13 Best Learning and Development Conferences in 2025

Look at the 2025 calendar and you’ll spot a full field of standout conferences vying for your attention as a learning and development (L&D) professional. This year’s lineup is rich with opportunities to sharpen your thinking and reimagine what great corporate training looks like.

From immersive workshops to research-backed keynotes, expect deep dives into AI integration, neuro-inclusive design, ROI measurement, and hybrid learning done right. Held everywhere from London to Las Vegas, these gatherings bring together bold ideas and battle-tested strategies from practitioners reshaping workplace learning worldwide.

The best learning and development conferences in 2025 deliver practical takeaways you can apply immediately after returning to work. With limited travel budgets, carefully evaluate which events match your specific organizational needs.

So, which events deserve your registration this year? Here's our list of the top thirteen L&D conferences where you'll find valuable insights and connections. Once you’ve narrowed your list, keep an eye out for real-world tools that can lighten your team’s load and lift your results.

At several of these events, you’ll find Synthesia contributing to the conversation, showing how AI video creation is helping L&D teams meet rising content demands without stretching already-lean resources.

1. World of Learning Summit 2025

Date: 4-5 Feb, 2025

Location: Olympia, London, UK

The World of Learning Summit kicks off our list of top training conferences 2025 with a powerful combination of exhibition and conference elements. Set inside London’s iconic Olympia, this two-day gathering brings together learning professionals, innovative vendors, and expert speakers for a practical look at the future of training.

Your experience begins with keynotes from impressive speakers like Professor John Amaechi OBE on "The future is human" and Ksenia Zeltoukhova discussing AI-powered data analytics. Between main sessions, you'll choose from specialized tracks covering AI implementation, leadership development, and data-driven learning strategies.

Conference highlights include collaborative workshops on managing vendor relationships, panel discussions about fostering learning communities, and practical sessions on measuring training outcomes. Many sessions focus on the intelligent use of technology while maintaining human connection in learning experiences.

In addition to the paid conference program, a free exhibition area welcomes all visitors. Here you can explore the Mental Wellbeing zone, participate in Learning Design Live sessions, or network with peers in the Business Lounge. This mix of formal learning and casual exploration makes the World of Learning Summit ideal for anyone looking to expand their L&D toolkit.

Who should attend?

• L&D managers and directors
• HR project managers
• Chief learning officers
• Chief talent officers
• Training specialists
• Learning, talent, and culture directors.

2. ATD TK25

Date: 26-27 February, 2025

Location: JW Marriott, Las Vegas, US

ATD TechKnowledge brings its signature blend of talent development and technology to Las Vegas this February. Moving from its previous Los Angeles location, TK25 arrives with a focused mission: equipping L&D professionals with practical solutions to today's training challenges.

Have you struggled with building digital training that remains accessible to all learners? Many sessions address this common hurdle when developing online training courses. Across two days, the focus stays on doing, not just listening. In each workshop, you’ll roll up your sleeves to map adaptive pathways, test AI tools, and rethink how learning impact gets measured.

Between sessions, conversations unfold with those walking the same tightrope—figuring out how to introduce new tools without losing team buy-in, how to push innovation without overstepping what’s practical. It’s those casual discussions that often yield the most valuable takeaways!

This year's program targets five key areas: 

• Building adaptable teams,
• Improving accessibility
• Smoothing technology adoption
• Leveraging AI for efficiency
• Sustaining learner engagement.

Who should attend?

• Instructional designers
• eLearning specialists
• Learning architects
• LMS administrators
• Training managers
• Learning experience designers
• Educational technology specialists.

3. ​​People Development Summit

Date: 12-14 March 2025

Location: PIC SANA Marquês Hotel, Lisbon, Portugal

For senior L&D leaders, the People Development Summit (PDS) offers a rare chance to step away from the usual conference crowd and into focused, solution-driven dialogue. Set in central Lisbon, the exclusive event is built for those driving L&D decisions at the highest level.

What’s special about the occasion is that PDS facilitates pre-arranged one-to-one meetings, allowing you to connect with top business schools, learning technology innovators, and leadership development specialists. Many attendees value this personalized approach to exploring potential solutions and partnerships.

Mornings feature thought-provoking sessions from speakers like Sonia Gupta from Save the Children International, who addresses neuroinclusion, and Konstantinos Tasis from Ipsos, sharing insights on AI integration. Various Strategy Group sessions tackle practical challenges in developing online training courses and leadership programs.

When the day's discussions wind down, the conversations don’t. They carry on through dinners and glasses raised among colleagues, where the formal becomes personal, and shared goals surface between courses.

