Connect 2026 Keynotes Announced: Donald Taylor and Susi Miller to open and close an exciting day in the L&D calendar
The Learning Network is thrilled to announce that Donald H Taylor and Susi Miller will deliver the keynotes at Connect 2026, its annual conference, which arrives at The Eastside Rooms in Birmingham on Friday 27th November with a theme that could hardly be more timely: Building the Future.
Two of the most respected and recognisable names in learning and development will bookend the day, with Donald setting out the big strategic choices now facing the profession and Susi bringing those choices home to every practitioner in the room. For anyone working in L&D right now, it is a pairing that promises plenty to think about, plenty to argue about over coffee, and plenty to take back to the office on Monday morning.
The world of work is in the middle of enormous technological, social, and economic upheaval, and L&D sits right at the heart of it; Connect 2026 makes the case that the profession should be helping to shape what comes next, instead of sitting back and waiting for the future of work to be shaped by others. Amid all that change lies a huge opportunity to address many of the things that have held back L&D's impact for years, from being treated as an order-taker to being left out of the conversations where the big decisions get made. Seize it, and the profession emerges stronger, braver, and more influential; let it slip through our fingers, and we risk finding ourselves in a world of work we neither understand nor had any hand in building.
Kicking things off is Donald H Taylor, who has spent years researching and sharing what is happening across the field with the aim of moving L&D forward. His opening keynote, Beyond the AI shock: possible futures for L&D, starts from a bold premise: AI was the shock, and now come the decisions. L&D has moved past the initial scramble of reacting to generative AI, and the question facing the profession is what it does with the opportunity in front of it. Will we expand what we do and step up to new challenges, or will we simply automate the same old approach to training?
Drawing on research, case studies, and nearly 40 years in the field, Donald will argue that AI has forced a decision on L&D that was probably coming anyway; a decision about our role, and about how ready we feel to act strategically. He will take delegates through the fork in the road that the profession now faces, the rich range of tactical possibilities that have opened up, and three possible future strategies for L&D, making it the perfect way to set the tone for the day.
Bringing the conference to a close is Susi Miller, Founder and Director of eLaHub, which helps teams design, develop, and test accessible learning. Her closing keynote, Finding your place in the future of L&D, takes the big picture and puts it squarely in the hands of the individual practitioner. AI, new technologies, rising expectations, and constant pressure to do more with less are reshaping how learning is created, how our roles are defined, and where we believe our professional value lies; Susi will explore what all of that means for people working with limited budgets, organisational constraints, and change that never seems to let up.
Drawing on more than 35 years in L&D, alongside personal experience, research, and examples from accessible and inclusive learning, Susi will examine how what matters to us, the constraints we work within, and the places we choose to act all fit together. She will challenge some familiar assumptions about expertise, influence, and who has the power to make learning better, and show how individual actions can have a far greater impact than we often recognise, especially when they are rooted in a clear sense of purpose and in the realities of the people we design for. Mixing reflection, practical activities, and real examples, the session is designed to send everyone home with a small number of practical ideas that keep being useful long after the conference has wrapped up.
Between the two keynotes sits a packed programme of panels, workshops, and sessions, along with plenty of time to catch up with old friends, meet new ones, and connect with the wider L&D community.
The Learning Network would like to say a huge thank you to the sponsors making Connect 2026 possible: headline sponsors Comtec and Evolve L&D, and sponsors L&D Free Spirits and Personal Strengths Coaching. Thanks also go to The CPD Group, which has accredited the conference, so every delegate can claim CPD points for the day.
With two keynotes of this calibre and a programme packed with practical ideas, Connect 2026 is shaping up to be one of the standout L&D events of the year, and tickets are on sale now.
Date: Friday 27 November 2026, all day from 08:00 to 17:30
Venue: The Eastside Rooms, Woodcock Street, Birmingham, B7 4BL
Tickets: On sale now at The Learning Network Website - https://thelearning-network.org/event/connect-2026-building-the-future/