Press releases

The call for papers for the LEARNTEC convention - Europe's most important trade fair for digital education in schools, universities and the workplace - is online. In practice-oriented lectures, workshops and discussion panels, the congress from May 6 to 8, 2025 will once again deal with the current trend topics in digital education. Until September 8, interested parties have the opportunity to actively participate in the convention with their research topic, best practice or vision for the future by submitting topics online in German or English or by suggesting speakers.

To Call for Papers

"In 2025, the LEARNTEC convention will once again show what the future of learning looks like, what the latest findings from research and teaching are and from which best practices from the world of learning and work we can gain important experience. With the Call for Papers, we would like to offer education experts the opportunity to pass on their specialist knowledge to the international convention participants, to exchange ideas with them and thus to work together to shape digital education," say Sünne Eichler, Prof. Dr. Peter A. Henning and Micha Pallesche from the LEARNTEC Congress Committee.

The LEARNTEC 2025 convention will focus on the topics of digital learning in the professional environment. Submissions are welcome on topics such as learning content and its production, hardware and equipment, learning software and intelligent learning systems as well as learning with artificial intelligence. However, education management and education culture are also sought-after topics, as are new work and modern workplace learning in the fields of HR and coaching. The LEARNTEC Convention Committee and Advisory Board will then compile essential parts of the convention program from all submissions and according to strict criteria.

Topics on digital education in schools and universities as well as augmented and virtual reality can also be submitted. These will be integrated into the trade fair's specialist forums, such as the AR/VR Area, the university@LEARNTEC specialist program or the school@LEARNTEC forum. Among other things, best practice examples from digital teaching at universities, the future of education systems or teaching with digital media are being sought.

Whether Digital Pact 2.0, learning with artificial intelligence or exclusive insights into the development of a national education platform - after three successful event days, visitors to the 31st edition of LEARNTEC, Europe's most important event for digital education, set off into their learning world of the future with numerous innovations and impulses in their luggage. The exhibition stands, numerous lecture formats and workshops as well as an outdoor area with festival character created an ideal setting for business and encounters.

"The relevance of digital learning is currently higher than ever. I am very pleased that Messe Karlsruhe has once again succeeded in bringing innovations in the field of learning to Karlsruhe with LEARNTEC - and has done so continuously for 30 years and in all its facets: young, colorful and lively,” said Britta Wirtz, Managing Director of Messe Karlsruhe.

“Anyone attending here will hear what is still lacking in digital education - but above all, how we can change this and make it better,” said patron Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Minister of Education and Research, in her opening address, emphasizing the high appeal of LEARNTEC throughout Germany and beyond. The fact that LEARNTEC was once again able to underline its position as the most important event for the education sector is also confirmed by the learning community: not only the trade visitors, but also the exhibitors drew a consistently positive conclusion. Christian Friedrich, Managing Director of Haufe Akademie, said: “LEARNTEC is the trade fair when it comes to positioning learning technology and digital learning in Europe.”

World premieres and innovations meet a relaxed networking atmosphere

Visitor Marco Thornagel, Managing Director of Tech2Know, summarizes LEARNTEC 2024: “Dealing with knowledge is a strategic success factor for companies in the future. How we deal with knowledge and how we learn is changing dramatically. LEARNTEC shows where the path of learning is heading in the future. That's why I'm here. I am experiencing an incredibly dynamic, well-attended and exciting trade fair."

The 419 exhibitors from 19 countries once again used LEARNTEC as a stage for numerous product premieres. Much of the focus was on the megatrend of artificial intelligence and the opportunities and challenges it presents for teachers and learners in schools, universities and companies. But learning with augmented realities and the acquisition of future skills also played a role at this year's LEARNTEC.

Joshua Luca Kirkland from The SimpleClub said: “We love being here because it's exactly the contacts we need. LEARNTEC is a huge event for the industry, bringing together all the companies that are driving the industry forward. The topic of education is generally very dry, but there are a lot of companies here that want to push the whole topic, also with regard to artificial intelligence. We have already booked for next year and are looking forward to taking part again."

