Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2026 is shaping up as much more than a technology showcase; it is a global meeting point for converging industries, communities and ideas. In a recent Convergence Conversations interview for Integrate Expo, Chris from AV Technology sat down with Bob Snyder, chair of ISE’s Smart Building Summit, and Gill Ferrell, convenor of the Education Technology Summit, to explore how these summits are redefining professional development and why large industry tradeshows remain essential in an increasingly hybrid world.
Bob Snyder describes the Smart Building Summit as “the cutting edge of the built environment,” reflecting how most AV technology ultimately “ends up in buildings… in smart offices, smart homes or smart workplaces.” He notes that the summit is “a little different than some of the other summits at ISE” because the speakers are “generally people from the smart building industry,” including major real estate corporates, tech firms and integrators who shape how modern buildings operate.
For many of these players, ISE is the only time each year when AV integrators, smart building specialists and corporate real estate leaders are in the same room, discussing projects and strategies face to face. Snyder likens their role to an airport control tower: “If you look at an airport, they’re the control tower while we operate the different airlines,” giving AV professionals a rare chance to “catch a glimpse of the other side of the landscape.” He adds that the big trend now is a focus on the user or occupant, with companies using “a smart building that’ll make your life more enjoyable while you spend all this time at work” as a competitive advantage.
The Education Technology Summit, led by Gill Ferrell, has undergone its own evolution, mirroring the broader shifts in higher education and lifelong learning. Ferrell explains that ISE “started out as very much the technologies that you’re using within buildings – the kit in auditoriums, in classrooms etc.,” but has now “branched out into virtual immersive environments [and] novel kinds of learning environments” that sit at the intersection of AV, IT and pedagogy.
Modern universities and colleges manage vast and complex estates, and Ferrell points out that higher education “is such [a] complex environment… it’s not just the classrooms,” but also student accommodation and a “massive physical estate.” This reality means education technologists at ISE are just as interested in smart building technologies and digital signage as they are in classroom AV, making ISE “the place where the people who are responsible for that kind of kit within the physical estate would come.”
Both summits reflect a broader industry trend: the convergence of AV and IT and a growing emphasis on the end user rather than the technology itself. Ferrell notes that “over the years” there has been “increasing convergence between IT and AV,” and that these teams “weren’t always easy or happy bedfellows as they were merged into single departments.” In the early days, “a lot of the value of our event was bringing these communities to talk to each other.”
As that hurdle has eased, both summits now lean into a more user-centric philosophy, “much more user focused as well… exactly along the same lines that Bob’s talking about, thinking about the end users of these technologies.” In education, that means serving “an increasing range of lifelong learners,” not just “an 18-year-old school leaver,” and recognising that “education is a public good” with social responsibility around how technology is deployed.
Artificial intelligence inevitably enters the conversation, but Ferrell is quick to frame the sector’s stance as “cautiously optimistic.” She sees “great potential benefits, but also great potential risks,” ranging from “protecting children and younger learners” through to preparing people “for the workforce of the future where these technologies are going to be commonplace.”
The 2026 Education Technology Summit theme, “a learning future for all,” encapsulates this balancing act. Ferrell explains that the program will ask whether “we are really taking every learner with us… regardless of age, social background, physical disability or whatever,” and whether the technologies being deployed genuinely help them “engage with the technologies that we’re providing and… achieve their potential.”
Beyond the formal summit programs, Snyder and Ferrell agree that the real magic of a show like ISE happens on the floor and in the corridors. Snyder, who also leads VIP tours at ISE, says that what excites him is seeing that “business is a lot about a battle for market share and people positioning their products, their standards against others,” all in one place. Guiding visitors through the halls, he enjoys showing “what is the battle, why is this company positioning this way, why is this company introducing that technology,” and tracking “who’s taking market share, who’s winning, who’s losing.”
Ferrell acknowledges that a show on the scale of ISE “is a bit daunting” and that “you’ve got to be able to find your way around it,” but argues that preparation makes all the difference. She recommends doing “a little bit of research in advance to think about what trends you’re interested in,” coming “knowing who you want to meet,” and taking advantage of show floor tours, which are “a great way to find your community within this vastness that is ISE.”
In the closing moments of the conversation, Snyder reflects that ISE is “really this integrated event” and that “what we’re integrating is not only technology, we’re integrating communities.” Summit convenors like Snyder and Ferrell nurture specific professional groups, yet the real opportunity for attendees lies in stepping outside their silos and engaging with adjacent communities that influence their work
Whether visitors come from Australia, New York or Milan, Snyder argues that ISE offers “the opportunity to fulfill your community effort globally and then also the opportunity to take the window into other communities that are related and have impact.” Ferrell’s advice is simple: “Don’t just walk the floor. Go to the social events. Go to the networking events. Talk to people that you wouldn’t normally talk to. That’s where you get the value.”