Learning & Teaching
Conference 2026

What does professional education about, for and with creativity look like in an age of AI? In this talk, Sara shares the key principles behind the delivery of a successful Masters in Innovation, Creativity and Leadership, and revisits each to discuss the implications for the future delivery of similar programmes in the context of AI.

Dr Sara Jones specialises in applied creativity, human-computer interaction design, technology, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration. As Director of the Centre for Creativity in Professional Practice (C2P2) since 2020, Co-investigator for the £10m transdisciplinary DIVERSE Centre for Doctoral Training, Interim Director of the Institute for Creativity and AI (ICAI), and Course Director of the interdisciplinary Masters in Innovation, Creativity and Leadership (2010-2025), Sara has deep experience of leading collaborative research and education exploring how AI and other digital systems can amplify human creativity and professional judgment.

This talk traces a journey from fine art education into early CGI in London, where creative experimentation helped build industries that later powered visual effects and computer games. It argues that creative education matters because it develops disruptive thought - the ability to challenge assumptions, connect disciplines, take risks and imagine what does not yet exist. Simon also places creativity within a longer history of economic development, from princely patronage of craft through to today's investment in film, production and creative research. Drawing on art, technology, industry and higher education, he makes the case for creative learning as cultural enquiry, research infrastructure and an engine for economies.

Professor Simon McKeown is an award-winning disabled artist, researcher and Professor of Art at Teesside University. His work spans fine art, animation, computer games, digital technology and public art, exploring disability, difference, representation and our relationships with technology. His internationally exhibited project Motion Disabled used motion capture and animation to place the distinctive movements of disabled people at the centre of visual culture, and Cork Ignite extended this into an outdoor spectacle created with disabled performers, artists, students and communities. He advocates for creative education as a space where experimentation, technical skill, critical thinking and lived experience meet.

Higher education is facing unprecedented challenges, exacerbated by sector funding issues. More than ever it is critical for departments and services within an institution to actively work together to improve the experience, progression, retention and success of students and staff. This keynote highlights the current pressures, explains why understanding students' prior learning experiences and expectations on entry is so critical, and sets out the role a whole-institutional integrated approach plays across the student journey.

Dr Michelle Morgan is a nationally and internationally recognised Student Experience Transitions Specialist and is extensively published in the area. She is a National and Principal Fellow of the HEA, Fellow of the AUA and SRHE, and recipient of the European First Year Experience Leadership Award. She describes herself as a "Third Space Integrated Student Experience Practitioner", developing initiatives based on pragmatic, practical research. Michelle has over 50 publications and has presented over 100 national and international conference papers, and is currently leading the first national pilot of a pre-arrival academic questionnaire funded by the Office for Students with AdvanceHE and JISC.

"Work is more fun than fun is" (Noel Coward). There are two key questions in education: what do we teach, and how do we teach it? In an age of standards-driven, benchmark-compliant criteria, we are perhaps losing touch with education as a source of pleasure - for tutor and student alike. The Reithian principles behind the BBC, "to inform, educate and entertain", apply equally well in a higher education context. Drawing on a research sabbatical looking at the educational value of gaming as a teaching and learning tool, Keith sets out why gaming is of value for experiential learning and practical skills development, and introduces a range of gaming systems for colleagues to explore.

Dr Keith Scott, SFHEA, is the Academic Registrar for LD Training Services. Before taking up this post he was a Senior Lecturer in English Language and Linguistics at De Montfort University. His research interests are in cyber security - specifically information warfare and online influence - and in game-based learning.

This session explores what can happen when we look beyond traditional educational boundaries and draw on the strengths of different sectors. Using practical experience across schools, further education, higher education and SEND provision, we will consider how approaches to curriculum design, teaching, assessment, learner support and preparation for progression can be shared and adapted across different settings.

Rather than viewing each sector as a separate educational world, the session will explore how combining different perspectives can encourage creativity, challenge established practice and help us design learning that responds more effectively to individual learners.

Kelly is Head of Post-16 at LD Training, with over 25 years' experience in education, including leading Post-16 provision in a large secondary school in the West Midlands and more recently, the FE/SEND provision at LD Training. She began her career as a PE teacher, an experience that still shapes her approach to leadership today. Her work centres on curriculum design and creative approaches to teaching, with a particular interest in removing barriers to learning without lowering expectations.

A team player at heart, she believes the best outcomes come from shared purpose, high expectations and a genuine commitment to one another. For Kelly, education is ultimately about legacy - the idea that every leader's job is to hand on something stronger than they found it, so that what learners take with them outlasts their time in the classroom.

Sara is Head of Quality and Compliance at LD Training, with 30 years' experience in education and training across a range of sectors, including further and higher education. Much of her career has been spent working with students from non-traditional educational backgrounds, shaping an approach that combines creativity and adaptability with high expectations. Her work spans teaching, assessment, quality assurance, curriculum design, SEND, funding rules, academic standards, risk and quality improvement, and has extensive experience of leading and managing external inspections and regulatory processes.

In today's fast-moving world, communication is about more than delivering information. This session explores how creative communication can help professionals communicate with clarity, confidence and influence across teams and leadership. Attendees will learn practical techniques to make complex ideas stand out while developing a stronger presence.

Tejas Kotecha is a communications professional with nearly 20 years' experience at Sky News and Sky Sports News. He has worked across newsrooms, live broadcasts, digital platforms and documentary production, and chaired Sky's Ethnicity and Inclusion Network - working with colleagues and senior leadership to change culture. All of it relied on one essential skill: great communication.

How do you effectively relate to and engage students and audiences across classrooms, events and forums? Rohan uses his experience and academic interest in stand-up comedy to share an unconventional lens on creativity in education, exploring public-speaking techniques to maximise engagement. Grounded in established technique and academic research, his focus is on the "how" rather than the "what" - asking which practical theories and methods can be applied across both teaching and performance and implemented into your practice.

Rohan Ashar works as a Student Experience Adviser at LD Training Services. His background in higher education includes a First Class Honours degree in English Literature and experience as a full-time Sabbatical Officer at the University of York Students' Union. Alongside education, his passion lies in live entertainment and comedy: he has performed over 350 stand-up gigs and wrote his dissertation on the processes behind creating and delivering stand-up comedy - consolidating his knowledge of public speaking and audience engagement.

To close the day, our presenters come together for a panel discussion hosted by Santanu Vasant, drawing the day's themes into an open conversation with the room.