Presentation Panel
Innovative Approaches to Building Future-Ready Skills, Fostering Creativity, and Embracing Holistic Learning
Date Friday, Nov 29 Time – RoomCharlottenburg III
Join this session to explore how technology and innovative practices are shaping a more effective skills system for all. The discussion will cover fostering transversal skills for resilience, building creative teams through media literacy and video-based learning, embracing learner variability to develop essential 21st-century skills. Participants will gain insights into the future of education and the tools needed to nurture adaptable, creative, and collaborative learners.
April Williamson
Project Director, Global Programs, Digital Promise Global, United States of America
April Williamson is project director for global programs at Digital Promise, a nonprofit advancing equitable education by bringing together solutions across research, practice, and technology. With a background in secondary STEM teaching, instructional leadership, digital learning, and global development, April leads international programs and partnerships to shape the future of education. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree from Yale’s Jackson School of Global Affairs.
Rebecca Garrod-Waters
Chief Executive, Ufi VocTech Trust, United Kingdom
I am passionate about the potential for digital technology to positively transform the way vocational learning is delivered, and the power this will have to positively impact people’s lives and opportunities. At Ufi we have been growing our activity across a wide portfolio of projects designed to impact across the UK, delivering better, faster and more effective vocational training. Ufi has a mission to enable more vocational skills for more people, more of the time, with a focus on increasing learning and skills opportunities for communities, sectors, industries and places that are traditionally ‘unloved’.
Links
Moderator
Eran Barak Medina
Lecturer & Resercher, Holon Institute of Technology
A lecturer, researcher, and consultant with deep expertise in AI-human interaction, instructional design, and organizational learning. At Holon Institute of Technology, he teaches and explores AI's impact on creativity and learning. With a strong background in leading high-impact educational R&D initiatives with the Israeli Ministry of Education, Eran also advises organizations on change management and executive development. His recent work includes shaping strategy and development in an AI-driven training platform aimed at enhancing leadership skills in business settings.
Assembly Required: Building the Creative Team
Creative collaboration is the engine behind so many of the things we love. And the creative teams that tap into it everyday in entertainment, technology, and design understand the power of building something together. Two professors at Abilene Christian University produced a short doc that features interviews with Ed Catmull (Pixar), Gina Rudan (X), William Joyce (writer/illustrator), and Ken Kocienda (Apple) to explore the particular challenges of creativity at work. (http://assemblyrequireddoc.com) Assembly Required is the product of faculty and filmmakers at ACU who wanted to understand the impact of creative teams on how we prepare future leaders in design, technology, and creative fields. Ten years ago we produced a short doc on the Maker Movement that changed the way our campus and K-20 educators around the country thought about learning by doing. In this project, we wanted to explore themes central to leading creative teams (trust, listening, improvisation, failure) and understand how leaders in a range of fields apply those themes to their work.
Embracing Learner Variability to Cultivate 21st-Century Skills, April Williamson
School systems are shifting focus from traditional content knowledge to 21st-century skills like collaboration and critical thinking, aligning with research on the science of learning and social-emotional processes. Professional development for educators on these topics, including how to use tools like Digital Promise’s Learner Variability Navigator, enhances teaching practices, supports personalized and student-centered learning, and promotes belonging and skills development among learners.
Visions from the Frontline: How Tech Can Deliver a Better Skills System for All, Rebecca Garrod-Waters
The UK skills system is fragmented and struggling to keep up with changing economic and societal needs, despite the availability of technology that could transform learning. The system remains slow and inflexible, risking the exclusion of people, industries, and regions. To address this, Ufi VocTech Trust launched the VocTech Future of Skills Award to celebrate bold visions for delivering the skills the UK needs. This session will showcase four award-winning ideas from practitioners working directly with learners, covering themes such as improving local and national training links, creating new skills currencies, supporting learners with care or criminal justice experience, and aiding transitions into work for adults with learning disabilities.