Versatile specialist program for schools, universities and companies goes down well with the community

At LEARNTEC, around 14,000 participants from 43 countries once again benefited from the varied specialist program. This year, the LEARNTEC congress committee, consisting of Sünne Eichler, Prof. Dr. Peter A. Henning and Micha Pallesche, had designed the program to be even more target group-oriented. The specialist congress once again offered all e-learning experts and newcomers a practical look into the future of the digital education market. The first day of the trade fair was also dedicated to digital university teaching with the university@LEARNTEC lecture program. The school@LEARNTEC forum, on the other hand, focused on current topics for school administrators. Wednesday was aimed in particular at school authorities and local government.

Sabrina Hack, Head of the Municipal Media Center of the City of Cologne, visited LEARNTEC for the second time in a row and says: “We are at LEARNTEC to take away new ideas and to see what has happened in the digital media landscape for schools. We took a lot away with us: Products that we had presented to us, contacts that we made, old acquaintances that we met again."

Exhibitor Philipp Schulz from Forum Bildung Digitalisierung adds: “This is the first time we've taken part. It's really good for us to be able to talk to the players here. We've already spoken to school authorities, head teachers and representatives from the school administration and it's really nice to network here."

Self-guided tour, matchmaking & co: digital tools create added value

Not only the tried-and-tested formats such as the AR/VR Area, but also the more recent special shows such as the LEARNTEC Future Lab, where AI, robotics and smart learning technologies could be tried out, were well received by the trade visitors. In order to make the visit as efficient as possible, the digital formats at LEARNTEC were also further expanded, such as the trade fair app. Visitors not only found an interactive hall plan there, they were also able to plan individual tours of the trade fair. A matchmaking tool brought supply and demand together. More than 1,200 participants made appointments at the trade fair via the app and sent more than 20,000 chat messages.

Forward-looking and market-oriented: LEARNTEC 2025 already almost fully booked

By the end of the event, around 75 percent of the space available for LEARNTEC 2025 had already been booked. “We are delighted with the high level of interest,” said Stefanie Ruf, Project Manager of LEARNTEC. “We owe this success to our very market-oriented, agile trade fair team, our advisory board and congress committee, who always manage to bring the latest topics to the event and thus make LEARNTEC the place to be for the education industry.”

The next LEARNTEC will take place from May 6 to 8, 2025 at Messe Karlsruhe.

Further information and tickets for LEARNTEC are available online at www.learntec.de/tickets.

Next week, the e-learning community will meet for its annual reunion: At LEARNTEC, Europe's most important event for digital education in schools, universities and the workplace, education experts and newcomers can once again find out about the latest trends and innovations on the market, exchange ideas and network with each other. From June 4 to 6, 2024, around 400 exhibitors will present their digital-based solutions for everyday learning in three exhibition halls. The accompanying convention and trade fair program will showcase the learning of the future in practical and forward-looking presentations.

LEARNTEC is the venue for world premieres and innovations

This year, exhibitors will once again use LEARNTEC as a stage for numerous innovations and product premieres. A lot will revolve around the megatrend of artificial intelligence (AI) and its opportunities and challenges for teachers and learners in schools, universities and everyday working life. But learning with augmented realities (XR) and the acquisition of future skills will also play a role at this year's LEARNTEC. Area9 Lyceum, market leader for adaptive learning technologies, is using LEARNTEC for a genuine world premiere, for example: Area9 Mindflow™ The stand-alone technology combines the power of GPT-4 with existing learning content and know-how from science, publishing, editing and teaching. Bitkom Servicegesellschaft will also be presenting its new learning platform for SMEs, the Learning Campus, to the public for the first time at LEARNEC.

High-caliber LEARNTEC Convention provides forward-looking impetus

On all three days of the event, the LEARNTEC Convention will offer a glimpse into the future of the digital education market and link this with the range of products and services at the trade fair. Highly qualified, international experts from the education industry and science will discuss hot topics and present proposed solutions in practical presentations. Artificial intelligence will once again be the dominant topic at the convention in 2024, along with virtual and augmented realities (XR). Other key topics include data literacy, trust culture, ESG and performance management. Speakers will include Prof. Dr. Ulrike Lucke (University of Potsdam) on the National Education Platform, US senior learning transformation strategist Lori Niles-Hofmann and Charlotte Axelsson (Zurich University of the Arts).

