LAS is an award-winning provider of elearning consultancy, design, development and training services in the UK and internationally.
Established in 2005 as LearningAge Solutions, we work with some of the best known organisations in the world to boost their performance through the innovative use of learning technologies. Working in partnership with our customers, we draw on proven principles from human behaviour, how people learn and how the brain works to create impactful digital learning solutions with real return on investment.
Rob is a designer through and through who is fascinated by how we learn, what we remember and why we pay attention to certain things. He is a huge enthusiast of all that technology can offer to enhance learning and has completed a huge variety of projects in his 14 year career.
He is the editor and co-author of The Really Useful eLearning Instruction Manual published by Wiley and featuring contributions from the brightest and best elearning minds on both sides of the Atlantic.
by Rob Hubbard
Posted 22 May 2025
The buzz of Learning Technologies 2025 has finally settled and what an event it was! It's always a highlight for me personally - a chance to reconnect with familiar faces, build new relationships and dive into the latest trends shaping our industry.
Unsurprisingly, AI dominated many conversations. The potential of agentic AI was particularly thought-provoking for me. Yet amidst all the tech talk, I was heartened to hear a consistent message: the core role of L&D teams remains as vital as ever. Being an L&D consultant or business partner is about understanding the business needs, identifying opportunities, getting to know the audience and generating insights. This has always been central to our work and it was reassuring to see many speakers emphasise this. It's also (shameless plug) what we cover in our L&D Evolution programme!
The sentiment towards AI ranged from the idealistically optimistic 'AI will mean that all the essentials for life will become free to all, whilst advances in healthcare will make us immortal' to 'AI will be just another way for the rich to get richer at the expense of the poor'. Where I fall on this spectrum varies from day-to-day, but whatever you think about AI, you can't ignore it!
New, lower energy AI models are beginning to appear which will, hopefully, reduce the impact on the environment. The theory is that using AI to combat climate change will, overall, do a lot more good than harm. I believe this to be true - pointing specialist AIs at some of the 'wicked problems' of climate and societal change is going to be a huge progress accelerator. The trouble is, it will also accelerate humanity in all kinds of other directions too
I had the privilege of chairing a session at the Conference on sustainability and L&D's role in driving it. Working with Phil Hazell from the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership and Mike Barry, a strategic advisor on sustainable business and previously Director of Sustainable Business at M&S, was incredibly insightful. One key takeaway was that we are moving past talking about sustainability and hoping it will motivate people to change. Instead, we should focus on the tangible benefits it brings; increased organisational resilience, improved talent attraction ad retention, expanded market share and greater organisational value which, in turn, facilitates access to capital for growth.
I left the conference feeling inspired by the vibrancy of the L&D industry and grateful to be a part of it. It's a field that continues to evolve, challenge and ultimately, empower us all.
Image Credit: Learning Technologies Conference and Exhibition / Closer Still Media
