The National Learning &
Development Conference

2nd December 2026 | Dublin

Sponsored By

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At L&DI we enable people to reimagine what their organisation looks like and support the creation of a climate where people are prepared to fail and that they take the learnings rather than dwelling on them.

At this years Conference we will explore the current landscape for L&D professionals and their organisations and navigate a way forward to rethink ways of working.

One of the best ways to stay prepared for inevitable changes is by future-proofing your professional skills. For some, this may involve taking consistent, incremental steps to upskill or reskill. For others, it may require a complete reinvention of their career. Hear from L&D professionals who have upskilled and are constantly innovating. At the centre of the discussion is the need for the L&D professional to learn new skills to remain relevant and the need to keep learning as a human need and as a response to our internal and external customers.

We will also discuss the unfolding landscape of AI in learning and development, delving into the innovations, trends, and challenges that are shaping this field. We will reflect on the ways in which AI is revolutionising the learning process, optimising personal and professional growth, and enabling us to build a future where learning is accessible, personalised, and more effective than ever before.

If you work in L&D or have an interest in people, this event is for you.

Dr. Amy Cuddy is an award- winning social psychologist and one of the world’s most sought-after keynote speakers, known for her work on power, trust, and the social forces that shape how we behave and perform under pressure.

She is the New York Times bestselling author of Presence, which has sold more than half a million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 35 languages. She served on the faculty at Harvard Business School and received a Harvard Excellence in Teaching Award for her course on power and influence. She is a contributing writer for The Athletic, where she explores the psychology and neuroscience behind performance in highstakes moments.

A globally renowned speaker on leadership and performance, Dr. Amy Cuddy translates social psychology and neuroscience into actionable insights for leaders and teams. In captivating presentations on how the body and physiology drive influence and peak performance, she delivers powerful lessons on building trust, showing up with grounded confidence, and creating cultures where people are empowered to do their best work.

Drawing on cutting edge research, Dr. Cuddy gives audiences practical tools to access personal power, build healthy, high-performing cultures, and bring out the best in others through clarity, engagement, and courage. Her keynotes are a ideal for senior executives, emerging leaders, and high performing teams across industries who want to strengthen culture, unlock performance, and navigate high-stakes moments with clarity and presence.

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EGLE VINAUSKAITE

Named as one of HR's Most Influential Thinkers 2025, Egle Vinauskaite is the award winning director of Nodes, a boutique advisory focused on the people side of AI transformation. With a background spanning business, behavioural science, and adult development, she brings both analytical rigour and practitioner depth to the organisational and human dimensions of how AI reshapes work.

Over the past eight years she has been trusted by leading organisations across industries - from technology and professional services to finance and pharma to navigate capability building, AI strategy in L&D, and the complexity of AI transformation.

Alongside her advisory work, Egle co-authors the annual global AI in L&D Report series, a leading independent industry publication, now in its fourth year, analysing how organisations are applying AI in practice and what it means for the future of the profession.

Her work has earned industry recognition, including the Rising Star Award from the Learning and Performance Institute. Egle holds an M.Ed. from Harvard University and is know for translating complex shifts in AI into clear, practical insights.

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Speakers

Amy Cuddy

Amy Cuddy

Dr. Amy Cuddy is an award- winning social psychologist and one of theworld’s most sought-after keynote speakers, known for her work on power,trust, and the social forces that shape how we behave and perform underpressure. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Presence, whichhas sold more than half a million copies worldwide and has been translatedinto over 35 languages. She served on the faculty at Harvard BusinessSchool and received a Harvard Excellence in Teaching Award for her courseon power and influence.

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Egle Vinauskaite

Egle Vinauskaite

Named one of HR’s Most Influential Thinkers in 2025, Egle Vinauskaite is the award-winning director of Nodes, a boutique advisory focused on the people side of AI transformation. With a background spanning business, behavioural science, and adult development, she brings both analytical rigour and practitioner depth to the organisational and human dimensions of how AI reshapes work.

