A new epoch for humankind has started in most, if not all sectors of life, including the education sector. The question that seeks to be answered is whether the new period that started with the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic, often referred to as the "new normal", is and will be characterised by less favourable education conditions or not. This paper explores a number of external disruptions, some associated with the pandemic, as possible catalysts towards an improved higher education system. Simultaneously, the function and necessity of internal disruption towards student mobility sustained innovation is considered. Despite the often-hostile nature of disruption, it can lead to much-needed or long-awaited innovation. The disruptive forces discussed are firstly alternative modes of delivery of university programmes, and secondly the mobility of foreign students. Thirdly, the value of microcredentialing as significant disruptive force for traditional universities necessitates a paradigm shift for policymakers. Within the context of a higher education institution, it can be predicted that all three of these possible innovations will be met with some level of resistance, despite the magnitude of the external force. These organisations will therefore need change drivers from within their ranks to create some kind of internal disruption towards the improvement of institution and the higher education sector as a whole. [For the complete Volume 20 proceedings, see ED622631.]