SIMO EDUCACIÓN 2026: educational technology and innovation

SIMO EDUCACIÓN, the International Exhibition of Educational Technology and Innovation, takes place 11–13 November 2026 at IFEMA MADRID, Avenida del Partenón 5, Madrid, Spain. The 12th edition is organised by IFEMA MADRID in collaboration with Educación 3.0 and is themed around leadership for educational transformation. It brings education professionals and solution providers together to examine tools, initiatives and practices shaping teaching, learning and school management.

Use the exhibition as a working forum: connect the products and sessions you explore to a defined classroom, institutional or commercial need. The 2026 programme includes conferences, workshops, Experiences and Start Up / Show Up areas; check the organiser’s current schedule for session details and access arrangements.

Why SIMO EDUCACIÓN matters

See educational tools in context

The fair focuses on educational technology and innovation across teaching-learning processes, educational centre management and teacher training. That range can help visitors compare how digital tools and approaches address different educational tasks rather than judging a product by features alone.

Connect practice with leadership

The 2026 theme is leadership for educational transformation. School leaders, teachers and ICT coordinators can use that focus to consider how technology choices relate to teaching practice, institutional priorities and professional development.

Learn from professional exchange

The organiser describes conferences, workshops and professional networking as core parts of the event. Its current programme also includes the Educational Innovation and Innovative Teaching Experiences awards. Together, these formats create opportunities to hear about practice and discuss how ideas might transfer to another setting.

For the previous edition, the organiser reports 154 brands from 37 countries and more than 10,000 professionals from the education sector. It also reports that 93% of visitors came from education. These are organiser-reported figures for the previous edition, not attendance guarantees for 2026.

Who should visit SIMO EDUCACIÓN?

SIMO EDUCACIÓN is most useful when you arrive with a particular education challenge, purchasing question or professional-learning goal.

School leaders and education managers

Focus on tools and approaches relevant to institutional management and educational transformation. Compare how a proposed solution fits your school’s priorities, existing systems, staff capacity and plans for implementation. Use conference sessions to gather perspectives, then identify what would need further evaluation with colleagues.

Teachers and teaching teams

Look for classroom approaches, digital resources and practical examples that relate to your learners and subject. The Experiences area and workshops can help you examine how an idea is applied in practice. Record the age or learning context, required equipment, preparation effort and evidence you would need before adapting it.

ICT coordinators and digital-learning teams

Assess compatibility, infrastructure needs, data and security requirements, accessibility, support and staff training. Ask suppliers how their tools fit existing devices and platforms, and distinguish a demonstration from evidence that a product meets your institution’s technical requirements.

Education technology suppliers and institutions

Companies and organisations serving schools can use the specialist audience to explain a defined education use case, gather professional feedback and explore possible partnerships. Set an objective before exhibiting or attending meetings: for example, testing how educators understand a product’s value or identifying the questions a procurement team needs answered. Commercial outcomes are not guaranteed.

What can you find at SIMO EDUCACIÓN?

The organiser describes the exhibition as a meeting point for educational technology and innovation, with content spanning teaching and learning, educational centre management and teacher training.

Technology for teaching and learning

• Digital tools and resources for classroom practice
• Technology and initiatives supporting teaching-learning processes
• Approaches and experiences intended for different educational stages

Educational management and transformation

• Solutions and discussion relevant to the management of educational centres
• Leadership and strategy for educational transformation
• Professional perspectives on integrating technology into learning environments

Professional learning and classroom experience

• Conferences and workshops on current education challenges and innovation
• Experiences presenting innovative teaching practice
• Start Up / Show Up projects and the Educational Innovation and Innovative Teaching Experiences awards

Use the official exhibitors catalogue and map to identify relevant organisations, then verify directly whether a specific product, demonstration or representative will be available during your visit.

What should you aim to achieve at SIMO EDUCACIÓN?

If you lead a school or education service

Leave with a short list of solutions or approaches that merit a structured review against your institution’s priorities. Capture the problem addressed, implementation requirements, staff support and evidence still needed.

If you teach or support teachers

Identify practical ideas that could be tested in a defined learning context. Note the learner group, teaching objective, resources required and how you would assess whether the approach is useful.

