Business leaders from across the area recently joined UNC Charlotte instructional technology faculty on campus to discuss industry trends and the future of corporate training and performance improvement.
The inaugural Learning Leaders Forum drew executives from a number of companies, including Wells Fargo, Duke Energy, Lowe’s and TIAA; it was sponsored by Dick Handshaw of Handshaw Inc.
Florence Martin, director of the Instructional Systems Technology (IST) program at the UNC Charlotte College of Education, said the forum was part of a larger effort to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with the business community.
“We wanted to introduce the IST program to the learning leaders and to build a pipeline where we can send our students to learning and development positions in various industries in Charlotte, and they can send their employees to us for the IST graduate program.”
Martin said these types of discussions also aid IST leadership shape the program. “It helps us stay current on the industry practices and trends in instructional technology, which allows us to better prepare students for the instructional technology job market.”
The importance of IST professionals, experts at designing and implementing strategies for encouraging learning through technology, was not lost on attendees.
“Competent instructional designers, learning consultants and learning leaders are integral to our overall HR strategy,” said John Huen, a learning manager at TIAA. “The selection and deployment of effective and efficient instructional technologies will enable our workforce to employ new skills and knowledge more rapidly and with greater adherence to enable our mission for the benefit our institutions and our customers.”
Through an introduction to the IST program and a question-and-answer session with participants, the group explored prevailing industry trends, including:
- Micro-learning
- Performance support and on-demand resources
- Subscription learning
- Integration and effective use of data analytics
- Social learning
- Machine learning
- Global design
“Instructional designers wear many hats,” said Martin, the IST program director. “They take on roles as learning and development experts, project managers, portfolio project managers and performance improvement experts, to name a few.”
Industry representatives noted that they seek instructional technologists who have strong critical thinking and interpersonal skills and who are also curious and innovative.
Huen, the manager at TIAA, said he appreciated that UNC Charlotte consults the business community in deploying its programs. Forum organizers said they plan to host the event on at least a bi-annual basis in the future.