The Conference will be chaired by Robin Hoyle, a renowned author who has worked in training and development for 27 years, designing and delivering courses across all sectors. How to innovate to remain competitive is a challenge that will be addressed in the opening keynote by Geoff McDonald, vice president of HR at Unilever. With nearly 25 years of experience in various human resources roles, Geoff is perfectly placed to advise L&D professionals on embedding an innovative culture to ensure your organisation is at the cutting edge.

Key trends for the future of learning technology will be explored by Craig Weiss, founder of eLearning 24/7. An expert in his field, Craig has been named the second-most-influential person in the world for eLearning, and his forecasts and projections on eLearning have been nearly 100% accurate every time!

David Cavallo, research scientist and director of future learning at MIT, will begin the second day of the Conference by looking ahead to the next generation of L&D professionals. His talk will address how your future talent will learn and what their learning expectations will be once in the workplace. David’s varied career includes advising heads of state and ministries of education on the adoption of advanced technologies for learning and the reform of educational institutions. Recently, he founded the Learning Propulsion Laboratory, a non-profit non-governmental organisation dedicated to developing new content, environments, and initiatives to transform learning to create more just, equitable, and democratic societies.

Aligning your learning strategy with your business objectives will be explored by Laura Overton, managing director of Towards Maturity. With over two decades of experience helping organisations to improve business impact of learning technologies in the workplace, she is set to deliver an insightful session and memorable end to the comprehensive Conference. Andrew Gee, Senior Project Manager for the World of Learning Conference & Exhibition, comments, "The L&D sector faces a diverse range of challenges and opportunities – these are all addressed in what we feel is one of our most comprehensive conference programmes yet. The range of topics, combined with the deep level of expertise shared by our distinguished speakers, means the conference is perfectly placed to meet the needs of today’s L&D professional."

A series of fringe seminars will run alongside the Conference, following their successful introduction last year. These are designed for those who are new to the L&D profession, for those who work or collaborate with L&D decision makers, or anyone interested in more alternative topics to the central themes of the Conference. The World of Learning 2014 is held in association with the British Institute for Learning & Development, The Institute of Leadership and Management, and the UK Trade and Investment.