Learning Technologies 2012 and Learning and Skills 2012 will be taking place at London’s Olympia on 25 and 26 January. Personnel Today looks at what delegates can expect from both events.
Event organisers are expecting a record-breaking 5,000 visitors to visit the Olympia 2 venue next week to hear about the latest developments in workplace learning technology and organisational learning and development (L&D).
Both of the L&D events are aimed at professionals involved with any aspect of organisational learning and performance.
Key themes this year are future thinking and impact on the business.
Exhibition
Now in its thirteenth year, Learning Technologies 2012 provides visitors with a free exhibition and seminar programme, running over two days.
The exhibition covers both Learning Technologies and Learning and Skills and is situated on level 1 at Olympia 2. More than 220 learning and technology vendors will be showcasing their products and services.
Free seminar programme
Both events boast free seminar programmes, providing more than 120 sessions during which delegates can hear from companies and individuals shaping the future of workplace learning.
The seminars will cover learning technologies, people development, learning and performance, learning resources, and HR systems and services.
Entry to all seminars is on a first-come, first-served basis with no booking required.
The seminar programme for Learning Technologies will be running throughout the event, with seminars every 45 minutes in one of five seminar theatres in the Learning Technologies exhibition hall on level one of the venue.
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Seminars include:
- Strategic talent mobility in the UK.
- Optimising learning technologies and e-learning.
- Learning management systems – evolution or extinction?
- How to build a mobile app in 15 minutes!
- What businesses can learn from charity L&D.
In the ground floor Learning and Skills exhibition hall, four seminar theatres will also run sessions every 45 minutes across both days. These will cover talent management, motivating staff, the role of L&D in supporting change and the future of training.
Seminars include:
- Helping talent flourish.
- Making learning stick.
- Global executive development through networked learning.
- Team problem solving in an ever changing world.
- Getting the most out of iPhones for learning.
Delegates will also be able to view recordings of the conference keynote speeches in the seminar theatres.
The conference
This year’s conference features 50 expert speakers from around the globe. There will be a multi-track format with plenty of networking opportunities across the two days.
Delegates will be treated to a range of leading thinkers in L&D, such as Edward de Bono, who will be delivering the opening keynote “Meeting the L&D challenge with smart, creative and innovative thinking”.
De Bono will look at the impact of change on the modern world and argue the need for lateral thinking. He will then explore what this will mean for L&D teams and the wider organisation.
An expert on creative thinking, De Bono is credited with developing the term lateral thinking. He has published numerous books and has worked with many household names such as IBM, Du Pont and Prudential.
Other speakers include futurist Ray Kurzweil, Chris Bones, professor of creativity and leadership at Manchester Business School, as well as speakers from companies including Sweet and Maxwell, Whitbread, Thomson Reuters and BP.
The conference will also include case studies, café sessions, theory presentations and practical debate.
The chairman of Learning Technologies, Donald H Taylor, said: “Each year we bring together people with tremendous insight into how learning is evolving and must continue to evolve.
“The keynote addresses at the Learning Technologies Conference this year are discussing profound changes, not just those facing our learning and development community, but the wider social and human effects of technology on business and on all our lives.”
Taylor added that networking was a key part of the conference.
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“Of course, I’m looking forward to hearing from a great range of speakers, but the highlight of the year for me is always the ad hoc chats during the breaks and into the evening with delegates who are doing exciting new things at work. I always learn something new.”