If you supply education products

Learn which needs and questions matter to the professional audience you want to serve. Record feedback and agree specific follow-up actions rather than treating an initial conversation as a confirmed sale or partnership.

How to prepare before SIMO EDUCACIÓN

1. Define the education question

Write down the teaching, learning, management or professional-development challenge you want to explore. A specific question—such as how a tool supports a particular classroom task—is more useful than a general aim to see what is new.

2. Review the exhibitor catalogue and map

Use the organiser’s catalogue and map to shortlist organisations relevant to your question. Group them as essential, useful and exploratory. Add a note on what you need to learn from each, and recheck current listings before travelling.

3. Choose sessions for a reason

Review conferences, workshops and the Experiences and Start Up / Show Up areas when the current schedule is available. Select sessions that answer a professional question or offer a perspective you can discuss with your team. Confirm timings and any access conditions with the organiser.

4. Prepare comparable questions

• Which teaching or management problem is the solution designed to address?
• For which ages, subjects or education settings is it intended?
• What devices, connectivity, accounts or existing systems does it require?
• What training and ongoing support are available?
• How are accessibility, privacy and information security handled?
• What evidence can help an institution assess its suitability?

5. Agree how you will share what you learn

If you attend with colleagues, divide topics and use a shared note format: organisation, solution, intended use, requirements, evidence to check and next action. This makes it easier to compare findings afterwards.

How to make the most of the exhibition

At each stand or session, record need → solution → context → evidence → next step. For a classroom tool, note the intended learners, teaching activity, infrastructure, teacher preparation and how learning value could be evaluated. For a management platform, capture integration, staff roles and implementation requirements.

Compare alternatives against the same criteria. Separate features shown in a demonstration from independently verified outcomes, and note questions that require review by teachers, ICT, leadership or procurement colleagues. Use breaks between sessions to organise notes while the context is fresh.

Beyond the SIMO EDUCACIÓN exhibition floor

The organiser identifies conferences, workshops and professional networking as part of the event, alongside Experiences and Start Up / Show Up. The 2026 edition also features the 14th Educational Innovation and Innovative Teaching Experiences awards. These formats offer different ways to engage: sessions for discussion and professional learning, workshops for practical exploration, and award experiences centred on teaching practice.

Specific session content and participation details should be checked in the organiser’s current programme. Treat previous-edition content as background, not a promise that a particular speaker or activity will return.

Networking at SIMO EDUCACIÓN

Prepare a short introduction that explains your role and the education question you are exploring. For a school or education service, describe the relevant learning or management context without sharing sensitive pupil or institutional information. For suppliers, explain the product’s intended use and ask what evidence or implementation detail the professional audience needs.

After a conversation, record the topic, the person or organisation to follow up with, and a concrete next action—such as requesting documentation or arranging an internal review. An exchanged contact is a starting point, not a confirmed outcome.

Travelling to SIMO EDUCACIÓN

The venue is IFEMA MADRID’s exhibition centre at Avenida del Partenón 5, 28042 Madrid. The organiser provides a “How to get there” section with current access guidance. Check it before travelling for public-transport, parking, entrance and venue arrangements; this guide does not assume a particular route or transfer.

Madrid is the marketed host city and IFEMA MADRID is located within Madrid. Confirm the exhibition hall and entry instructions in the current visitor information before setting your schedule.

One day or several days at SIMO EDUCACIÓN?

One day

A focused day can suit visitors with one priority audience, a short exhibitor shortlist and selected sessions. Choose the most relevant demonstrations or workshops and leave room to compare notes rather than trying to cover every topic.

Several days

More time may help if your responsibilities span teaching practice, institutional management and technology evaluation, or if you want to combine sessions with supplier discussions. Build each day around a distinct question and review your notes at the end of the day.

After SIMO EDUCACIÓN: turn ideas into decisions

Sort findings into immediate, potential and background follow-up. Share relevant notes with the people who would evaluate a solution: teachers, school leadership, ICT, data protection, procurement or professional-development teams.

For each shortlisted tool or approach, request the evidence and implementation details that were missing at the fair. Compare the response with your original need, including compatibility, accessibility, staff time, training and support. Decide whether to pilot, investigate further or set the idea aside; do not treat a promising demonstration as proof of fit.

