Brace for Transformation: The Courage to Redefine Learning
Date Thursday, Nov 28 Time –
As the world faces climate crises, global conflicts, and democratic pressures, learning and training systems must undergo a profound transformation. With AI and emerging technologies reshaping both education and the workplace, the focus is shifting from traditional skills to adaptability, creativity, and resilience. In this dynamic landscape, lifelong and informal learning, workplace skills, and education across all sectors must evolve to not only withstand disruption but to thrive in it, fostering an antifragile mindset that turns challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.
Gerd Leonhard
CEO, The Futures Agency
Gerd Leonhard is a renowned futurist, known for his focus on the "4Ps": People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity. With over 20 years of experience, Gerd has spoken at more than 2000 events worldwide, collaborating with top organizations like Microsoft, Google, and the European Commission. He is the author of the bestseller "Technology vs Humanity" and is recognized as one of the most influential Europeans by Wired magazine. Gerd is celebrated for his innovative "super-keynote" presentations and his expertise in digital ethics, sustainability, and future-focused economic strategies. His insights have been featured in major media outlets such as The Guardian, Harvard Business Review, and the BBC.
Timandra Harkness
Writer, Author of the Book "Technology is Not the Problem"
Timandra is a regular on BBC Radio, writing and presenting BBC Radio 4’s FutureProofing and other series including How To Disagree, Steelmanning and Political School. BBC Radio documentaries include Data, Data Everywhere, Divided Nation, What Has Sat-Nav Done To Our Brains, and Five Knots. She was resident reporter on all 8 seasons of social psychology series The Human Zoo and is now the spare presenter for Radio 4’s Profile.
Her book Big Data: does size matter? published by Bloomsbury Sigma in 2016, came out in an updated paperback edition in June 2017. Her second non-fiction book, Technology is Not the Problem will be published on May 23rd 2024 by Harper Collins.
Since winning the Independent newspaper’s column-writing competition, she has written for many publications including the Telegraph, Guardian, Sunday Times, Unherd, BBC Focus magazine, WIRED, Unherd, the New Statesman, Men’s Health and Significance (the journal of the Royal Statistical Society).
Timandra chairs and speaks at public events for clients including Cheltenham Science Festival, the Royal Society, the British Council, the Royal Geographical Society, the RSA, the Institute of Ideas, the British Library, Wellcome Collection, the Alan Turing Institute, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and many others.
After performing improvised & stand up comedy, & touring with a tented circus, she formed the first comedy science double-act in the UK with neuroscientist Dr. Helen Pilcher. Since then she has written and performed scientific and mathematical comedy from Adelaide (Australia) to Pittsburgh PA.
In 2010 she co-wrote & performed Your Days Are Numbered: The Maths of Death, with stand-up mathematician Matt Parker. They performed the show to average audiences of 100.3 and 4 star reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe, then toured it in the UK and Australia. Timandra’s science comedy since then includes cabaret, gameshows, and solo live show Brainsex (with Socrates the rat).
Timandra has a BA in Film and Drama with Art & Art History, a BSc in Mathematics & Statistics, and an MA in Philosophy from Birkbeck College, where she is now researching for an MRes in Philosophy. She is a member of the Royal Statistical Society Council of Trustees, and Chair of the editorial board of their journal, Significance.
Payal Arora
Professor of Inclusive AI Culture, Utrecht University
Payal Arora PhD. (Columbia Univ. NYC), is a Professor of Inclusive AI Cultures at Utrecht University and co-founder of FemLab, a feminist futures of work initiative and Inclusive AI Lab. She leverages her two decades of user experiences in the Global South to help shape inclusive AI enabled designs and policies. Payal is the author of 100+ journal articles and award-winning books including “The Next Billion Users” with Harvard Press. Forbes named her the ‘next billion champion’ and the ‘right kind of person to reform tech.’ Her new book with MIT Press “From Pessimism to Promise: Lessons from the Global South on Designing Inclusive Tech” has gained traction in the international media, covered by the Financial Times, BBC Tech Decoded, and the UX magazine, among others. About 150 international media outlets have covered her work including The Economist , 99% Invisible, Tech Crunch, and The Boston Globe. She has consulted for the public and the private sector including UNHCR, Spotify, KPMG, Adobe, IDEO, Google, and GE and sits on several boards including for the UN, and the World Women Global Council in New York. She has given more than 350 keynotes and invited talks in 67 countries for events such as ACM Facct, Copenhagen Tech Festival, re:publica, COP26, World Economic Forum, Swedish Internet Foundation, alongside figures like Jimmy Wales and Steve Wozniak, and TEDx talks on the future of the internet and innovation. She is a Rockefeller Bellagio Resident Fellow alumnus and is Indian, American, and Irish and calls Amsterdam her home.
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Moderator
Donald H Taylor
Chair, Learning Technologies, United Kingdom
Donald H Taylor has worked in learning and technology since the mid-1980s.
He has chaired the Learning Technologies Conference in London since 2000 and writes and speaks world-wide. His annual L&D Global Sentiment Survey, started in 2014, provides a unique perspective on L&D trends from over 100 countries. From 2010 to 2021, he chaired the Learning and Performance Institute.
He chairs the Workforce Development board for VC firm Emerge Education, and advises several EdTech start-ups.
The author of Learning Technologies in the Workplace, Donald is a graduate of Oxford University and the recipience of an honorary doctorate from London’s Middlesex University.