SXSW EDU Austin 2027

SXSW EDU is the education offshoot of the South by Southwest festival family, run by SXSW, LLC, and has brought people working in education together since 2011. The 2027 edition takes place on 13–16 March 2027 in Austin, Texas, and the organiser describes it as a four-day conference and festival. Programming is split across three downtown hotels: keynotes sit at the JW Marriott, the expo, competitions and film programme at the Austin Marriott Downtown, and further sessions at the Hilton Austin Downtown. The audience comes from PreK-12 schools, higher education, edtech companies, workforce training, government and media. For the 2026 edition the organiser cites more than 11,000 attendees from 43 countries and 63 industries, plus 130 members of the press. The programme is built around 12 thematic tracks, among them Future of Tech, Startups & Investment, Work Reimagined, Policy & Advocacy and Teaching & Learning. Future of Tech deals with generative AI and data interoperability in learning tools, while Startups & Investment looks at founders and at how capital moves into education. Beyond talks and workshops, the schedule adds mentorship, meetups, live contests such as the Launch startup competition, film screenings and performances. A full agenda has not been published yet. Through PanelPicker the organiser has announced more than 160 sessions for 2027. The first named speakers are author Mac Barnett, listed by the organiser as U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, in a keynote conversation, and comedian W. Kamau Bell and content creator Arielle Fodor, known online as Mrs. Frazzled, in featured sessions. Only one ticket type is listed: the SXSW EDU Badge at $645, which covers the keynotes, featured sessions, more than 300 sessions and workshops, the expo and networking. The organiser warns that badge prices will go up, and mentions reduced rates for students and early-career attendees as well as group pricing. Badgeholders can book partner hotels through SXSW EDU at up to 25% off. For affiliates and media buyers the fit is narrow. SXSW EDU is an education event, and performance marketing is not one of its themes. The useful angle is for publishers and buyers working with edtech and essay or study-help offers: the Future of Tech and Startups & Investment tracks, along with the expo, show which learning products are being built and funded, and the crowd includes the teachers and institutional buyers those products target. Teams outside education will find little that applies directly.