OEB Celebrates 30 Years: Insights into the 2024 Conference

The OEB Conference reached a milestone this year: it’s 30^th anniversary! We could not have asked for a better event to reflect on the past 30 years, look , look ahead to the future – and of course, celebrate.

This year’s edition of OEB brought all the familiar favourites that delegates enjoy; the OEB Annual Debate, the powerful plenaries, The Learning Battle, and more. This year’s theme was ‘Brace for Transformation: The Courage to Redefine Learning’.

We would like to extend our thanks to every delegate, chair, speaker, sponsor and exhibitor for making this a 30^th anniversary event to remember. With people coming to OEB from over 70 countries worldwide, it’s always a unique meeting point for learning professionals and a wonderful atmosphere to network, engage and – of course – learn!

Let’s take a look at everything that happened at the OEB Conference in Berlin, on November 27 – 29, 2024. Read on to re-live the magic or discover what you missed out on…

Setting the Tone: Pre-Conference Workshops and The Learning Battle

The first day at InterContinental Berlin opened with a variety of pre-conference workshops, and the exciting Learning Battle in the evening. The workshops gathered delegates together for an intimate learning experience, with topics ranging from getting hands-on with AI to empowering teachers in the digital age.

The Learning Battle was led by Inge de Waard, who invited attendees to join her on stage to pitch a 3-minute learning idea or share a learning story. This year’s winner was none other than one of our 30 Under 30 delegates – Candy Adusei. Candy shared an enlightening story being a first-generation student from Ghana studying at the University of Stuttgart. She expressed the vital support she received from her professors, which ultimately won the audience over as an emotional and inspiring learning story. The audience gave a huge applause, which earned Candy the sought-after Learning Battle trophy!

Thursday kicked off with one of OEB’s most anticipated highlights: The Opening Plenary. This year, the plenary was chaired by Donald H Taylor, with our keynotes Payal Arora, Gerd Leonhard and Timandra Harkness taking the stage.

The Opening Plenary welcomed our delegates with an exploration of the conference theme. The plenary addressed the audience with the notion that learning systems must undergo a profound transformation in the face of global conflicts, climate crisis, and financial pressures. Moreover, the emergence of AI in learning also poses a need for reshaping both the education and workplace learning industries – and how there must be a new focus on resilience and creativity, as opposed to traditional learning methods. Our keynotes also discussed how universities and workplace organisations can build an ‘antifragile mindset’ not just to survive in such disruption – but also to thrive in it.

As the afternoon sessions came to a close, delegates eagerly joined the OEB Annual Debate. The debate is an important element of the OEB experience, giving participants an interactive and thought-provoking plenary to spark new ideas and challenge people’s way of thinking.

The 2024 debate was chaired by Michael Onyango, who was joined by keynotes Ellen Wagner, Renate Samson, Martin Bean and Jane Bozarth. This year’s motion was ‘This House believes the Collection, Storage and Use of Non-Essential Data on Students Should be Heavily Restricted’. On the opposing side featured Ellen and Martin, and those in support of the motion was Jane and Renate. After strong arguments coming from all four keynotes, ultimately, the opposing side won the debate by audience vote.

Continuing with the notion of the big ‘30’, this year we hosted the OEB 30 Under 30 Programme. This programme invited young professionals in the learning industry to apply and be in the chance of becoming one of the delegates. Our 30 Under 30 cohort were all invited to speak at a session, engage in their own teambuilding events, and of course experience the conference among other likeminded professionals. We extend our congratulations to our 30 Under 30 delegates – it’s an amazing achievement and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for you all.

Celebrating 30 Years: The Evening Event that Marked a Milestone

The buzz on Thursday continued right into the evening as OEB hosted its 30^th anniversary celebration. The evening was a delightful gathering of the OEB community – complete with delicious finger food, drinks and live entertainment. It was a pleasure to see so many of our delegates partaking in fruitful conversations, networking with fellow professionals, and enjoying the celebration with us.

The Evening Event truly captured the essence of community at OEB. As well as marking the 30-year milestone, it allowed everyone at the conference to meet new people, catch up with friends – and dance the night away!

Closing the Conversation: Final Plenaries and Inspiring Sessions

After a wonderful evening of celebrating and networking, delegates were eager on Friday morning to get stuck into the final day of the OEB Conference. The day opened with two plenaries; ‘Transforming Education for Visionary Futures’ and ‘Strategic L&D That Makes a Difference’. Gilly Salmon chaired the former, joined by keynotes Aleks Subic, Kyle Bowen and Maribell Reyes-Millan. Together they shared their bold, strategic initiatives in action. With live examples, they illustrated how emerging technologies are revolutionising students’ experiences and transforming the future of learning!

And the latter, chaired by Donald H Taylor, featured keynote speakers Rafael Fernández Qundez, Derek Bruce and Oya Torum. They discussed what truly matters in the workplace, and how L&D can make a difference. Our keynotes talked about the importance of performance consulting rather than reactive order taking, as well as understanding the power of technology rather than chasing the latest trends.

Looking Forward: OEB Returns in 2025

As we come to the end of 2024, we’re already excited for what the next year holds for our leading conference. The 2025 edition of the OEB Conference will take place on December 3 – 5, 2025 at the InterContinental Berlin. Save the date, and while you wait – don’t miss out on the latest news surrounding OEB by subscribing to our newsletter.