Europe’s leading L&D exhibition and conference

The largest, best attended and most relevant exhibition and conference in the learning and development calendar returns on the 3-4 February for more exciting conferencing and exhibitions.

Learning Technologies and Learning & Skills will be returning to London’s Olympia on 3-4 February 2016. Learning Technologies, co-located with Learning & Skills, is Europe’s leading showcase of organisational learning and the technology used to support learning at work. The event has continued to grow in importance, value and attendance year upon year.

The event attracts 7,500 visitors, and 250 exhibitors across two exhibition halls packed with the latest learning technologies, innovation and best practice. The event will be a unique and exciting environment for all those involved in workplace learning. The Learning Technologies Exhibition and Conference, now in its seventeenth year, focuses on the technologies used in workplace learning and will be supported by the co-located Learning & Skills Exhibition, returning for the seventh successive year, which covers the entire spectrum of organisational L&D.

Noteworthy speakers
The Learning Technologies Conference is a five-track event with sessions led by experts in the field of L&D. A new expanded format is designed for learning, engagement and interaction and there will be more than 70 inspirational speakers and facilitators and 500 delegates.

The 2016 conference includes keynote addresses from the internationally renowned leadership thinker, executive coach and best-selling author, Dr Marshall Goldsmith and global thought leader on the Digital Era, Ben Hammersley.

The conference will be introduced by Donald H Taylor, chairman of the Learning Technologies Conference and 25 year veteran of the learning, skills and human capital industries. Taylor commented: “This will be our biggest conference to date with the five track format designed for learning, engagement and interaction – with keynote addresses, case studies, café sessions, theory presentations, practical debate, Google hangouts and outstanding collaborative and networking opportunities.”

What’s on
The event will follow five seminar tracks. Track 1 will examine major developments in new technology, but will also focus on other provocative issues too. Former global L&D director Stephan Thoma and EMEA L&D leader Jeff Turner will provide their thoughts on the notion of learning today, with regard to business, culture and the need for growth. Furthermore, David Kelly, vice president and executive director of the eLearning Guild, who has over 10 years of experience as an internal learning and performance consultant and training advisor, will shed light on advanced and emerging technologies. The seminar will also include discussions about the future role of instructional design, and the lessons we can learn from the successes and failures of L&D in large companies.

Track 2 will explore good practice in learning and development through overview presentations, case studies and discussion. This track features noteworth speakers such as organisational learning and talent manager Andrew Jacobs, a recognised leader in learning and Lynne Rutherford, group vice president of Talent Management. Rutherford and Jacobs will narrate the importance of maintaining a learning strategy and the vitality of taking into account learning and development throughout the learning process. Furthermore, Nigel Paine, managing director of nigelpaine.com Ltd, will outline areas where leadership development is failing and what can be done to solve it. This track also features issues as wide ranging as running major projects, embedding learning in the organisation and advice about how to create video and content design methodologies.

Track 3 is concerned with exploring the practical issues facing organisational learning and development. Expect to hear prominent speakers such as Mike Booth, Vodafone Technologies Manager, who will be leading a discourse about the benefits of mobile-first learning and communications for engagement and results. Additionally, Rhys Giles, learning technologies manager at Dixons Carphone, Europe’s leading specialist electrical and telecommunications retailer, will be shedding light on the weightiness of creating a social and micro learning enterprise culture within the learning operation. Issues which will also be elaborated upon in this seminar will include adaptive learning, learning management systems and a practical exploration of how L&D can market its services more effectively.

Track 4 includes an interactive examination of practical topics for a learning and development professional. Most notably, comedian, screenwriter and executive coach of The Spontaneity Shop Deborah Frances‑White, who recently produced her own BBC Radio 4 Series – ‘Deborah Frances‑White Rolls the Dice’, will be considering ways of creating the ideal learning state and why such an idea holds significant value in the workplace. Furthermore, Pete Jenkins, founder of Gamification+ Ltd and an entrepreneur in residence at the University of Brighton Business School will also be present. Jenkins will be providing details on the role of gamification in learning and how the learning process can benefit from the application of game playing elements. Topics also expected to appear include content development, performance support and the role of emotion in learning.

Track 5 will be provocative and consider things that haven’t necessarily been dealt with in the previous conferences. This track features a number of eminent figures including David Wilson, CEO of Fosway Group and David Perring, director of research. Wilson is a major commentator on the HCM, talent and learning technology industry and a strategic advisor to many major corporate and supplier organisations in the UK and Europe. Perring not only possesses 25 years of experience working with Europe’s leading brands but is also the author of several research papers and articles on learning & HR technology. Wilson and Perring have collaborated to lead a discussion following the learning landscape. The talk will examine the learning market and identify factors considered to be ‘game changers’ and ‘game makers’.

Dr Tesia Marshik, assistant professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse has produced leading research focusing on the development of students’ motivation, self-control skills and teacher‑student relationships and how such factors interact to influence a students’ development and academic adjustment. Marshik will be giving a discourse considering learning and the mind. In particular the speech will elaborate on the presence of an unconscious bias within the mind and seek to challenge the way we ‘think about thinking’.

This year’s conference features a ‘Google hangout’ room on top of the five tracks that form the regular programme. Sessions will run parallel to the scheduled programme discussing topics that have come up during the course of the conference, exploring them in more detail.

Unlike the exhibitions which are both free to attend, a fee is charged to attend the Learning Technologies Conference. Booking rates and available discounts are listed on the conference web site. Additionally, delegates booking between 1 January and 27 January can choose either the Mophie power reserve 2x, Google Chromecast or Amazon Fire TV stick as part of their delegate booking.

The Learning & Skills Exhibition
Learning & Skills 2016 is again being co‑located with the Learning Technologies Exhibition and Conference for the sixth year in succession. The Learning & Skills Exhibition showcases the entire spectrum of methods, products and services for workplace learning with a focus on people development, learning and performance, learning resources and HR systems and services and is built around a multi-streamed programme of free seminars in two theatres on the exhibition floor.

The combination of Learning Technologies and Learning & Skills provides access to 250 exhibitors – all of the leading learning providers – and 160 free-of-charge seminars. Nowhere else in Europe will you find all these suppliers to the L&D industry in one place. The events are by far the most comprehensive and important gathering of L&D professionals and suppliers in Europe.

Attending the exhibitions is free of charge, however visitors are encouraged to register in advance to gain fast track entry. There is free passage between the two exhibitions and visitors only need register with one of them. Registration is available online.

Further Information
www.learningtechnologies.co.uk