Technologies are changing the face of learning, education and society. It is only a short time since email became commonplace at universities, depending of course on our conception of time. Indeed, time itself is in play; education and learning today is globally networked in ways and manners few could foresee back when the first web browser was introduced in the early 1990´s. The time of education, learning and knowledge production is accelerating, and fast. While the questions and debates concerning technology and learning dates far back there is little reason to doubt that we are living in times of transition and to a point unpredictable disruption.

A surprisingly small number of companies own a surprisingly large share of world learning technology. And yet, these same companies also offer vistas of opportunities for collaboration across distances like never before seen.

In light of perspectives like these, at the World Learning Summit 2017 we ask ourselves: Do we foresee a sustainable future learning space available to all? Is learning and education the last digital frontier in a world of disruption and change foreseen by few — if any? How do we respond, as citizens, learners and custodians of education? How do knowledge institutions collaborate in and with their regions? How do we find meaningful relations with the growing number of great EdTech companies and thinkers? How do we foster entrepreneurship and innovation in world learning?

What is a future smart university? Plowing the depths of digital possibility – keeping a steady focus on the human condition of learning; the cultures and the social spaces that we co-inhabit as learners, in an increasingly globalized knowledge eco system. 

This is our 7th summit, and we expect it to be the largest. Joining the World Learning Summit and the LINQ conference is new this year – we hope to see this continued. World Learning Summit  gathered about 200 at Stanford University in 2015, and 300 at the University of Agder in 2016. This year we introduce accredited high-level scientific publication means. Summit proceedings will be made available on paper and online. 

Our summits are a mix of scholarly presentations and highlights from the entrepreneurial scene. World class keynotes are contextualized within high-level discussion panels, in an informal setting offering opportunities to network, meet new colleagues and make new friends.

Please join us!

Oddgeir Tveiten
University of Agder

Summit Chair

Christian M Stracke
Open University of the Netherlands

Summit Co-chair

June R Breivik
Director of eLearning and development, BI Norwegian Business School

Summit Co-chair