Learning & Skills Day 2026
Building skills, capability and learning for a changing world of work
Learning & Skills is about how organizations build, maintain and renew capabilities in a reality where roles, technologies and skill requirements change continuously. As work becomes more dynamic, learning can no longer be treated as a standalone activity or program but must be designed as an integrated and ongoing part of how work is done and how people grow in their roles.
Learning & Skills Day focuses on how HR, L&D and People professionals work with lifelong learning, up-skilling, re-skilling, workforce preparedness and skills-based approaches in practice.
This conference explores how organizations create the structures, learning architectures and conditions that enable employees to develop, move and stay relevant over time – while supporting organizational adaptability and performance.
You should join this conference if you:
- Work with learning, training, skills or capability development
- Support employees and teams in developing, upskilling or reskilling
- Are involved in designing, delivering or enabling learning in your organization
- Help shape how your organization develops people in a changing world of work
We look forward to seeing you at our new Learning & Skills conference on the 11th of November 2026 – taking place at Copenhagen Business School – Flintholm Campus.
Stay tuned for updates on the program, speakers and case presentations.
What is Learning & Skills?
Learning & Skills focuses on how organizations build, renew and mobilize capabilities in a context where roles, technologies and skill requirements evolve continuously. It is about designing learning as an integrated part of work – not necessarily as isolated programmes – and creating the structures, conditions and practices that enable people to grow, adapt and remain relevant over time.
Program highlights:
Case Presentations
Building an AI-Enabled Learning Culture at Novonesis: Fresh insights and early learnings from the global launch of Sana
Kasper Bas Svendsen, Elspeth Nicholas and Dominique Borg
Following the merger between Novozymes and Chr. Hansen, Novonesis has been building a shared approach to learning, development, and growth. As part of this journey, Novonesis is implementing Sana as its new global AI-enabled learning platform to strengthen learning across the business and support a more inclusive and democratized approach to content creation and knowledge sharing. The ambition is to enable employees and leaders to take greater ownership of learning and create more relevant learning experiences across the organization.
In this session, participants will gain fresh insights into the strategic and cultural considerations behind building an AI-enabled learning ecosystem, including early experiences and learnings shortly after the global launch of Sana in September.
Slow Down to Learn Faster: Rethinking Learning & Skills in the Age of AI
Simon Dannefer, the LEGO Group
As AI makes it easier than ever to create learning content and digital experiences, are we at risk of producing more while learning less? And if technology can do much of what Learning & Development teams have traditionally done, where does that leave the profession?
At the LEGO Group, Simon Dannefer is exploring a different approach. By creating space for slow learning, human connection, curiosity and play, his team is experimenting with new ways to make learning more meaningful, engaging and human.
Get ready for an interactive, playful and slightly provocative session filled with unconventional experiments, practical examples and a healthy dose of humour. Simon challenges familiar L&D practices and explores why sometimes, the best way forward is to slow down.
Panel: Building Future Capability – The Role of Education, Employers and Society
Who is responsible for preparing the workforce of the future?
As AI, new technologies and changing business needs reshape the world of work, organizations and educational institutions are facing many of the same questions. How do we prepare people for jobs that do not yet exist? Which capabilities will matter most? And how can employers, universities and society work together to ensure continuous learning throughout working life?
This panel brings together leading voices from academia, business and industry to discuss how future talent, learning and capability development can be shaped through stronger collaboration across sectors.
Human Forward: How Do We Keep Learning in an AI-Enabled World?
Assistant Professor Vivianna Fang He, UCL School of Management
As AI becomes an increasingly powerful part of how we work, a critical question emerges: Does using AI simply make us perform better – or does it also help us become better?
Drawing on her Human Forward research, Vivianna Fang He will explore how humans can continue to build skills, judgement and expertise in a world where we increasingly work alongside intelligent technologies. She will share findings from experimental research examining how professionals learn from AI, revealing important trade-offs between improved individual performance, human learning and team outcomes.
The session will invite participants to consider what these insights mean for Learning & Skills: How do we design an AI-enabled future that enhances human capability rather than gradually replacing the very learning processes through which expertise is built?
Panel 1 – panelists:
Panel 2 – panelists:
About the speakers
Elspeth Nicholas, Learning Culture and Systems Lead, Novonesis
Elspeth leads Learning Culture and Systems at Novonesis, where she currently spearheads the global implementation of the organization’s new AI-powered learning platform, Sana. She brings strong experience designing and driving Learning & Development with experience consulting and collaborating widely to deliver high impact learning solutions, aligned to specific business priorities. She is skilled in developing learning strategies, end-to-end design and delivery of programs and the use of learning technologies.
Kasper Bas Svendsen, Head of Global Learning, Leadership & Talent, Novonesis
As Head of Global Learning, Leadership & Talent at Novonesis, Kasper Bas Svendsen leads global initiatives within leadership development, learning, talent, engagement, culture, and DEI. With more than 20 years of experience across global organizations, consultancy, and the military, he has held senior learning and leadership roles at Chr. Hansen, Novozymes, Nordea, Novo Nordisk, and within consultancy. Kasper is passionate about developing leaders, learning cultures, and organizations that create lasting business and people impact.
Dominique Borg, Head of Learning, Novonesis
As Head of Learning & Development at Novonesis, Dominique Borg oversees global learning strategy, technology, and employee engagement. She brings a wealth of expertise from the tech and financial sectors, having led large-scale L&D transformations for industry leaders. Currently, Dominique is focused on architecting the foundations of their learning culture and transitioning the organisation into an AI-enabled learning ecosystem.
Vivianna Fang He, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, UCL School of Management
Vivianna Fang He is an Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the UCL School of Management, University College London. Her research focuses on how emerging technologies (e.g., AI, blockchain, and Virtual Reality) shape collaborative innovation in organizations. Her research has been published in leading science (e.g., Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, PNAS) and management journals (e.g., Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Academy of Management Journal) and won prestigious grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation.
She recently served on the AI Taskforce for the Academy of Management, the global professional association for management scholars and practitioners. Vivianna earned her PhD degree in Management from the School of Business, George Washington University (USA). Prior to joining UCL, she has worked at ETH Zürich (Switzerland), ESSEC Business School (France), and University of St Gallen (Switzerland), where she co-founded the Institute of Responsible Innovation—an interdisciplinary research centre dedicated to harnessing emerging technologies and novel organizational forms for positive societal impact. She is the principle investigator of the Human Forward research initiative.
Simon Dannefer, Senior Learning & Development Manager, the LEGO Group
Simon Dannefer is Senior Learning & Development Manager and Skills Lead for AI, Digital and Data at the LEGO Group, where he leads digital capability building across areas such as AI, cybersecurity and digital technology. With around 15 years of experience in Learning & Development, Simon has worked extensively with skills development, learning transformation and capability building in large global organisations. Before joining the LEGO Group, he held learning and capability roles at A.P. Moller – Maersk and Nordea, among others. His work combines learning, technology and skills-based approaches to help organisations build the capabilities needed for a rapidly changing world of work.
*NO SHOW FEE
By registering for this event, you also accept NOCA’s conditions regarding no-show fee.
In order to give the most members the opportunity to participate in the event and to protect ourselves against food waste, we need to know if you are participating, otherwise we can give your place to someone else.
Therefore, if you cancel after the deadline on November 9th 2026 at 12:00 CET or do not arrive on the day, you will subsequently receive a charge of 500 DKK.
Should you be prevented, you are always welcome to send a colleague in your place and thereby avoid paying a no-show fee. Your colleague will need to pick up your name tag upon arrival at the event.
Read more about the theme Learning and Development or all NOCA themes