Photography by Birzer Photo, Inc
They say everything is bigger in Texas—and that was certainly true when it came to the number of networking opportunities, aha moments, and best practices to bring back to the office from Training’s TechLearn 2024 Conference in Austin this fall.
“TechLearn 2024 was a great opportunity to learn about advances in learning technology and to learn from colleagues in the industry,” noted attendee Elwand Kamal, Learning & Talent Operations analyst at Charles River Laboratories. “It was an opportunity to talk to those who face the same challenges I do at work and work through some solutions that new tech can provide us.”
Nearly 550 Learning and Development (L&D) professionals consumed content in 33-plus Innovations in Training (IIT) Test Kitchen demos, 50-plus breakout sessions, eight hands-on clinics, two keynotes, a new FLX-sponsored series focused on “L&D Lessons from High-Risk Environments,” and three pre-conference certificate programs. The premier sponsors of the conference were Intellezy, Bridge, and WellSaid, each of which provided high-end prizes for drawings held after the last keynote (see photo below). Co-located events included the Learning Leaders Summit sponsored by Skillable and Uplimit and hosted by Oracle (see next page) and GamiCon ATX24.
Spearheaded by executive chefs (and learning experience designers) Phylise Banner and Hector Valle, the IIT Test Kitchen gave attendees the opportunity to dig into the latest learning technologies and design techniques, and create recipes inspired by their learnings. The winners of the IIT Test Kitchen Recipe Contest were: Jennifer Clark from Sedgwick Claims Management for “Creating an ‘I’m All In’ Mentality for Compliance Training” and Robert Mora from Bay Alarm Company for “Quarter Presenters with Cheese.”
The connections, collaboration, and camaraderie continued through activities such as the Dine Around Mixer Event, special Austin experiences (bat viewing cruise on Lady Bird Lake and the musical Texas Brew Bus), and the closing reception with music from local band The Saddle Sores.
Concluded Inaia Correia Amrosini, an instructional designer at University Health, “TechLearn is a great place to explore, engage, and elevate our skills together because the future of education starts with the tools we embrace today!”
