Future Impact

SURF Tech Trends Report 2026

Utrecht (NL), November 2025 - What are the biggest future digital trends for education and research? Together with education and research institutions in the Netherlands, SURF has produced a trend report that focuses on the most important digital trends for the Dutch education and research sector. In this trend report, you will discover 50 technology trends that are expected to have a future impact on the sector. The report aims to help institutions make the right innovative choices in a complex world.

The Tech Trends Report helps CIOs, policymakers, lecturers, researchers, and IT architects navigate the growing flow of information. The report presents an overview of relevant signals and technological trends, supported by information on how these innovations are developing and what impact they could have on education and research.

Inspiration for the future

The trend report steps outside the daily grind and analyses which solutions will be needed in five years and beyond. What future scenarios are likely to emerge? Should we, as an organisation, tender, or is collaborative construction an option or necessity? And should we make it open source? This allows you to make informed decisions about innovation that might have an impact nationally as well as internationally.
The report helps you to better understand technological developments, puts these trends into perspective, and offers inspiration for the future. The results of the trend report focus on the Dutch sector, but may also be relevant for institutions outside the Netherlands, so find out what they are and what you can do with them.