Future Lab is dedicated to AI, robotics and smart learning tools

In the LEARNTEC Future Lab, visitors can experience what the digital future looks like and try out the latest technologies such as AI and robotics live. In the "AI Corner", AI expert Christian Steiner will show, among other things, how companies can cleverly use AI for further training. The IRAS - Institute for Robotics and Autonomous Systems at Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences is dedicated to the trending topic of robotics and e-learning expert Sünne Eichler will be presenting daily changing trends such as learning companions, smart learning tools and social robots in the "Co-Creation Room".

New: Self-guided tours provide orientation

Three packed exhibition halls and three days of specialist program: LEARNTEC has a lot to offer. This year, LEARNTEC is offering self-guided tours to help you find your way around and make your visit to the trade fair as efficient as possible. In the LEARNTEC app (available in the Playstore and Apple Store), visitors can not only view the hall plan and engage in matchmaking, but also find suggestions for suitable exhibitors for their individual questions and can thus put together their own tour of the trade fair.

New: LEARNTEC Eco Award honors sustainable stand construction

As an EMAS-validated company, the topic of sustainability also plays an important role for Messe Karlsruhe and its own events. LEARNTEC is also paying increasing attention to sustainable aspects in its design. For example, not only has the area of carpeting that is difficult to recycle been significantly reduced, but a waste separation system has also been set up. With the LEARNTEC Eco Award, the LEARNTEC trade fair team is also honoring sustainable stand concepts from its exhibitors for the first time. The assessment is not only about the stand construction itself, but also about the preparations for the trade fair and the trade fair presentation on site. The awards will be presented to the winners personally by the team on the first day of the trade fair.

Two trade fairs, one ticket: NEW WORK EVOLUTION showcases modern working environments

At the same time as LEARNTEC, NEW WORK EVOLUTION offers orientation for all those who want to help shape modern working environments. In addition to the exhibition and a top-class stage program, including keynotes by Carsten Maschmeyer, Cawa Younosi and Debora Murseli, the special "Innovation Lab" area will impressively demonstrate what working in the future can look like today. On over 500 square meters, companies will present their products and services in realistic themed settings - a source of inspiration for testing and experiencing. The ticket for LEARNTEC also gives interested parties access to NEW WORK EVOLUTION.

You have more than 20 years of experience as a learning strategist. What do companies do better today than they did back then when it comes to training their employees?

I still remember well how we used CDs to teach traditional learning content 20 years ago. Today, we have realised that digital media is a medium on its own. That sounds obvious, but it is actually not. We have spent far too much time recreating classrooms or replicating textbooks digitally. We are now aligning learning with the capabilities of digital media to fully harness its potential, rather than vice versa.

What role does AI play in your day-to-day work?

I use AI every day for various tasks, from research to writing. It has made my work much more efficient. For example, I recently converted a white paper into a PowerPoint presentation - it was done in just a few minutes. In L&D, artificial intelligence enables us to open up access to learning and optimise learning processes. Without AI, this was a lot of work and involved a lot of confusing Excel spreadsheets. Despite the advantages, we have to keep data protection in mind. I think we should use the potential of AI and remain critical at the same time.

Are there different approaches to the use of AI in Europe and Canada?

Europe is much more advanced in terms of data protection, especially when it comes to the workplace. Works councils and employee rights have a greater influence on the use of AI than in Canada. Although we also have data protection regulations, Canada lacks clear rules.

In addition, our labour laws are less strict in terms of tracking employee data. In some European countries, there are regulations stating that no emails can be written after working hours. We are not as strict about that in Canada. However, we are moving towards stricter laws. In addition, Prime Minister Trudeau recently announced that two billion Canadian dollars will go towards AI research. Until now, it has mainly been companies in Canada that have been involved in AI. The investment demonstrates a growing commitment from the government. I'm excited to see how this will develop.

You talk about how we need to rethink the training and development of people. One approach comprises the idea of so-called skills-based companies. What does this approach look like?

Skills-based companies pursue the idea of hiring and deploying employees according to their individual skills. Take the job of a barista, for example: a barista in Milan may have completely different skills to a barista at a franchise. It is therefore important to identify employees' specific skills rather than relying solely on their job title. It allows organisations to better develop employees and move beyond traditional job roles.

This requires the continuous collection, classification and analysis of a wide range of data, such as the interests and ambitions of employees and skill gaps in the company. Here as well, AI offers a wide range of support options. Nevertheless, communication with employees remains essential: If somebody looked at my skillset, they could think that I am a perfect match for the banking industry, because I have 15 years of experience here. But I do not ever want to go into banking again (laughs).

