Keynote Speakers

N. Arda Aygül is the Learning and Development Manager at İşbank, Turkey’s largest private bank. With over 20 years of experience in HR and corporate learning, he has designed innovative learning solutions, reskilling/upskilling programs and led pioneering projects in gamification, learning experience platforms (LXP), and virtual reality (VR) for learning. At İşbank, he leads a team of learning professionals dedicated to creating engaging and impactful development opportunities for more than 20,000 employees.

Having joined mci group in 1998 as Director of Talent and Development for MCI Brussels, Avinash has played a central role in shaping the organisation’s talent strategy over the years. His journey from a local leadership role to Global Learning and Development Director reflects both deep organisational knowledge and a broader strategic vision for learning as a driver of business value.

With a career spanning three decades and three continents, including leadership roles in Europe, North America, and Asia, he brings a unique blend of global business expertise, cultural fluency, and insight into the evolving needs of today’s and tomorrow’s workforce.
At the core, Avinash leads the design and deployment of a high-impact learning ecosystem that serves as the engine for talent development across mci group. By creating the right conditions; programmes, tools, platforms, and cultural levers, he ensures learning is not just accessible, but embedded, purposeful, and performance-driven. His approach integrates the latest in AI-enabled technology, neuroscience-informed design, and deep business alignment to drive capability building that delivers measurable results.

Beyond his formal role and drawing on a broad set of strengths across business, he actively contributes to client projects, speaking engagements, and workshops, bringing thought leadership and translating his diverse experience into practical, high-value contributions across client challenges and opportunities.

Prof. Dr. Maja Göpel has been working for more than 25 years as a political economist, transformation expert, and sustainability scientist at the intersection of science, politics, and society. A policy advisor, bestselling author (Rethinking Our World, We Can Do Better, Ullstein Verlag, translated into ten languages, and Values, Brandstätter Verlag), and sought-after speaker, she is Professor of Sustainability Transformation at Leuphana University Lüneburg and founder of Mission Wertvoll.

Photo Credit
Wolf Lux

Shafika Isaacs is Chief of Section for Technology and AI in Education at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. As an international specialist in digital learning, AI, and education, she has spent the past two and a half decades on building communities, coaching professionals, and leading global, regional and national digital learning initiatives. She also serves as Professor of Practice at the University of Johannesburg, has contributed to UNESCO’s AI Competency Framework for Teachers, advised UNICEF on AI and children, and led research on AI in African primary education systems with the LINK Centre at Wits University. She has supported national, local, and global organizations on digital learning policy and large-scale education programs. As the Founding Executive Director of SchoolNet Africa, she helped pioneer equitable, justice-driven integration of technology in African schools across 16 African countries. She has served on multiple governance boards, earned prestigious leadership awards, and published widely on digital education. Shafika holds a PhD in Education, an Executive MBA with distinction, and a Master’s degree in science and technology policy.

Max Bankole Jarrett has over 35 years of professional experience in the fields of broadcast media and communication, and international policy affairs. In 2017 he served as the final Director-in-charge of the Geneva-based Africa Progress Panel, chaired by the Nobel Laureate and former UN Secretary - General, Kofi Annan. Max began his career as a current affairs broadcaster with the BBC World Service in London in 1990 working on the BBC's flagship programmes for its African audience: Focus on Africa and Network Africa. In 2001 he began work as a speechwriter, communication team leader and senior programme management officer in the United Nations system (for 17 years). After serving as Director of Strategy and Delivery in the Office of the President of the African Development Bank from July 2023 to July 2025, he was appointed Divisional Manager, Editorial, Media Relations and Social Media of the African Development Bank Group effective 1 August 2025. A descendant of the 1865 Barbadian emigrants to the Republic of Liberia, he currently also serves as the Vice Chairperson of the newly incorporated Africa-Barbados Heritage Initiative foundation. Max received his BSc. (Hons) in Economics in 1990 from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and his M.A in African Studies (Specialism: The Political Economy of Africa) in 1996, from London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies.

Philipp Lorenz-Spreen is a junior research group leader in the field of “Computational Social Science” at the Center Synergy of Systems at the TU Dresden. He has also been conducting research at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development since completing his doctorate in theoretical physics at the TU Berlin on the dynamics of collective attention. His research focuses on the complexity of self-organized online discourse and its impact on democracies worldwide.

Dr. Andrew Maynard is Director of the Arizona State University Future of Being Human initiative and a professor in the Arizona State University School for the Future of Innovation in Society. His research focuses on successfully navigating transitions at the nexus of emerging technologies, society, and the future, including the intersection of technologies such as AI with education and learning. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a member of the Research Council of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), and currently serves on the selection committee for the World Economic Forum annual list of top ten emerging technologies. As well as publishing in the academic press, Andrew writes for a number of platforms, including the Substack The Future of Being Human. He is also the author of the books Future Rising: A Journey from the Past to the Edge of Tomorrow, and Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies, and co-host of the podcast Modem Futura. Andrew originally trained and worked for many years as a physicist, and received his PhD in physics from Cambridge University, UK.

