MANILA, Philippines — What does it take for an institution to be ready for the next phase of education? For Instructure, the answer involves more than adopting new technology. At CanvasCon Philippines 2026, education leaders will explore readiness through three interconnected areas: intentional AI adoption, learner engagement, and skills that remain relevant over time.
The full-day conference will take place on October 7 at Conrad Manila in Pasay City and is expected to bring together more than 500 higher education leaders, educators, and institutional decision-makers from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
Hosted by Instructure, the maker of Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), the event will carry the theme “Shaping Readiness, Together.”
The three pillars—AI with Intention, Ready to Learn and Ready to Engage, and Skills That Last—come as Philippine institutions navigate curriculum reforms, flexible learning, lifelong learning pathways, and digital delivery.
New research commissioned by Instructure shows that AI is already part of this transition. The study, conducted by The Fourth Wall in August 2026, surveyed 207 education practitioners from higher education and technical-vocational institutions across Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.
Fifty percent of respondents said their institutions offer AI literacy or digital-skills programs for students. Forty-one percent reported staff-facing AI tools supporting teaching and course design, 40% reported AI tools integrated into course content or delivery, and 38% reported AI-powered tutoring or learning assistants.
Only 18% said their institution is still exploring AI without a current approach.
The research also highlights areas where institutions are continuing to build capacity. Respondents rated confidence in their institution having a clear AI strategy within lifelong-learning pathways at 3.08 out of 5. Confidence in faculty and staff having the training required to use AI effectively and support diverse learners was 2.87 out of 5.
Darren Read, Managing Director, Asia Pacific at Instructure, and John Brylle Bae, Partner and Research Director at The Fourth Wall, will unpack the findings at the event.
“The Philippines is moving quickly to expand flexible learning, lifelong learning pathways and digital delivery across higher education. That makes the conversations happening here especially relevant to where education in Asia Pacific is heading. CanvasCon Philippines is a chance to hear directly from local institutions about how they are responding to these shifts, and what it will take to ensure more learners have the skills, tools and support to be ready for what comes next,” said Darren Read.
Local voices will include representatives from Our Lady of Fatima University, Holy Angel University, University of San Jose Recoletos, De La Salle University, PAREF Woodrose School, University of St. La Salle, Far Eastern University, University of Santo Tomas, and the University of Sydney.
The international program will feature Zach Pendleton, Chief Architect at Instructure; Professor Martin Bean CBE AM, CEO of The Bean Centre and former Vice-Chancellor of RMIT University and The Open University; and Danny Liu, Professor of Educational Technologies at the University of Sydney and co-chair of its AI in Education working group.
Pendleton will share the roadmap for the Instructure Learning Platform and discuss how institutions can build digital ecosystems that remain resilient through change.
“A decision we make in the platform this quarter shows up in a lecturer’s Monday morning three years from now. That’s the part of this job I take most seriously. Philippine institutions are moving on curriculum reform, flexible pathways, and AI policy at the same time, and they need technology that can absorb all three without breaking what already works. I’ll share where the platform is headed and how we’re building it so no institution has to choose between keeping up and staying steady,” said Zach Pendleton.
The research is based on the perceptions of participating education practitioners and provides an indicative view rather than a nationally representative assessment of Philippine education institutions.
CanvasCon Philippines 2026 is open to the education community nationwide.