Previous COBIS Conferences

The COBIS Conference on University and Careers Advising took place at the British School in The Netherlands on 13-14 May 2026. Sponsored by Unifrog, the conference brought together delegates from schools and universities around the world to explore how international schools can best prepare their students for future academic and career success.

A successful COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff was hosted by Wellington College International School, Bangkok, 12-13 March 2026. Sponsored by OpenApply, the conference brought together delegates, exhibitors, speakers and guests from around the world to make connections and explore the theme of Human First: Marketing in the Age of Noise.

The COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff took place in London on 28-29 January 2026. 

Over 120 delegates, guests, speakers and exhibitors came together for two engaging and thought-provoking days in London, bringing together colleagues from the COBIS network from around the world.

The first COBIS Inclusion and Conference took place online on 18-19 November 2025.

More than 125 participants from nearly 40 countries joined us for 29 thought-provoking sessions, exploring how international schools can continue to build cultures where every student, staff member and family truly belongs.

More than 650 delegates, exhibitors, sponsors, speakers and guests took part in our 43rd Annual Conference, 10-12 May 2025, at Convene 155 Bishopsgate, London. Conference delegates included representatives from schools in 70 countries worldwide.

More than 70 attendees joined in-person for the 2025 COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff :  "Ceci n'est pas AI" - Marketing, Development and Admission in a World of Advancing Technology. Delegates from more than 25 countries attended the conference, and experienced two days of insights, networking and learning.

No School is an Island, a Caribbean Regional Conference, hosted by Chatmore British International School in Bermuda, in association with COBIS – took place 19-20 February 2025. The event was attended, over the two days, by more than 150 delegates, sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, performers and guests.

The Future Learning Summit: Education for a Shared Humanity – hosted by St Christopher’s School, Bahrain, in association with COBIS – took place 8-9 February 2025. The event was attended, over the two days, by more than 600 teachers, leaders, parents, students, exhibitors, and speakers.

The 2025 COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff took place in London, 29-30 January 2025. It was a fantastic two days of learning, sharing and networking, bringing together colleagues from schools in more than 30 countries worldwide.  

Around 100 attendees joined in-person for the first COBIS Conference on University and Careers Advising - January 2025 on 21st and 22nd of January in Dubai. The conference was kindly hosted by COBIS Member School, Deira International School.

More than 550 delegates, speakers and exhibitors took part in the 42nd COBIS Annual Conference, 11-13 May 2024, at etc.venues 155 Bishopsgate, London, UK. Conference delegates included representatives from schools in 50 countries worldwide.

The popular COBIS Conference for Marketing and Admissions Staff welcomed attendees from 30 countries and experienced two days of insights, networking and learning in Dubai, UAE.

More than 100 attendees joined in-person for the 2024 COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR staff, on 31 January - 1 February, at etc.venues Chancery Lane, London.

The Wellbeing in Schools Conference, in association with COBIS, was held in May focusing on wellbeing discussions and networking with participants from 40 schools from a dozen countries.

More than 500 in-person and virtual participants took part in the 41st COBIS Annual Conference, 6-8 May 2023, at the InterContinental London - The O2 in Greenwich, London, UK. Conference delegates included representatives from schools in 50 countries worldwide.

The COBIS Conference for Marketing and Admissions Staff is a popular training and networking event for those working in marketing and development, admissions, and external relations in an international school context. 

More than 100 attendees joined in-person for the 2023 COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR staff, on 1-2 February, at etc.venues Chancery Lane, London.

More than 550 in-person and virtual participants took part in the hybrid 40th COBIS Annual Conference, 7-9 May 2022, at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, London, and online.

The COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff was held virtually, in partnership with Doha College, 2-3 February 2022.  

The seventh COBIS Conference for Marketing and Admissions Staff was held virtually, in partnership with St George's British International School, Rome, 3-4 November 2021.  

The virtual COBIS Annual Conference ran 10-13 May 2021, sponsored by Pearson, with nearly 600 delegates, speakers and sponsors from more than 60 countries.

150 delegates, speaker and sponsors took part in the virtual COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff, 3-5 February 2021. Participants included delegates from more than 60 schools in 40 different countries.

More than 100 people from 40 countries attended the COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff in London, 30-31 January 2020.

38th COBIS Annual Conference

Vision 2030: The Future of International Education
11-13 May 2019
London, UK

The COBIS Innovation in Education Conference was hosted by Dubai College on 26 April 2019, followed by a ResearchED event on 27 April 2019. 

The sixth COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff was hosted by Haileybury Astana, 25-26 April 2019.  

The COBIS Conference for PAs and School Secretaries was hosted by St George’s International School, Luxembourg on 7-8 March 2019. 

More than 65 international Early Years professionals gathered in Hong Kong on 15-16 February 2019 for the EYFS Conference – The Power of Early Learning Cultures. 

The COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff was held in London on 7-8 February 2019

The COBIS Pastoral Care Conference, hosted by British School of Bucharest, attracted more than 40 colleagues from schools in 21 different countries.

The 37th COBIS Annual Conference - Leading Learning - took place in London, 12-14 May 2018.

The 5th COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff was hosted at British School of Bucharest, 15-16 March 2018.

At the beginning of January, the British School of Amsterdam hosted an Education Conference in association with COBIS - Making Personalised Learning Effective.

The 36th COBIS Annual Conference - Transformations - took place in London, 6-8 May 2017.

The first COBIS Wellbeing Conference was held at Dubai College, 14-15 April 2017. 

The British School in Tokyo hosted the fourth COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff, 27-28 March 2017.

The second COBIS Conference for PAs and Secretaries was hosted at The British School of Brussels, 16-17 February 2017.

The COBIS Conference for EAL Staff was hosted at British School of Bucharest, 16-17 February 2017.

St Julian's School, Portugal hosted the third COBIS Conference for Bursars, Business Managers and HR Staff, 10-11 February 2017. 

Teachers as Learners: Developing professional competence through collaborative learning and reflective practice

Byron College, Athens hosted a successful COBIS Early Years Conference, 28-29 October 2016.

The 35th COBIS Annual Conference - Authentic Leadership: Inspirational Stories for Learning in British Schools Overseas.

Over 60 delegates attended the third COBIS Conference for Marketing, Development and Admissions Staff

The St Paul's School 3rd Education Conference, organised in association with COBIS, took place 19-20 March 2016.

COBIS partnered with Youth Sport Trust to deliver the first COBIS/YST PE and School Sport Conference 2-3 March 2016.

Working in partnership with Karen Ardley Associates, COBIS provided training for Middle Leaders in 3 regions this Spring:

Around 30 PAs, Secretaries, Executive Assistants and other administrative staff were warmly welcomed to the first COBIS Conference for PAs and Secretaries in February 2016.

Over 40 Bursars, Business Managers & HR staff from 32 COBIS member and non-member schools and organisations attended the COBIS Conference

Teachers as Learners: Developing professional competence through deep reflection and reflective practice

The first COBIS EYFS Conference for Teachers and Support Staff working in the Early Years was held at the British Embassy School Ankara 23-24 October 2015.