Kerri O’Neill is an award-winning senior executive with 20 years of experience in human resources, change, cultural transformation and organisational effectiveness. She is a qualified Executive Coach.
Kerri is Chief People Officer at Ipsos UK and Ireland. Ipsos in one of the worlds leading polling and public opinion organisations and listed on the stock exchange in Paris. Here she leads the human resources and talent agenda for over 2,000 employees.
Prior to this, Kerri was Chief People and Transformation Officer at the UK tech and media regulator Ofcom for 5 years where she has played a pivotal role as the organisation has become one the first bodies globally to regulate online safety and telecom security capabilities. She has pushed the boundaries at Ofcom, bringing in top tech talent and making the organisation the most diverse it has ever been. Under her leadership, Ofcom has been listed as a ‘Times Top 50 Employer for Women' on three occasions. She has also made great strides in strengthening the capabilities and reputation of the HR function.
Previously, Kerri spent 2 years at national retailer House of Fraser Group and 12 years with financial services organisation Aviva working in UK and Asia Pacific, latterly driving the ‘Employee Insight’ and ‘Future of Work’ agenda.
Alongside this she is Trustee and Non Executive Director of Oxfam GB, a leading international charity focused on fighting poverty and injustice and is Vice-Chair of a UK National Portfolio Arts and Culture organisation, Farnham Maltings and Ambassador for a girls empowerment charity, Global Girl Project. She is regularly fundraising for causes through her virtual book circles done with podcaster Lulu Minns.
Kerri is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD and read History at University of Durham.

After studying at Cambridge, Adam Salkeld began his career on the BBC’s Graduate Training scheme, working for 12 years as a journalist, producer, and executive producer on shows like Panorama and documentaries filmed on every continent. Post-BBC, Adam worked in independent TV, producing documentaries for international broadcasters and videos for organizations like UNHCR and Oxford University. In 2016, he co-founded the award-winning Digital Learning Associates Ltd, which brings broadcast quality standards to education video. DLA is now a leading supplier of authentic video to the language learning sector, with over 15 million learners worldwide using its content. Adam has also served as a non-executive director for the Aga Khan’s Nation Media Group and is a regular speaker at education and media conferences. He lives in the UK and East Africa with his husband, Kassim.

Dr. Anja Schmitz is Professor of Human Resource Management at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Her academic and practical work focuses on workplace learning, organizational development, and the impact of AI on Human Resource Management. With a background in Industrial and Organizational Psychology, she bridges the gap between research and practice by advising organizations on fostering learning cultures and implementing effective learning strategies through aligning them with business needs during periods of growth, transformation, and uncertainty. Dr. Schmitz is a sought-after speaker at national and international conferences, where she shares evidence-based insights on Learning & Development, the future of work, and AI-driven HR transformation. She serves on the advisory board of the “Zukunft Personal” Expo and facilitates its Think Tank Learning and Development. Prior to her current position, she was a professor at Pforzheim University and held several roles in personnel and organizational development in corporate settings. She has been recognized by Personalmagazin as one of the leading voices shaping the future of Human Resource Management (“40 führende Köpfe im HR 2025”).
Further information on New Work & New Learning: https://learningdevelopment.institute/home/learning-development-institu…

Neil Selwyn is a professor in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Melbourne – having previously worked in the Institute of Education, London and the Cardiff School of Social Sciences. He has spent the past 30 years researching the integration of digital technology into schools, universities and adult learning.

Neil is recognised as a leading international researcher in the area of digital education – with particular expertise in the ‘real-life’ constraints and problems faced when technology-based education is implemented. He is currently working on nationally-funded projects examining the roll-out of educational data and learning analytics, AI technologies, and the changing nature of teachers’ digital work.

Neil has carried out funded research on digital technology, society and education for national research agencies and funders in the UK, Australia, US, Sweden and Uruguay, alongside projects for the BBC, Gates Foundation, Microsoft Partners in Learning, Save The Children, National Assembly of Wales and UNESCO.

Neil is a regular keynote speaker at international conferences and he also produces the ‘Meet The Education Researcher‘ and ‘Education Technology Society‘ podcasts.

Professor Niall Winters is a practitioner-researcher concentrating on technological praxis for positive social change. He is the founder of Openstrand, a start-up focusing on widening access to global knowledges in the cultural sector, through the development of convivial technologies.

Niall was a Full Professor of Education and Technology at the University of Oxford, where he co-led the Critical Digital Education Research Group, directed the MSc Education (Digital and Social Change) and is a Visiting Fellow of Kellogg College. He has published widely on the equitable design and use of educational technologies, in particular for those at the periphery of society.

Dr. Yong Zhao is a Foundation Distinguished Professor at the University of Kansas. He previously held leadership roles at the University of Oregon and Michigan State University, including as director of institutes focused on global education and educational technology. He has also worked in Australia and the UK, and is an elected member of the National Academy of Education.

An internationally recognized scholar, Zhao has published over 100 articles and nearly 40 books on globalization, technology, and education reform. His recent titles include Focused (2024), Duck and Cover (2023), and Learning for Uncertainty (2022). He has collaborated with schools worldwide to develop innovative education models.

Over his four-decade career, Zhao has led major research projects, developed software tools, and advised institutions across five continents. Born in Sichuan, China, he earned his Ph.D. in education from the University of Illinois in 1996 and began his U.S. academic career at Michigan State University.