Schools, universities must go beyond traditional teaching, move towards interactive, skills based education

At the 1 Billion Followers Summit 2026 in Dubai, educators, content creators and learning designers called for a fundamental shift in how education is delivered, arguing that traditional models based on rote learning and delayed application are no longer fit for purpose in a fast-changing, digital world.

Across two sessions "Why the Next Generation Won’t Go to School?” and "Education Is Broken: Here’s How To Fix It” speakers said schools and universities must move beyond memorisation and standardised outcomes toward interactive, skills-based education that strengthens research ability, analytical thinking and real-world problem-solving.

Participants stressed that digital platforms are not a replacement for schools, but a powerful complement. While formal institutions remain essential for structure, social development and values, digital creators can expand access, simplify complex topics and connect theory with practice in ways that traditional systems often struggle to do.

The first session featured science creator Abdullah Annan, aerospace engineer and educator Mashael Al Shemmari, architect and digital creator Ahmed Ali, and was moderated by Emirati creator Saif Al Dhahab.

Annan, founder and CEO of Science Street, said simplifying science and presenting it in engaging formats can dramatically improve learning outcomes. His platform, which started with a small audience, now reaches hundreds of thousands of students and attracts around nine million learners each month. He said that producing a full science curriculum in Egypt helped raise student performance and engagement, demonstrating the potential of creator-led education to support formal learning systems.

Al Shemmari said that while producing specialised Arabic language content on space science was initially challenging, simplifying concepts made it accessible to non-specialists and sparked interest among new audiences. She argued that education should not only transmit information but also cultivate curiosity and encourage lifelong learning.

Ahmed Ali described how his work aims to take engineering and architectural knowledge beyond classrooms by offering practical solutions to everyday challenges such as extreme heat, traffic congestion and housing design. He said digital content can translate technical knowledge into tools people can use to improve daily life, making learning more relevant and immediately useful.

In the second session, speakers took a more critical view of existing education systems. Julie Walsh Smith, CEO of Complexly, criticised what she called "brute force learning”, a system focused on grades, degrees and credentials rather than on teaching people how to learn effectively. She argued that many learners are left behind because they are never taught learning strategies, and that creator platforms and digital entrepreneurs are expanding access to education in new and more inclusive ways.

Arman Khederlarian, CEO and co-founder of Maharat, said engagement and structure are now central to effective learning. He stressed that the "messenger,” the person delivering the content, plays a crucial role in motivating learners, and that content must be designed for shrinking attention spans through shorter, more focused formats.

Achina Mayya of AEOS argued that education must collapse the traditional sequence of "learn, graduate, then work” into a single integrated process where learning and earning happen together. She said students need to apply what they learn in real contexts rather than studying concepts for years without practical use.

Dr Justin Sung, co-founder of ICanStudy, said the system fails to teach people how to learn, leading many to wrongly believe they are "not a science person” or "not a math person,” which limits their confidence and opportunities. He argued that this psychological barrier is created by the education system itself, not by individual ability.

Together, the sessions reflected a growing consensus that future education must be more personalised, accessible, practical and psychologically informed. Digital creators and platforms, speakers said, will play a central role in reshaping how knowledge is delivered, applied and experienced - not as a replacement for schools, but as a vital partner in building more effective and inclusive learning systems for the future.

The 1 Billion Followers Summit is set to draw an audience of over 30,000, including more than 15,000 content creators from across the globe as well as 500+ expert speakers with a collective following of 3.5+ billion, and 150+ CEOs and global experts.