Seminar Agenda
Day 1 – September 22nd, 2026, Tuesday
Seminar Begins | Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residences Emirates Pearl, UAE
11:20 - 11:40
AI-Enabled Trainer: Revolutionizing Skill Evaluation
- Implementing AI agents for adaptive assessments for real-time skill gap analysis
- Leveraging machine learning algorithms to provide personalized feedback and improvement suggestions
- Integrating AI-enabled evaluation tools with existing learning management systems for seamless workflow
Speaker
Sarah Daly
Director,
LEORON Institute, UAE
11:00 - 11:20
From Disruption to Direction: L&D's Strategic Role in a Fragile Region
The Middle East is navigating one of its most complex geopolitical and economic periods in recent memory and Learning & Development cannot afford to play a support role. This seminar reframes L&D as a strategic leadership function, examining how the 2025–26 regional shifts have permanently altered workforce priorities across the GCC and what it means for every L&D decision-maker in the room.
- Understand how geopolitical and economic uncertainty in 2025–26 has reshaped the strategic mandate of L&D across the GCC.
- Identify the critical gaps between traditional L&D positioning and the strategic influence required in today's volatile environment.
- Explore real-world examples of organisations that have repositioned their L&D function as a driver of organisational direction and stability.
Speaker
David Ribott, Ed.D (ABD), MCC,
Abu Dhabi's Top CEO Coach, Founder,
Ribott Partners, UAE
13:05 - 13:25
AI as a Learning Ally Not a Replacement: Governing Intelligent L&D Tools
With 80% of UAE professionals now using AI tools regularly at work, the question is no longer whether to adopt AI in L&D, it is how to do so responsibly and effectively. This session tackles the governance gap head-on, exploring how to deploy AI-powered learning tools that are transparent, inclusive, and genuinely aligned with your organisation’s development goals.
- Understand the current state of AI adoption in the workplaces and the confidence gap between tool adoption and workforce readiness.
- Evaluate the ethical and governance challenges of AI in L&D, including bias in recommendation algorithms and learner data transparency.
- Build a responsible AI deployment framework for your L&D function that balances innovation with inclusion and data integrity.
Speaker
Raiza Paras
Instructional Designer DCTLEARN – Talent Development,
Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, UAE
Day 2 – September 23rd, 2026, Wednesday
Grand Hyatt Abu Dhabi Hotel & Residences Emirates Pearl, UAE
11:20 - 11:40
AI-Enabled Trainer: Revolutionizing Skill Evaluation
- Implementing AI agents for adaptive assessments for real-time skill gap analysis
- Leveraging machine learning algorithms to provide personalized feedback and improvement suggestions
- Integrating AI-enabled evaluation tools with existing learning management systems for seamless workflow
Speaker
Sarah Daly
Director,
LEORON Institute, UAE
11:05 - 11:25
Building Antifragile Organisations: When Uncertainty Is Permanent
Resilience is no longer enough today’s GCC organisations need to grow stronger under pressure, not merely survive it. Drawing on case studies from across the Gulf during the period of conflict and economic volatility, this session moves beyond buzzwords to deliver practical frameworks for designing L&D programs that actively build antifragility into your workforce.
- Distinguish between resilient and antifragile organisations, and understand why the difference matters for L&D program design in 2026.
- Apply a practical antifragility framework to audit your current learning interventions for their ability to perform under pressure.
- Design next-generation learning architectures that improve rather than stall when conditions deteriorate.
Speaker
David Ribott, Ed.D (ABD), MCC,
Abu Dhabi's Top CEO Coach, Founder,
Ribott Partners, UAE
13:10 - 13:30
The Trust Equation: Leadership, Culture, and Performance
Trust is the invisible infrastructure of every high-performing organisation and when it breaks down, so does everything else. This session unpacks the practical science of trust in the workplace, giving leaders and L&D professionals a clear, actionable model to build, measure, and sustain trust across teams, cultures, and organisational levels.
- Understand what trust really means in an organisational context and why it is the single biggest driver of team performance, retention, and learning culture.
- Explore the key behaviours and leadership practices that build or quietly destroy trust within teams and across the organisation.
- Learn how to diagnose trust gaps in your workplace and use simple, practical tools to close them at the individual, team, and culture level.
- Discover how a high-trust culture directly improves business outcomes from faster decision-making and stronger collaboration to higher engagement and reduced attrition.
Speaker
Raiza Paras
Instructional Designer DCTLEARN – Talent Development,
Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi, UAE