More and more companies are realising that a diverse team leads to better work results. How should L&D professionals take increasing diversity into account?

When it comes to diversity in organisations, L&D definitely plays a role. However, I feel a little uncomfortable when companies limit diversity issues to HR, as L&D alone cannot fix systemic changes. To make training and development diverse, we need to start with the content: It is important that people see themselves reflected in the learning content, otherwise they are less likely to engage with it or make connections to it. In order to create more diverse teams, it is also important that organisations address complex issues such as accessibility.

Another aspect to consider is the management level and the messages conveyed in the learning process. Are they diverse, inclusive and reflective? Too often North American or European companies use examples and scenarios that are not relevant or understandable for their employees in other locations. There is an urgent need for action here. At the same time, I applaud companies for leveraging LGBTQ and diversity issues to uphold their values, even in locations where certain minorities have fewer legal rights.

What skills and competences do you think employees will need in the future?

In my opinion, it is more about soft factors. Of course, there will always be important hard skills, but I am not able to foresee which ones will be relevant in ten, twenty or thirty years. Hard skills change quickly. This makes it even more important for L&D professionals to be plugged into those types of technologies and understanding what is coming down the pipeline. We should also encourage qualities such as agility, lateral thinking and curiosity, as these enable employees to react and adapt well to technological innovations.

How can companies support their employees accordingly?

I see so many companies that think that all employees have to become AI experts. That is not the case. Instead of flooding everyone with AI courses, companies should analyse precisely who really needs which skills and how they should be applied. This precise scaling allows companies to use their resources more efficiently and draw on a more specialised workforce. I think companies need to offer their employees specific training and retraining programmes in order to be successful in the long term.

What are you looking forward to at this year's LEARNTEC?

I am particularly looking forward to the face-to-face discussions, which otherwise take place far too often online. There will be lots of interesting people on site with great topics and ideas. Although I would also like to say I am looking forward to practicing my terrible German, but I have to admit that I probably will not be able to (laughs).

Exclusive keynotes provide forward-looking impetus

The centrepiece of this year's LEARNTEC convention will once again be the high-calibre keynotes with speakers from science and industry. LEARNTEC starts with a public keynote by Prof Dr Ulrike Lucke, University of Potsdam. She will present the national education platform. The German government expects this central institution to provide a significant boost to the digitalisation of education; as a hub, it is intended to integrate educational platforms and services nationwide, establish common standards and facilitate access to education. In the afternoon of the first day of the congress, Lori Niles-Hofmann, Senior Learning Transformation Strategist from Canada, will speak to the participants. "I will be talking about the future of learning, including the ways in which artificial intelligence can be used to enhance digital learning. This will be far more than using ChatGPT to write courses. Instead, we will look at how AI can be connected to the EdTech ecosystem of organisations to fully understand how people learn and where learning impacts business. Finally, I will be speaking on skills-based organisations and the role that learning and development and AI will have in this new paradigm," she says ahead of LEARNTEC.

The second day of the event will begin with a keynote speech on learning support by Prof. Dr Anja Schmitz and Jan Foelsing: "In times when technological developments are coming thick and fast and learning has become a critical competitive factor, the question of how we can optimally support employees in this context of human-machine collaboration so that they can develop their potential and contribute to the success of the organisation is becoming increasingly urgent. Learning support plays a central role in this. We will shed light on how learning support can be designed to promote self-directed and effective learning using human and digital intelligent learning guides in the interplay of artificial and human intelligence."

This year, the popular panel discussion on Wednesday afternoon will focus on the individual wishes and visions of how the young generation would like to see digital education in the future. The panellists will include Jon Buchmüller, a student at the University of Hohenheim, and young professional Tamara Frankenhäuser from the LEARNTEC team as well as trainees from trade and industry.

Creativity meets the future: next-generation e-learning approaches

With a holistic approach, the team led by Charlotte Axelsson, Head of the Teaching Development Unit at Zurich University of the Arts, is designing "digital learning spaces that can be experienced in a sensual and tender way". Using the examples of a continuing education programme and other continuing education formats in the Encounter series, Charlotte Axelsson will explain the associated pedagogical concepts, methods and strategies on Thursday morning. "Digital skills are essential for shaping future education in a world with artificial intelligence."