In other words, the summit's close-knit format really cultivates dialogue. In breakout rooms and over coffee, in TED-style sessions and hands-on workshops, ideas take shape among people who speak the same professional language—and wrestle with the same leadership-specific questions.

Who should attend?

• Heads of/directors of L&D
• Heads of/directors of talent development
• Heads of/directors of HR.

4. Learning Technologies Europe

Date: 23-24 April, 2025

Location: ExCeL Centre, London, UK

Europe's premier workplace learning conference, aka Learning Technologies, returns to London's ExCeL Centre this spring. Attracting over 10,000 L&D professionals from more than 50 countries, this powerhouse event combines a substantial paid conference program with a free exhibition featuring over 200 vendors.

There will be sharp, forward-looking keynotes from industry leaders like Sandra Loughlin (EPAM’s Chief Learning Scientist), Daniel J. Hulme (WPP’s Chief AI Officer), and Anandi Shankar (Unilever’s Global Head of Learning). As the formal talks pause, the conversation picks up in quieter moments—over coffee, during lunch, or at evening receptions where ideas flow as freely as introductions.

Each day offers multiple concurrent tracks covering crucial topics for developing online training courses: AI integration, data analytics, content design strategies, and compliance training transformation. Many sessions focus on building organizational capability while maintaining the human element in learning experiences.

The speakers will also share practical frameworks for navigating workplace AI adoption, measuring learning impact, and creating sustainable L&D strategies for turbulent times. 

Who should attend?

• HR and L&D professionals
• Talent management specialists
• Organizational learning leaders
• Content designers and technology providers
• Business leaders focused on talent initiatives.

5. ATD25 International Conference

Date: 18-21 May, 2025

Location: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC, US

Thousands of L&D professionals will gather in Washington, DC, for what many consider the pinnacle of L&D conferences in 2025. ATD25 International brings together over 10,000 attendees, 450+ sessions, and 400+ exhibitors under one massive roof.

Your experience here spans 14 distinct learning tracks, from instructional design to learning technologies and healthcare. Among the highlights awaits the famous Networking Night at the National Building Museum, an evening filled with music, food, and connections that typically sells out well before the event begins.

What makes ATD25 stand out? The sheer scale creates unmatched networking opportunities with professionals facing similar challenges. As the schedule opens up, you can explore a bustling expo floor packed with next-gen tools and bold ideas, each one promising to reshape the way we train and learn.

For first-time attendees, planning is key—the schedule runs deep, and every time slot brings decisions about which conversations, demos, or debates you don’t want to miss. Many teams split up to cover more ground, sharing notes afterward to maximize their collective learning and understanding.

Who should attend?

• Learning and development leaders
• Instructional designers
• Training managers and specialists
• L&D technology implementers
• HR executives overseeing learning initiatives
• Government and healthcare learning professionals.

6. Future of Work USA

​​Date: 11-12 June, 2025

Location: The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, US

New York City hosts this year's convergence of workplace transformation pioneers at Future of Work (FOW) USA. Unlike narrowly focused events, this gathering bridges three critical domains—learning, workplace, and talent—creating a holistic picture of tomorrow's organizational landscape.

You'll rub shoulders with executive leadership from global powerhouses like Walmart, L'Oréal, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Their perspectives come straight from the trenches of transformation, not theoretical ideals. When SharkNinja's Elizabeth Norberg speaks about scaling organizational change or Burberry's Kristin Bagnetto shares multilingual training approaches, you're hearing field-tested strategies.

The conference splits into specialized tracks while maintaining connective threads between them. Morning keynotes establish shared foundations before afternoon breakouts delve deeper into practical applications. This structure enables teams to split up strategically to capture relevant insights across different domains.

What makes FOW USA worthwhile? The caliber of conversation. Here, discussions move beyond introductory AI concepts to nuanced implementation questions: How are multigenerational workforces responding to new learning platforms? Which upskilling approaches yield measurable ROI? What leadership development models successfully prepare managers for hybrid team dynamics?

Key focus areas include:

• Democratizing learning across organizational hierarchies
• Building resilient workplace cultures amid constant change
• Creating sustainable talent ecosystems that balance well-being with productivity.

Who should attend?

• Chief learning and people officers
• HR strategy executives
• L&D and training leadership
• Talent acquisition and management directors
• Organizational development specialists
• Employee experience architects.

7. TICE 2025

Date: 3-5 June, 2025

Location: Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Raleigh, US

The Training Industry Conference & Expo (TICE) offers something few conferences do: a focused, community-driven environment designed specifically for corporate learning leaders. With a program built around the realities of L&D work, this Raleigh-based event blends strategy, technology, and connection across three carefully curated days.

