To mark the inauguration of its new Baobab Campus, the ISM Group organized a symposium on Thursday, May 21, 2026, dedicated to the theme of "The School of the Future." The event brought together stakeholders from the academic, institutional, and professional worlds to discuss the major challenges of higher education, educational innovation, and talent development in Africa.

At the heart of the discussions, the speakers highlighted the growing impact of digital tools on educational systems and the profound transformations they impose on methods of learning, knowledge transmission and assessment.

According to Sandrine Lemare, director of the Soft Skills Academy at the ISM Group, the meeting provided an opportunity to examine the current transformations in the educational world in the face of the rise of new technologies. "We established the context of the impact of digital tools on educational systems in order to engage both teachers and students on the challenges posed by these new tools, particularly artificial intelligence (AI)," she explained. She also emphasized the importance of developing a thoughtful approach to these technologies: "Before using AI, we must first learn to understand it and use it with a critical mindset."

For his part, economics professor and researcher Abdoulaye Fada pointed out that reflection on this topic is not new. According to him, a book entitled *The School of the Future Is Already Here* was published about ten years ago and already explored the necessary transformations of the education system in the face of technological and scientific advancements. Today, he believes, artificial intelligence constitutes a major challenge that compels institutions to rethink several dimensions of education, particularly the personalization of learning and the skills to be developed in students.

Among the panelists was Alioune Badara Mbengue, a former ISM student. For him, the panel provided an opportunity to project the challenges facing education in the coming years and to analyze how AI is transforming the landscape. Speaking directly to the students, he emphasized the need to maintain a constant capacity for adaptation. "In the age of artificial intelligence, it is essential to love learning, to develop critical thinking skills, and to never let the machine do all the thinking for us," he stated.