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Kevin Hannigan

Kevin Hannigan

Kevin Hannigan is CEO of HPC, one of Ireland’s leading leadership and behavioural change consultancies. Over the past two decades, he has worked with multinational corporations, public sector organisations, and indigenous businesses across Ireland, the UK, Europe, and North America, helping them build leadership capability, strengthen organisational performance, and create cultures of continuous learning. A former President of the Learning & Development Institute, Kevin’s work focuses on helping organisations move beyond learning activity towards measurable business value, with a particular interest in leadership development, organisational capability, learning strategy, and the role learning plays in delivering organisational value. Kevin’s work with clients has been recognised by the L&DI, the Learning & Performance Institute, Training Journal and the CIPD.

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Richard Curran

Richard Curran

Richard Curran is a journalist, broadcaster and author. He is the presenter of The Business radio show on RTE Radio One and a columnist with the Sunday Independent. Presenter of Dragons Den on RTE Television for eight series, Richard has 30 years experience in business journalism. He is a former business editor of the Irish Independent and former deputy editor of The Sunday Business Post. He has co-written two books, one on Irish entrepreneurs and the other on the multi-billion euro collapse of Irish Nationwide Building Society. He has also made several television documentaries for RTE including, Future Shock: Property Crash in 2007 and The Battle For Rural Ireland in 2015.

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Robert O.Brinkerhoff

Robert O. Brinkerhoff

Robert O. Brinkerhoff is the author of many books on the topics of L&D effectiveness and measurement, including: Achieving Results From Training, The Success Case Method, Courageous Training, and Telling Training’s Story. Robert is an internationally recognised expert in evaluation and training effectiveness and has provided consultation to dozens of major companies and organisations around the globe. Author of sixteen books on evaluation and training, he has been a keynote speaker and presenter at hundreds of conferences and institutes worldwide. Scores of leading corporations and agencies ranging from Dell Computer and Nike to the World Bank and Central Intelligence Agency have adopted his methods and tools for training effectiveness and evaluation.

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7.45am - Registration, Networking & Exhibition

Opportunity to meet our exhibitors and your L&D colleagues

8.45am - Welcome Address

Richard Curran - MC

Sinead Heneghan - CEO L&DI

Kevin Hannigan - CEO Hpc

9.00am - Bridging the Skills Gap: Research Evidence for L&D

This presentation highlights key research findings on the intersection of skills, education, and labour market alignment. It explores how shifts in demand, automation, and emerging industries are reshaping the capabilities needed for the future of work.

9.40am - Keynote Address: Rethinking Growth, Building Human Value in a Changing World

Daniel will tell the story of growth, the challenges it creates and how we might reimagine it in an age of inequality, technological disruption, and climate crisis. He will focus on how organisations can redefine growth to reflect human and societal value, sharing his insights on:

Redefining growth & resilience – good growth, automation, and future jobs
Human skills & future-proofing – complementing machines, key talent skills
Learning culture – cultural shifts for continuous development

10.30am - Networking - Coffee & Exhibition

11.15am - Panel Discussion Redefining Growth: Skills, Learning, and the Human Advantage

Building on Daniel Susskind’s keynote, Richard Curran will lead a conversation exploring how organisations can turn the challenges of automation, inequality, and rapid change into opportunities for meaningful and sustainable growth. Bringing together leaders from across business, learning, and technology, the discussion will examine how to balance technological progress with human value focusing on the skills, mindsets, and cultural shifts that drive true resilience.

Panellists will share perspectives on redefining success, fostering continuous learning, and preparing people to thrive in a world where adaptability, empathy, and creativity are the new competitive edge.

12.00pm - The Evolving Landscape of Learning and Development

Our 2023 Member Trends and Insights Survey was a deep exploration of where the L&D profession was at resulting in some very insightful findings. Two years on, we recently asked you how much has changed, what progress has been made and what new opportunities and challenges are emerging as we step into 2026?

We are excited to share our findings and to reflect on what we’ve heard and what trends will influence L&D in the year ahead.

