“Education Unchained”

Never give up! This year again, we will return to Online Educa Berlin with an updated version of ‘Education Unchained’.

Settling for less

As kids, we were told what to do, what to learn, and how to behave. As adults, we are still told what to do, what to learn, and how to behave. Now we have to learn ‘Artificial Intelligence’, we have to be focused, we have to be passionate, we have to embrace our talents, we have to be curious, we have to go for ‘hybrid’, we have to be happy, we have to eat healthy, we have to innovate, we have to be efficient, we need to be disciplined, we need so many things … and while it can help … we never do it because we never addressed the real challenge.
Why don’t we do it? Because we are ‘settling for less’. The phrase … “don’t settle for less” … typically means to strive for the best possible outcome or to pursue higher standards in various aspects of life, such as relationships, career, or personal goals.
Education and work are not built to make us strive for the best. THERE WAS NO NEED FOR THAT! We just had to become a good ‘copy’ of what was needed. Diplomas, function descriptions and appraisal talks are aiming at ‘good enough’. There is no real incentive to become the best of us.
If education and work authorised and supported us as a kid or adult to cast ourselves into the courses or projects that energise us, then we would strive for the best. Then we would use ‘Artificial Intelligence’, would be focused, would be passionate, would embrace our talents, would be curious, would go for ‘hybrid’, would be happy, (maybe) would eat healthy, would innovate, would be efficient, would be disciplined and so more other things.

Bottom line … it never changes because we don’t have the guts to address the real challenges. Because we are addicted to ‘Settling for less’!

Rethinking Education at Its Core

While learning technologies have evolved dramatically, education and work have not been able to use technologies to their fullest potential.
It wasn’t in the beginning of Computer-Based Training, and again it will not happen with Artificial Intelligence.
Statistics and forecasts about Learning Technologies don’t tell the real story. Mostly that’s about ‘sales’, not about the real use by passionate people who are energised to learn.
We still organise education the same way as it was organised when people of my age were students in the ‘seventies’. We upgraded, but we didn’t have the courage to change the system to unleash the real potential of students AND teachers.

Conferences like Online Educa Berlin have consistently led the conversation on unlocking human potential through innovation in learning and work. They have highlighted the latest trends, showcased bold ideas, and inspired change. However, the real challenge is not starting the conversation, but ensuring that these ideas are truly implemented in education and work systems that are still slow to transform.
The technology should serve as a catalyst for meaningful change, not just a tool to improve existing systems, but a driver for rethinking education at its core. The question we must ask is: Why hasn’t education evolved to match the pace of the world around it?

• Students with passion & talents should have the freedom to accelerate their learning dramatically for the subjects / courses in the groove with their passion and talents.
• Students without passion or talents in something, should have the freedom to slow down or choose something else. At whatever moment they feel the need.

Without these ‘freedoms’, education and work remain ‘prisons’ that have chained our real potential.
Unchaining education (and work) can not be delayed. IT HAS BECOME A MUST!
The world has changed so fast that ‘good enough’ is not enough anymore. To solve the challenges that are facing us we need the best of all of us.
We need to boost real learning and disruptive innovation to answer today’s challenges: climate change, education challenge, energy challenge, ageing challenge, security challenge, migration challenge, healthcare challenge & more.
And while technology could make previous possible, it didn’t happen. So, the main questions we should ask ourselves are: “Why didn’t technology transform education and work to embrace the best of us? What is needed to make it happen?”

The Education Unchained Journey

This year’s theme for Online Educa Berlin, “Humanity in the Intelligent Age”, is spot on. But it has dramatic consequences if we want to succeed.
With the ‘Education Unchained Journey’, we will try to awaken participants into some new (disruptive) paradigms for putting Humanity in Learning, Innovation and Work.
Awakening or opening the mind for disruptive paradigms is the most difficult first step in learning. It will only happen after teaching, reflection, debate and intensive Q&A. That’s why we recommend participating in the Journey with a ‘Pack of Participants’.
Creating the right ‘Packs’ is the work of ‘Pack Builders’. Organising compelling ‘Engagements’ is the work of ‘Pack Guides’.
Because of the needed time for creating the ‘Packs’ and the needed time for ‘Engagement’, we need to start the journey well before Online Educa Berlin.
Instead of writing down the OEB Proposal, we produced some introductions …

Bottom Line

To make the ‘Education Unchained Journey’ a real learning and sharing experience, we need a maximum of 6 participating packs. Maybe packs from 6 countries/schools going to OEB2025 could be an idea.
Once we have the packs, the journey can start with the following parts …

An Online Teaching & Engagement Journey for ‘Packs’ to share experiences, start awareness and collect disruptive ideas to unchain the potential of students and teachers.
A Pre-Conference Workshop to share the outcome of the Teaching & Engagement Journey and select the best disruptive ideas.
A Conference Session to present and debate the selected disruptive ideas.
If you have any questions, remarks, or suggestions after watching the video, reading the PDF or listening to the podcast, just email jef.staes@redmonkey.be. If you are interested in joining the full Education Unchained experience, including the pre-conference activities and the workshop, or if you have any questions, you are welcome to get in touch by emailing conference@oeb.global.

Never give up!

There are hundreds of reasons not to organise ‘Education Unchained’, and there are hundreds of reasons not to participate.
There is only one reason to do it … the passion to learn and accepting the challenge to find the right steps to unleash the potential of all of us.
So … become a Pack Builder and join the journey with a pack for free … just pay with passion.



Written for OEB Global 2025 by Jef Staes.

Jef Staes is an OEB Advisory Board Member. Starting as an engineer in digital telephony, he found his passion as a Training Manager and Corporate Learning Officer at Siemens Belgium. Today, he is an independent keynote speaker, author and architect in the field of learning and innovative organisations