Who should consider exhibiting at SIMO EDUCACIÓN?

The event is intended for education technology and innovation professionals, with an audience that includes school principals, teachers, innovation leaders, companies, institutions and public officials. Suppliers and organisations whose products or expertise relate to education may consider whether that audience matches their objectives.

Before exhibiting, define the professional group you need to reach and the question you want to test. Prepare a clear use case, a demonstration grounded in an education setting, and answers on implementation, support and evidence. Check the organiser’s exhibitor information for current participation terms and deadlines; they are not assumed here.

SIMO EDUCACIÓN visitor checklist

Before

• ☐ Define a teaching, management, technology or professional-learning objective.
• ☐ Review the official catalogue and map; shortlist relevant organisations.
• ☐ Select sessions and activities from the current programme.
• ☐ Prepare questions about learner context, compatibility, privacy, accessibility and support.
• ☐ Check professional registration and current access information with the organiser.

During

• ☐ Record the need, solution, context, evidence and next action.
• ☐ Compare alternatives using the same criteria.
• ☐ Distinguish demonstrations and claims from evidence you can verify.
• ☐ Capture teaching practices or session ideas with enough context to assess transferability.

After

• ☐ Share findings with the colleagues who would evaluate or use a solution.
• ☐ Request missing technical, privacy, accessibility or implementation information.
• ☐ Decide whether to investigate, pilot or set aside each option.
• ☐ Record follow-up responsibilities and unresolved questions.

Is SIMO EDUCACIÓN worth visiting?

SIMO EDUCACIÓN can be valuable for education professionals who want to examine learning technology, hear current perspectives and connect innovation with classroom or institutional needs. Its mix of technology, professional sessions and teaching experiences is most useful when you choose a clear question and assess ideas in context. A purposeful shortlist and follow-up review will be more useful than collecting product claims without checking fit.

SIMO EDUCACIÓN 2026 at a glance

Dates, edition and venue are published by the organiser. Check the current programme, registration and access arrangements before planning your visit.

Plan a purposeful visit to Madrid

What education question do you want to answer at SIMO EDUCACIÓN, and who needs to be part of the decision afterwards? Set that purpose before you arrive, then compare, discuss and follow up. Explore. Question. Compare. Apply.

Educational technology opportunities in Spain

Market context

The European Commission’s 2025 Education and Training Monitor reports that Spain’s Plan for Digitalisation and Digital Skills in the Education System (Plan #DigEdu) has an allocation of more than €1.66 billion. The plan envisages 300,000 portable devices, interactive digital systems in 240,000 classrooms and digital-competence accreditation for 560,000 teachers. These are planned measures, not a statement that every target has been delivered.

Opportunities for exhibitors

• Education-technology providers may explore whether their classroom tools, devices or professional-development offer aligns with the plan’s stated digitalisation and teacher-competence priorities.
• Organisations may use conversations with school leaders and educators to understand implementation requirements and the needs of different learning settings.

Opportunities for visitors

• Teachers and school teams could compare tools and approaches relevant to classroom digital systems and teacher capability, then assess them against local needs.
• Education managers may use the country’s stated digitalisation priorities as context for questions about infrastructure, training and implementation.

Spain may be relevant to suppliers and education professionals examining digital transformation in schools. The European Commission’s figures describe planned public measures; they do not guarantee procurement, adoption or commercial opportunity. Fit depends on the solution, institutional needs and applicable requirements.

Discover Madrid

Madrid offers visitors major art collections, historic sites and green public spaces. IFEMA MADRID is located within the city, so visitors can choose an attraction around their exhibition schedule.

Prado Museum

The official Madrid tourism guide highlights the Prado’s collections, including works by Velázquez, Goya, El Greco, Titian, Rubens and Bosch.

Royal Palace

The Royal Palace offers a route through Spain’s royal history and is one of Madrid’s prominent historic landmarks.

El Retiro Park

This UNESCO World Heritage-listed landscape is a major urban green space, with the park’s lake and historic buildings among its features.

Choose one or two places that fit the time available around the fair, and check current visitor arrangements directly before setting out.