Sessions cover a broad spectrum—from strategic alignment and stakeholder management to the nuts and bolts of content development, leadership frameworks, and technology integration. Whether you're exploring new learning tech or scaling an existing program, TICE’s breakout tracks help you zero in on your current priorities.

Keynotes set the tone with stories from the field—sharp, energizing, and rooted in experience. Breakout sessions go beyond theory, offering tools and tactics you can take straight back to your team. In between, small-group roundtables become spaces for honesty and idea-swapping where challenges are unpacked and solutions shaped across industries. The live demos feel more like conversations than pitches, giving you room to explore what might actually work for your context.

The expo hall is intentionally curated for relevance. Instead of generic pitches, you'll find providers who understand L&D’s constraints and deliver solutions that are tactical, adaptable, and ready to deploy.

First-timers often describe TICE as a professional homecoming, an event where networking feels personal, not performative, and where every conversation is rooted in shared experience.

Who should attend?

• Current and aspiring L&D leaders
• Training program developers
• Learning professionals seeking strategic alignment skills
• Corporate training specialists
• L&D technology decision-makers.

8. The Learning Ideas Conference 2025

Date: 11-13 June, 2025, plus additional online conference 28-29 May, 2025

Location: Hybrid/Faculty House, New York, US

This hybrid event combines academic insight with creative experimentation, ideal for anyone exploring the future of workplace learning. The Learning Ideas Conference brings together an international community of educators, technologists, designers, and L&D professionals, all converging to explore how learning can evolve. Over three days in New York (and two online), attendees enjoy sessions covering learning games, XR design, intelligent tutoring systems, and digital ethics.

Keynotes from Michelle Cortese, Dr. Bruce McLaren, and Dr. Rupert Wegerif frame these topics through research and practice, opening windows into the futures of immersive design, intelligent systems, and digital education. In the breakout sessions, ideas stretch across cognitive science, UX, game-based learning, and AI-supported instruction. Every voice adds something different, each angle helping reimagine what learning could look like—inside classrooms, companies, and beyond.

Whether you design training programs, study learning theory, or build emerging tech, this conference offers a shared space to question assumptions, test new tools, and co-create what’s next in learning.

Who should attend?

• Educational researchers and cognitive scientists
• Instructional designers and learning engineers
• User experience and human-computer interaction professionals
• Corporate trainers and L&D leaders
• HR and talent development executives
• Technologists working in VR, AR, and AI for learning
• Faculty, academic technologists, and digital learning strategists.

9. Corporate Learning & Development Executive Summit

Date: 31 July, 2025

Location: The Yale Club, New York, US

This Corporate Learning & Development Executive Summit strips away the noise of large-scale events and focuses on what matters most: meaningful dialogue between senior learning leaders. Held at the historic Yale Club in New York, the one-day summit invites a select group to exchange insights on leadership development, organizational learning strategy, and the future of corporate training.

Panel discussions offer sharp perspectives on where L&D is heading, while smaller breakouts give space to explore practical challenges in depth. Between sessions, conversations with sponsors move beyond surface-level pitches and into shared problem-solving.

The format is intentionally concise. Every session, every connection, is designed to respect your time while delivering real value. For those shaping learning at the enterprise level, this summit presents a rare opportunity to think strategically, alongside others doing the same.

Who should attend?

• Senior corporate executives
• Heads of learning and development
• Leadership development specialists
• Talent management specialists
• Organizational development practitioners
• HR directors and vice presidents
• Chief learning officers.

10. Training Magazine’s Techlearn 2025

Date: 6- 8 October, 2025

Location: Hilton New Orleans Riverside, New Orleans, US

New Orleans hosts this sensory-rich learning festival where cutting-edge technology meets practical application. At TechLearn 2025, you'll experience everything from immersive VR demonstrations to hands-on AI workshops across a packed three-day schedule.

Your journey begins with the popular "Innovations in Training Test Kitchen," where you'll rotate through demo stations sampling various learning technologies and design approaches. Practical knowledge flows through over 35 breakout sessions covering microlearning, adaptive pathways, and measurement strategies.

During downtime from the main events, "Ask Me Anything" stations offer direct access to experts on topics like gamification, accessibility, and mixed reality. The keynote by Eileen McGivney from Northeastern University explores the design of meaningful, immersive learning experiences beyond mere novelty.