Prof Dr Eric Eller, Professor of Business and Media Psychology at Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences, will focus on the culture of trust in his keynote speech. He argues that trust is "a confident decision for vulnerability and thus also a central prerequisite for learning": "Whether people can trust each other within an organisation is no coincidence. Rather, the prerequisites for the development of trust are known and can be systematically established. Together, we will delve into the psychology of trust and clarify how a culture of trust can develop in organisations."

From 4 to 6 June 2024, the education industry will come together at Messe Karlsruhe to once again get to know the latest innovations at LEARNTEC - Europe's most important event for digital learning - and to experience live how technology can offer concrete solutions to current issues in our society and individual everyday learning.

Four months before the event, the online format LEARNTEC xChange from 30 January to 1 February 2024 offers a foretaste of the trade fair and congress. Ten specialist presentations by top-class experts will address current topics from corporate learning, digitalisation at universities and schools and, for the first time, digital education in daycare centres. This gives the education sector the opportunity to continue their education from home or the office free of charge and thus expand their knowledge and network.

Free registration and further information can be found on the LEARNTEC website at www.learntec.de/xchange

LEARNTEC, the international trade fair and convention for digital education in schools, universities and the workplace, continued its success, recording an increase in visitor numbers of more than 20 per cent. Around 13,500 participants came together at Messe Karlsruhe from 23 to 25 May 2023 to network with each other and discover the latest trends in digital learning from 437 exhibitors across 21 nations. The use of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning was a common thread running through LEARNTEC, and the offerings were highly appreciated by all those in attendance. LEARNTEC thus continues to consolidate its position as the leading event for digital education in Europe.

"For three decades, LEARNTEC has been the central meeting point for everyone involved with the latest technologies and forward-looking trends in learning. LEARNTEC and the TechnologieRegion Karlsruhe as an important digital centre in Germany thus create the ideal framework for innovation in the education landscape," says Britta Wirtz, CEO of Messe Karlsruhe.

Exhibitors enjoy high proportion of decision-makers

More exhibitors than ever before, a total of 437 companies, including many long-time friends of the fair, showcased the latest trends in digital learning. "At LEARNTEC there is the perfect mix of learning offers and technologies. We have been at LEARNTEC for over 15 years and offer exactly what the visitor target group is looking for. We meet customers who are interested in buying and have good questions about our online communication platform, and are specifically looking for individual solutions," says Marlene Aßfalg, Head of Marketing at vitero. For Thorsten Unger, Managing Director of Wegesrand, LEARNTEC is an important opportunity for industry to get together, and strengthen the education sector network. "It is also a successful marketplace for acquiring new customers," says Unger. Hannah Dannereder, Marketing Manager at Haufe Akademie, adds: "We were able to make exciting contacts because visitors to LEARNTEC are exactly our target group. This year we used the trade fair as an opportunity to launch a new product family."

School technologies continue to advance

Around 120 exhibitors presented the latest technologies for schools in the dm-arena. They were particularly impressed by the high number of decision-makers among the visitors. Matthias Geenen, founder of M&A Lernsoftware, was part of the new StartUp Valley and notes: "We wanted to meet new customers here and mainly met decision-makers on an administrative and municipal level, such as school boards, who supply schools with our learning software." The school@LEARNTEC forum scored points with participants for its diverse programme on different key topics. "Discussions focused primarily on the teaching of future competences, including a great panel with Sandra Boser, State Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs in Baden-Württemberg," says Micha Pallesche, member of the convention committee. The Karlsruhe City Media Centre again used LEARNTEC as the setting for its Media Competence Day, which was very well received by approximately 300 participants.

LEARNTEC is a valued platform for networking and trend-setting

Visitors to LEARNTEC travelled from all over Germany and Europe to the Karlsruhe trade fair centre with the aim of networking, learning about the latest market trends, obtaining answers to their questions and also doing business. The desire for professional exchange is greater than ever. The many interactive offers at the exhibition stands were therefore particularly appreciated. "For time4you, LEARNTEC is our most important trade fair. Here we generate a great deal of interest from the trade audience. That's why this year, in addition to the classic trade fair stand, we also focused on interactive formats. Our workshops at the stand were particularly well received and offered interesting exchanges," says Dr. Hartwig Holzapfel, Managing Director at the Karlsruhe exhibitor time4you. "We are always a few years ahead of the users in terms of development, so we use direct feedback from the fair to see what is already in practice and what is on the horizon." Daniel Stöckel works for a service provider for education and training topics, and has been visiting LEARNTEC for many years: "It's always worth coming because the fair represents the entire industry. You have a perfect cross-section of all areas and get to see new developments. That's why it’s vital to be here."

