OEB Opening Plenary

Re-Imagining Our Vision for Learning

Berlin (GER), October 2022 - The OEB Conference, taking place in Berlin 23-25 November, gets underway with an opening plenary led by three leading edtech experts and futurists: Pär Lager, Lecturer and Senior Advisor, Author of "Upskill and Reskill", Swedish Defence University; Njeri Mwagiru, Senior Futurist, Institute for Futures Research (IFR) at Stellenbosch University Business School; and David Mattin, Founder, New World Same Humans, and moderated by Donald H Taylor, Chair, Learning Technologies Conference.

The pandemic-induced massive shift to online teaching and working has presented a leapfrog moment in our vision to upgrade learning with technology. We advanced at a quicker pace, leaving many of us in unfamiliar terrain but with new insights into what is possible. How can we make the most of the new flexibility we have discovered?

"At the Opening Plenary of Online Educa Berlin 2022 we will build on the amazing work done over the past two years, and work together to imagine a collective vision for the education and training of the future," points out session moderator, Donald H Taylor.

The opening plenary is 24 November at 09:00. The full conference agenda for OEB 2022 is online, along with OEB Conference ticketing and more information about the exhibition that runs alongside the conference.

Lecturer and senior advisor, author of "Upskill and Reskill", Swedish Defence University’s Pär Lager is one of the leading experts in the Nordics on leadership, competitive analysis, and innovative learning. He has written three books on leadership, strategic communication, and learning culture; his "Upskill & Reskill" was published in 2021. Today, Pär is a member several boards and as an advisor, teacher, and lecturer for organisations and companies.

Njeri Mwagiru is Senior Futurist at Stellenbosch University Business School’s Institute for Futures Research (IFR). Her work focuses on strengthening capabilities of individuals, organisations and states in Africa, enabling them to navigate complexity and uncertainty, as well as to realise long-term goals and visions. Her research interests include leadership, organisational performance, knowledge, gender and diversity, inclusivity, and transformation.
She has worked with a range of organisations in several capacities and contexts, including research; higher education teaching and skills building; executive management training; policy, strategy, and programme development; short course design, planning, and delivery; project management and coordination; and evaluation of initiatives for valued business, public sector, and international partners.

David Mattin is the founder of New World Same Humans, a weekly newsletter on trends, technology, and society that goes to 22,000 subscribers each week. David speaks regularly at leading conferences and closed events around the world; recent events include The Next Web, Cog X 2021, 15 Seconds, and the NEXT Conference. His business, innovation, and trends journalism has appeared everywhere from Fast Company to the Guardian to Google Think Quarterly.

The Chair of the Learning Technologies Conference is Donald H Taylor. He has worked in learning and technology since the mid-1980s. He has chaired the Learning Technologies Conference in London since 2000 and writes and speaks worldwide. His annual L&D Global Sentiment Survey, started in 2014, provides a unique perspective on L&D trends from over 100 countries. From 2010 to 2021, he chaired the Learning and Performance Institute.