Social events, including networking dinners in the French Quarter and a closing "lagniappe" celebration with live music, create natural spaces for valuable peer conversations. Many attendees report these informal exchanges yield their most actionable takeaways.

Who should attend?

• CLOs and learning leaders
• Instructional designers and developers
• Training directors and managers
• Learning technology implementers
• Corporate university professionals
• Performance consultants
• Talent development managers
• Corporate university managers
• eLearning analysts.

11. World of Learning Conference 2025

Date: 7-8 October, 2025

Location: NEC, Birmingham, UK

Birmingham's NEC transforms into a buzzing hive of L&D innovation each October for this dual-format event, combining premium conference sessions with a free exhibition floor. Rather than a one-size-fits-all model, World of Learning creates two distinct entry points: one for attendees seeking strategic insights, another for those exploring solutions and ideas at their own pace.

First-timers receive special attention with a dedicated networking breakfast hosted by Shreena Gokani, helping newcomers build connections before diving into the main program. Throughout both days, specialized zones, such as the Mental Wellbeing area and Learning Design Live, provide focused spaces to explore specific aspects of workplace learning.

Evening networking flows naturally during the Tuesday drinks reception, where conversations often spark future collaborations. For those with International or Platinum passes, an exclusive delegate dinner offers deeper engagement with industry pioneers.

Many attendees maximize value by combining targeted exhibition exploration with selected free seminars, creating a tailored experience that addresses their organization's specific learning challenges without requiring premium registration.

Who should attend?

• L&D managers and directors
• HR project managers
• Chief learning officers
• Corporate learning technology buyers
• Chief talent officers
• Learning program designers and developers
• Learning, talent, and culture directors.

12. DevLearn Conference & Expo 2025

Date: 12-14 November, 2025

Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, US

Another important event on the list is DevLearn, North America's largest learning technologies gathering, drawing nearly 4,000 professionals who shape tomorrow's digital learning sector.

Inside the MGM Grand, DevLearn offers over 150 carefully curated sessions, built by practitioners for practitioners. The program provides actionable techniques that you can implement immediately upon returning home.

DemoFest stands as DevLearn's signature experience—a science-fair atmosphere where peers showcase real-world learning solutions they've developed. Moving through the aisles, you’ll find sharp ideas tucked between demos and conversations—ideas that shift how your next project takes shape.

The conference features four keynotes, each designed to engage with urgency, challenge assumptions, and prompt learning leaders to think differently by the time they leave their seats. Additionally, hallway discussions throughout the venue provide natural networking opportunities with fellow trailblazers in your field.

Budget-conscious attendees appreciate the 40+ free sessions available on the expo floor, allowing teams to divide and conquer across the massive program.

Who should attend?

• L&D professionals eager to explore emerging technologies
• eLearning developers seeking advanced techniques
• Forward-thinking instructional designers
• Managers and executives overseeing L&D departments
• HR professionals focusing on technology-based learning solutions
• Learning system administrators
• Learning technology decision-makers.

13. Future of Work Europe

Date: 25-26 November, 2025

Location: ExCeL Centre, London, UK

Concluding our 2025 conference roundup is the European counterpart to June's NYC event—the 6th annual Future of Work Europe gathering at London's ExCeL Centre.

Two specialized tracks guide your experience: "Future of Work" explores workplace evolution while "Future of Learning" focuses specifically on L&D innovation. Now in its sixth year, this event has built a reputation for its forward-looking approach to workforce development.

Participants appreciate how the program balances big-picture thinking with practical implementation strategies. Many organizations send different team members to each track, scheduling time to reconvene and share insights over lunch.

Fresh for 2025, the organizers have expanded their focus on integrating emerging technologies with human-centered work practices. Morning keynotes establish shared context before attendees break into specialized sessions tailored to their specific roles.

Executive-level attendees particularly value the strategic discussions around talent development and organizational culture. The November timing also makes it ideal for planning your team's learning initiatives for the coming year.

Who should attend?

• Chief learning and HR officers
• Learning and development directors
• Organizational development specialists
• People and culture leaders
• Chief talent officers
• Employee experience architects.

Pop in at our booths to learn more about AI and video

These training and talent development conferences 2025 offer fresh insight, practical tools, and the kind of peer exchange that can shift how your team approaches learning. Each one creates space for L&D professionals to explore what’s working—and what’s next.

Attend not to keep pace with the present but to leap into the future of learning and development.

Look for the Synthesia team at several events throughout the year. We'll show you how AI-powered video creation helps L&D teams produce engaging, multilingual content without the traditional production complexities.

Stop by our booth for a live demo or to discuss how video can reshape learning in your organization.