LEARNTEC Future Lab is a visitor magnet

The LEARNTEC Future Lab, in particular, again attracted numerous visitors to Hall 2 to experience future technologies such as Metaverse or AI. Christian Steiner let visitors create works of art with artificial intelligence and organised ChatGPT workshops. His conclusion: "Overwhelming. The visitors formed a cluster all the way down the aisle to listen to me. They had an enormous need to exchange ideas with experts and look at the topic on a neutral level. That's exactly what the Future Lab did to perfection." Lisa Klein, Learning Consultant at Hays AG, was highly satisfied with her visit too: "Curiosity about new trends and current events drove me to LEARNTEC. I was able to take away a few things for my own company and for my own learning culture."

LEARNTEC Convention unites participants and speakers

The top-class specialist congress at LEARNTEC presented groundbreaking developments in digital education over three days. Around 110 speakers from business and science shared their expertise with the participants in more than 60 practical lecture and workshop slots. "We are delighted that the new workshop area was so well received by the participants," emphasised Sünne Eichler and Prof. Dr. Peter A. Henning from the LEARNTEC Convention Committee. Located in Hall 2, the special area offered participants an ideal setting for an even more intensive exchange of ideas. The participants gave top marks for this additional offer. Irene Scherer took part in the workshop on education and training for AI, and says: "There were profound discussions, many questions and networking among the participants afterwards. It couldn't have gone any better."

The next LEARNTEC will take place from 4 to 6 June 2023 at Messe Karlsruhe. René Naumann, Team Lead Technology at Messe Karlsruhe, sums up the event: "Together with the community, we celebrated three days of digital education and would like to thank our exhibitors in particular for their long-standing partnership. We are already looking to the future with them and are pleased that more than 73 per cent of the available space has already been booked for LEARNTEC 2024.“

LEARNTEC has been around since 1992, just celebrating its 30th anniversary. You have also been an expert in e-learning since the 1990s. What development has surprised you the most since then?

For a long time, learning spaces resembled houses of worship with very structured curricula and controlled from the top. That has changed a lot. I remember working with a large software company for a training program in the 1990s. The textbook had hundreds of pages and they went through it page by page for 14 days. Today, the company trains its employees by giving them projects that include collaboration. Documentation is more interactive. Learners have become more diverse. Now learning is no longer about curriculum design or the choice of the learning management system but more about how we can use all these different technologies and learning strategies in ways that are shorter, more targeted, and personalized.

Another topic at LEARNTEC is the metaverse. Recent studies have shown that the metaverse is not yet a priority for German companies. What is your view on the metaverse?

It is wise of the Germans not to rely too much on the metaverse (laughs). I have three issues with the metaverse. First, most people do not want to wear VR goggles for more than a few minutes at work. So the next version of what we call the metaverse will not have to be goggle based in order for it to be successful. I could well imagine holographic projections or something similar replacing the goggles at some point. My second issue is Mark Zuckerberg. He is shaping the metaverse more than anyone else. In my opinion, this is a problem because many corporations do not wish to tie themselves into his brand and his ego. The third issue: The metaverse has not captured the imagination of the youngest. They are more interested in TikTok or Instagram right now. But without the younger generations technology has no chance of success. I think that at some point there will be a different kind of metaverse with a different name in which we use our screens and smartphones in a more three-dimensional way.

How would you assess the current state of e-learning in Germany?

German companies are applying e-learning in a very structured way. At a conference, the HR manager of a German car manufacturer told me that they train the workforce on site with a combination of e-learning, VR and analogue materials. I was impressed by that. E-learning in Germany is mainly used in vocational training and less in schools which is different in the US. I would also say that universities in Germany have done a good job in introducing and expanding e-learning. Now it will be interesting to see if they also venture a step further and integrate augmented simulations and the like.

Do you think people learn differently today than they used to?

Most definitely. New technologies, the pandemic, economic and vocational uncertainty: all these things combined make people want to learn what they really need to know quicker. They do not want to learn anything they do not currently need. Instead, they would rather know where to look things up when they need it. They prefer more conversation and collaboration and they aspire to shape their own teaching.

