Higher education knows where it is heading, but most institutions struggle to move fast enough.

With 86% of students already using AI and one in two saying they do not feel ready for an AI-enabled workforce, the pressure to act is mounting faster than the sector can respond.

Drawing on the DEC Leadership Summit EMEA 2026, where 41 senior leaders from 30 institutions across 14 countries met in Paris, this report names the ten signals shaping higher education's AI agenda, examines the governance and measurement gaps slowing progress, and identifies what distinguishes the institutions making real headway from those still building foundations.