Learning Café
Beyond the Silos: Uniting Learning Across Academia and Industry
Date Thursday, Dec 4 Time – Room: Bishop
Please note: This is a Sign-In Session with limited capacity. Click “Mark this Session” to reserve your place. If you can’t attend, please unmark it so others may join. Seats of participants who haven’t arrived 5 minutes after the start will be released to others on site.
This Learning Café explores how learning practices in academic and corporate environments can inform and enrich one another. The session invites participants to reflect on how people learn in universities versus in the workplace, and how we might meaningfully bridge the two, exploring creative ways to connect them. For instance, how might reflective academic methods be adapted for workplace training? And what can formal education borrow from real-world, hands-on corporate learning?
Cleopatra Hammad
Global Product Training Manager, ABB
Cleopatra Hammad is a Global Product Training Manager at ABB, where she designs and delivers learning experiences for the global sales audience. She has previously worked as an instructional designer for universities across the UK, Europe, and Australia, creating online courses in areas such as data analytics, digital marketing, and programming languages. Cleopatra is currently pursuing a PhD in Educational Sciences at the University of Oulu in Finland, where her research explores how collaboration is triggered in technology-driven learning environments. Her passion lies in bridging academic and corporate learning to make training more meaningful, collaborative, and relevant across sectors.
Maria Kuchina
Product Training Manager, ABB
Maria Kuchina is the Product Training Manager at ABB, where she designs and delivers product training initiatives for a diverse global audience, ranging from technicians to sales teams. With a Master’s in Industrial Management and a background in the industrial sector in various engineering roles, Maria brings both technical depth and a learner-centric mindset to her work. She is passionate about reimagining technical training—making it more engaging, interactive, and far from boring. At ABB, she works to transform traditional learning formats into dynamic experiences that drive real impact. Maria is committed to shaping the future of digital learning through innovation and learner-centric approaches.