People used to learn something new at the beginning of their careers – or once a year at best. Recently someone from a German manufacturing company wrote to me: "We want to make sure our employees can learn something every day." That is a much more contemporary approach. We will see interesting changes in the use of AI. Right now, there are still companies and schools that strictly reject AI. This reminds me of the times when schools wanted to ban calculators. It did not work because too many people used them. It will be the same for AI.

What does the future of learning look like? What would we talk about in an interview 30 years from now?

I think we would know before the interview what the other person is good at and what our counterpart's interests are. The way I envision it is that at the click of a button, we will be able to get a comprehensive picture of people we are interacting with. We will have new opportunities to find out what special skills someone has and who can support us and how to develop our skills.

In addition – and this is a bit more controversial – I do not think that we will still have to memorize so many things. Just like today, I simply type in the address of my destination and my GPS will show me the way. I think we will become better at navigating our way to knowledge rather than having to memorize that knowledge.

And finally, we might not even call it “learning” anymore. New skills will evolve from the interplay of knowledge, illustrations, exercises, and collaboration, but it will not necessarily feel like learning – just like today, when I watch something interesting on TV I do not think of it as learning. Nevertheless, learning will always be there even though we may understand it differently in 30 years.

AI-based mentoring for executives

After 18 months of development, KI Mentor is presenting "KI.m", AI-based mentoring for managers, to the general public for the first time at LEARNTEC. Based on artificial intelligence, KI.m conducts a natural dialogue with executives via a smartphone app and uses various state-of-the-art algorithms, as well as a scientifically based leadership model for mentoring. KI.m supports managers in overcoming daily leadership challenges, acting as a coach, "suggestion box" and advisor, and is available in the workplace 24/7. At the trade fair stand, the company will combine analogue and digital worlds, allowing visitors to better understand KI.m and enjoy short "mentoring sessions".

Motivating quizzes instead of time-consuming learning units

With Micromate, gamified microlearning takes place directly in Microsoft Teams. Micromate is an innovative learning companion that can be used to convey knowledge in short units in the style of conversational learning. Consequently, as in a messenger conversation, questions are asked by Micromate and answered by the learner. Micromate checks the answer and reacts with feedback. At LEARNTEC, the company will present, among other things, a demo integration of ChatGPT. "No other trade fair is better suited to present our innovative, digital learning assistant Micromate, and to exchange ideas with other manufacturers about the future of e-learning," says Christoph Süess, Managing Director at Micromate.

Authoring tool that thinks for itself

youknow presents "knowtion" at LEARNTEC 2023. As rapid technological changes increasingly require new skills and abilities to be built up more quickly, this can no longer be controlled centrally. In corporate learning, user-generated content, i.e. content created by learners for learners, will therefore play an even more decisive role in the future. For this, youknow relies on the possibilities of generative AI. In the authoring tool "knowtion", AI enables all users - even laypeople with no prior knowledge - to create didactically high-quality content quickly and easily. This is made possible by the integrated, AI-supported didactic assistance that helps the user every step of the way in the content creation process. As a particularly innovative project, the development of knowtion was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

Learning videos made simple

The learning video experts at SlidePresenter are showcasing their latest AI feature at LEARNTEC: With the help of artificial intelligence, users can not only have a content structure but also a complete script created for their learning videos. All they have to do is enter a topic into the script generator. AI then generates prepared speaker notes and content that serve as the basis for recording the knowledge content. SlidePresenter thus massively reduces the effort required for planning and producing learning videos. The AI script generator also reduces the inhibitions of experts to record their knowledge, and provides a simple solution to the creation of user-generated content in corporate learning.

Business intelligence tool for personalised learning experience

At LEARNTEC, exhibitor Lemon Systems will explore how AI-based functions will be integrated in the future, for example, in the form of automatic language adaptations. However, the future for the company is not only about AI, as personalised, tailored learning experiences are also becoming more and more relevant for customers. This year, visitors to LEARNTEC can therefore expect to see, among other things, the powerful business intelligence tool Lemon Learning Analytics at the exhibition stand. This allows for learning data to be measured, collected, analysed and evaluated. The tool enables detailed data and processes of learners to be linked, analysed and transferred into dashboards.