12.45pm - Lunch & Exhibition

2.00pm - The Power of Storytelling in Building Human Connection

Join The Lir National Academy of Dramatic Art at Trinity College Dublin for an engaging and interactive session exploring the fundamentals of storytelling and its role in building authentic human connections.

Drawing on their expertise in performance and communication, The Lir team will demonstrate how stories can inspire, influence, and connect people at every level of an organisation. This dynamic session will combine insight, demonstration, and audience participation, bringing to life the power of storytelling as a tool for leadership, learning, and engagement.

2.35pm - Keynote Address: Leading and Learning with Creative Confidence

In an era of AI and rapid transformation, creativity has never been more essential, or more human. Tom Kelley, bestselling author of Creative Confidence and longtime IDEO leader, shares strategies to help learning teams lead with imagination, empathy, and courage. Along the way, he offers a fresh perspective on mentorship and tools for staying future-ready (so no one ever calls you a “dinosaur”). Through vivid stories from design, venture capital, and startups, Tom reveals practical ways to:

Learn at the pace of change
Strengthen human-centered leadership in the age of AI
Paint a tangible picture of the future with your ideas in it

You’ll leave inspired to see yourself as both a creator and a learning professional, ready to help your organisation shape what comes next.

3.20pm - Panel discussion – Putting Creative Confidence into Practice

Following Tom Kelley’s inspiring keynote, “Leading and Learning with Creative Confidence,” this panel, facilitated by Richard Curran will delve deeper into how organisations can translate creativity, curiosity, and courage into everyday learning and leadership practice.

Bringing together diverse perspectives from across business, learning, and innovation, the discussion will explore how leaders can foster environments that encourage experimentation, embrace new technologies such as AI, and empower people to think and act creatively in the face of change.

3.55pm - Closing Remarks

Gay White - L&DI President

Morning

7.45am - Registration, Networking & Exhibition

Opportunity to meet our exhibitors and your L&D colleagues

8.45am - Welcome Address

Richard Curran - MC

Sinead Heneghan - CEO L&DI

Kevin Hannigan - Client Director - Hpc

9.00am - rePositioning in the New Context

David will share an appreciation for the changing landscape in our world and an understanding of the key disruptive change drivers. We will gain an insight into the importance of context in shaping the leadership conversation, agenda and response and what might be the lasting legacy of the disruption that we have lived through. We will understand what do we need to rethink and unlearn, and how to build adaptability into our systems so we can deal with whatever disrupts us next.

9.35am - Amy Edmondson - Keynote Address

Professor Amy Edmondson is the world’s leading organisational psychologist and is renowned around the globe for her pioneering work on psychological safety. Now, Amy is bringing her work to the wider world, upending our entire cultural notion of failure with this guide to the science of failing well, which actualises the potential of psychological safety for both individuals and organizations alike.

10.20am - Networking - Coffee & Exhibition

11.00am - Psychological Safety - Panel Discussion

Richard Curran will lead a conversation with business leaders from different sectors around psychological safety.

Afternoon

11.50am - AI: Revolutionising Learning & Development

In this session David Kerrigan will give a pragmatic 'bite-sized' talk that cuts through the AI hysteria and offers a grounded perspective on the potential of AI in organisational learning and performance support. This session will steer clear of overhyped predictions, instead providing an overview of the current landscape and a forward-looking yet measured forecast of the road ahead. We'll guide attendees through the tangible impacts and realistic prospects of integrating AI into L&D without losing sight of AI's role as a tool, not a destination.

12.40am - Lunch & Exhibition

2.00pm - The Emerging Landscape for L&D Professionals In Ireland

This report shares the findings from the Learning & Development Institute (L&DI) 2023 Member survey. It provides a comprehensive overview of the evolving landscape of the Learning and Development profession in Ireland, offering valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities facing our community. The survey provides a wealth of statistics and key findings that offer a nuanced understanding of the L&D profession’s current state and its future direction.

2.30pm - reLearning When Life Doesn't Give You a Choice

3.15pm - Career Evolution - Panel Discussion

Panel discussion facilitated by Justin Kinnear of Hpc

4.00pm - Closing Remarks

Gay White, L&DI President will reflect on the day.