)
- The Power of Film in Classrooms & Teacher Training (Arts & Storytelling)
- The Untapped Learning Space: Children’s Museums (Community Initiatives)
- What Makes Us Human? Preparing Young People for the AI Age (Health & Wellbeing)
- Youth-Led STEM: a Seismic Shift in Education (Leadership for Tomorrow)
Performances
- Building The Next Generation of Black Ballerinas (Arts & Storytelling)
- It's Not Magic, It's Science! (Equity & Justice)
- Let's Kikabou! Puppets Are Tomorrow's Playful Educators (Arts & Storytelling)
Podcasts
- Evidence Eats AI for Breakfast (Future of Tech)
- Million Dollar Advice Live Podcast Recording (Work Reimagined)
- The Exit Interview: A Podcast for Black Educators (Equity & Justice)
- Tomorrow's Principal: Leading Through Political Turmoil (Leadership for Tomorrow)
Solos
- A Healing-Centered Approach to Girls’ Leadership Development (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- AI in EdTech: Avoid 5 Oversights for Sustainable Impact! (Startups & Investment)
- AI-Powered Theatremaking (Arts & Storytelling)
- Artivism: The Power of Art to Inspire & Change the World (Arts & Storytelling)
- Belonging: A Neurological Imperative for Ed Equity (Equity & Justice)
- Courageous Leadership for & with the Solidarity Generation (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- EdTech for Good: Advancing Accessibility (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Engineering a New Perspective: Indigenous Wisdom in STEM (Teaching & Learning)
- Free Speech in a Polarized World: Giving Everyone a Voice (Policy & Advocacy)
- From Evidence to Impact: Raising Aspirations for Rural Youth (Community Initiatives)
- Global Life Skills Learnings: An Elemental Approach (Global Initiatives)
- Guys, Where’s the Love? Tailored Nudges to Boost Confidence (Health & Wellbeing)
- Harmonizing Education & Industry: A New Paradigm for Music (Arts & Storytelling)
- Harmonizing Minds: Reimagining & Expanding Music in School (Arts & Storytelling)
- How Abbott Elementary Would Write a Startup Pitch (Startups & Investment)
- Keeping Kids Safe Online: The Imperative of Parent Education (Health & Wellbeing)
- Museums as Mindful Spaces: Enhancing Wellbeing for Educators (Health & Wellbeing)
- No Family Left Behind: Boost Multicultural Parent Engagement (Community Initiatives)
- Prepare Students for Tomorrow, Teach the Future Today (Global Initiatives)
- Reigniting Your Professional Passion Through Teaching Abroad (Global Initiatives)
- Revolutionizing the Future of Media & Education (Arts & Storytelling)
- School is a Badly Designed Game: RPGs for the Classroom (Arts & Storytelling)
- Shot Glasses of Happiness: Nurturing Student Well-Being (Health & Wellbeing)
- Teaching the Holocaust Using AR & the Sobibor Uprising (Future of Tech)
- The Power of Storytelling: Spotlighting Lived Experiences (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- Unpacking the Emotional Power of Six-Word Memoir Posters (Arts & Storytelling)
- Using Escape Rooms to Unlock the Future of STEM Education (Teaching & Learning)
- We Love You Here: Decreasing Chronic Absenteeism (Teaching & Learning)
- West Texas Space Pioneer: Breaking Boundaries at NASA (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Why is the Industrial Model of School So Hard to Change? (Leadership for Tomorrow)
Workshops
- A Tool to Bring Your Campus Vision to Life (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Activating the Power of Communities for Radical Change (Community Initiatives)
- An Adventurer’s Guide to Gamification (Arts & Storytelling)
- Be Curious: The Fusion of Grammy Winning Hip Hop & Science (Arts & Storytelling)
- Become a Culture Architect: Wellbeing & Well-Doing at Work (Health & Wellbeing)
- Build-a-Bot Workshop: Make Your Own AI to Make Sense of AI (Teaching & Learning)
- Civics By Students, For Students: Depolarizing via Discourse (Teaching & Learning)
- Creating Anti-Racist & Liberated Early Learning Environments (Equity & Justice)
- Creating Grief Informed Classrooms: Collective Support (Health & Wellbeing)
- Creating Songs for STEM Success with STEMusic! (Teaching & Learning)
- Crossing the Partisan Divide in Education Policy (Policy & Advocacy)
- Design & Disrupt: Ending the Pipeline (Equity & Justice)
