Connect 2026 Preview
Rebecca McDowall and Susi Miller look ahead to Building the Future, the Learning Network conference in Birmingham on 27 November.
How should L&D shape the future it is being asked to prepare people for? Decisions about AI, skills and learning design also raise questions about who can participate and whose needs influence those decisions.
Those questions run through Connect 2026, the Learning Network’s annual conference, taking place at Eastside Rooms in Birmingham on 27 November. This year’s theme is Building the Future.
Learning Network chair Rebecca McDowall and keynote speaker Susi Miller join Learning News to preview the event, discuss the priorities behind the programme and explore the place of accessibility in learning’s future.
Donald H Taylor will open the conference with ‘Beyond the AI shock: possible futures for L&D’. Miller, founder and director of eLaHub, will deliver the closing keynote, ‘Finding your place in the future of L&D’. Her work includes accessible learning design, training and auditing.
The programme also includes neuroinclusive learning design, an examination of common learning models and a workshop on AI and cognitive offloading. Panels will address AI and evidence-informed practice.
Watch the preview with Rebecca McDowall and Susi Miller.