SCHULBAU Essen 2025 – Successful industry meeting for educational construction

On September 24 and 25, 2025, the SCHULBAU trade fair took place in Essen – a central meeting place for all those who shape educational construction in Germany and internationally. With a ceremonial opening by Essen’s Lord Mayor Thomas Kufen and Kirsten Jung, Managing Director of Cubus Medien Verlag GmbH and founder of the Schulbau trade fair, the first event in the city of Essen got off to a great start at Messe Essen.
The trade fair not only attracted decision-makers from all over North Rhine-Westphalia, but also international guests – from as far away as Colombia, which underlines the growing international importance of the format.

A strong conference program with practical relevance
The accompanying conference program was one of the highlights of the trade fair. Specialist presentations, discussion panels and workshops offered an in-depth insight into current topics in school and educational construction.

Focus of the presentations and panels:

Sustainability and climate neutrality in school construction: practical examples from NRW showed how schools are being made fit for the future through energy-efficient refurbishments and new buildings.

• Digital transformation: experts discussed how digital infrastructure and modern learning spaces must go hand in hand.
• New learning worlds: The focus was on innovative educational concepts and their architectural implementation – from open learning landscapes to flexible room concepts.
• Funding and subsidies: Representatives from local authorities and ministries provided insights into current funding programs and financing strategies.

Workshops with added value for practice
The workshops, which offered participants practical ideas, were particularly popular. Here, planners, architects, school authorities and decision-makers were able to exchange ideas directly.

Selected workshop topics:

Participation in school construction: How pupils, teachers and parents can be successfully involved in planning processes.

• Choice of materials and sustainability: innovative building materials and their benefits for energy efficiency and indoor climate.
• Best-practice projects from NRW: local authorities presented successful new buildings and refurbishments that can serve as models for other cities.
• International perspectives: Guests from Latin America, including representatives from Colombia, reported on their experiences with school construction projects in growing metropolitan areas.

Networking at the highest level
In addition to the lectures and workshops, the trade fair offered a top-class platform for exchange and networking. Numerous mayors, school administrators, architects and building contractors took the opportunity to make contacts and initiate collaborations.
The international dimension – with guests from Europe and South America – lent the event additional appeal and showed that the topics of sustainability, digitalization and modern learning architecture are highly relevant worldwide.

Summary
SCHULBAU Essen 2025 was a complete success: sold-out exhibition space, top-class guests, a strong conference program and practical workshops made the trade fair a central industry meeting point in NRW for all players in educational construction.
The close cooperation between politics, administration, architecture and the construction industry made it clear that educational construction is facing major challenges – but also enormous opportunities. The SCHULBAU trade fair showed how the schools of tomorrow can be created through networking, innovation and international cooperation.

The next school construction in Essen will take place again in 2027