- Enough Talk! Let’s Play with AI (Future of Tech)
- Establishing The EdTech Startups Global Market (Startups & Investment)
- Feeling Thoughts: Perspective-Taking, Mindfulness & You (Health & Wellbeing)
- From Ideas to Impact: Developing Creative Problem-Solvers (Teaching & Learning)
- Fund & Follow the Students: Student-Led Civic Leadership (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Game Design Docs Are Better Than Class Lesson Plans (Teaching & Learning)
- Healing Racial Battle Fatigue & Reconnecting with Joy (Health & Wellbeing)
- How to Measure & Communicate the Value of Higher Education (Policy & Advocacy)
- How to Prepare for Education R&D: A Logic Model Workshop (Startups & Investment)
- Inclusive R&D in Education: A Hands-On Workshop (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- Innovate for Impact: Design Community Solutions with AI (Global Initiatives)
- Inspiring Action: A Guidebook to Family-School Engagement (Community Initiatives)
- Integrating Environmental Literacy into the Classroom (Global Initiatives)
- Interest Spark: Getting from Interest to Action in 90 Mins (Work Reimagined)
- Legacy Black Students & Positive Socialization in Schools (Equity & Justice)
- Navigating Needs (Work Reimagined)
- Nourishing Minds: The Power of Food in Early Learning (Teaching & Learning)
- Nurturing the Nurturer: A Blueprint for Black Male Educators (Health & Wellbeing)
- Promoting SEL Acceptance to Parents & the Wider Community (Health & Wellbeing)
- Quantum in the Classroom: Preparing Tomorrow's Innovators (Future of Tech)
- Raising Courageous Bystanders (Arts & Storytelling)
- Reach for the Green Light: Gatsby, Literary Theory, & AI (Teaching & Learning)
- Revolutionizing Workplace Well-Being for Adults & Students (Health & Wellbeing)
- School Reframe: Reinvigorate Your Work with Creative Hustle (Leadership for Tomorrow)
- SEL & Music to Cultivate Community & Curb Absenteeism (Health & Wellbeing)
- Spark Student-Led Inquiry & Ignite Curiosity (Teaching & Learning)
- Storytelling to Remove Barriers to Educational Opportunity (Policy & Advocacy)
- Strengthening Community Through Cradle-to-Career Partnership (Community Initiatives)
- Teaching Civil Discourse in the Classroom (Teaching & Learning)
- The AI Sandbox: Building Your Own Future of Learning (Future of Tech)
- The Art of Empathy: NYU x Whitney Museum Collaboration (Teaching & Learning)
- The Transformative Power of Hip Hop Pedagogy (Equity & Justice)
- The Unapologetically Anti-Racist Educator (Equity & Justice)
- Thriving in Chaos: Tools for Sustainable Change (Equity & Justice)
- Tools for Teachers to Become Digital Accessibility Designers (Accessibility & Inclusion)
- What’s Really Taught in Sex Ed & how do we Fight for It? (Health & Wellbeing)
Competitions
Networking
Coffee Breaks
Snack Breaks
Pop-Up Dinners
- Pop-Up Dinner at Corner Restaurant - Monday
- Pop-Up Dinner at Corner Restaurant - Tuesday
- Pop-Up Dinner at Corner Restaurant - Wednesday
- Pop-Up Dinner at Cannon & Belle - Monday
- Pop-Up Dinner at Cannon & Belle - Tuesday
- Pop-Up Dinner at Cannon & Belle - Wednesday
Hikes
- Greenbelt Hike with Explore Austin - Monday
- Greenbelt Hike with Explore Austin - Tuesday
- Greenbelt Hike with Explore Austin - Wednesday
- Greenbelt Hike with Explore Austin - Thursday
Socials
- Early Bird Social - Sunday
- Opening Party - Monday
- Launch Spotlight - Wednesday
- Beats & BBQ Social - Thursday
Bookstore
Expo
Food Hall
Registration
- Registration - Sunday
- Registration - Monday
- Registration - Tuesday
- Registration - Wednesday
- Registration - Thursday
See You at SXSW EDU 2025
Registration is open for SXSW EDU 2025! Book your hotel early for the best rates and hotel options March 3-6, 2025 in downtown Austin.
Sign up for SXSW EDU email updates, check out the News feed, watch videos, and follow us on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok to get the most up-to-date information.
SXSW EDU 2025 speakers (in order, left to right) Pamela Scott-Johnson, Baktash Ahadi, Holly Ridings by Christopher Michel, Nikkolas Smith, Dan Novack, Dr. Joseph Bull, Shabnam Rezaei, Senta Čermáková, Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, Andrew Farley. Speaker photos courtesy of the speakers.
