London (UK), October 2010 - (by Bob Little) When Irish Life and Permanent, a banking, fund management and life assurance company, wanted to hone its competitive edge it looked for a way of integrating retention, employee satisfaction, training initiatives and regulatory needs into a single system.

Paris (FR), June 2010 - Egilia offers IT and management seminars and provides free notebooks for all their participants. Kirsten Seegmüller of CHECK.point eLearning speaks with Ayi Nedjimi, head of communication, who explains why this concept is still cheaper than printed material or the risk of content theft via internet.

London (UK), May 2010 - (by Bob Little) Learning Light is beginning work on updating its figures on the size, shape and state of health of the UK's eLearning industry. Last December it published its second report into the UK's corporate eLearning industry. In the process it updated figures for this sector which were first published in 2007.

London (UK), April 2010 - (by Bob Little) The story so far: the authors of a recent report published by the UK's Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) - 'Next Generation HR: Time for change - Towards a Next Generation for HR' - comment: "The possibility of HR playing a more significant role in building the foundations for future success, while acting as a true partner and on occasion a provocateur in the business today, is very real."

Nijmegen (NL), March 2010 - Selling products is a complex task, especially when companies want to enter markets all around the world. Qupact International has established training material that teaches salespeople good channel development and management. Qupact Managing Director Brian English explains the crucial elements. Kirsten Seegmüller conducted this interview for CHECK.point eLearning.

London (UK), February 2010 - (by Bob Little) Last year in the UK, there were lots of stories about embarrassing data loss - mostly involving the Government. These stories led to government reviews including the Poynter Review, the Cabinet Office Data Handling Review and a cross-government review of data handling procedures. These highlighted 'systemic, rather than individual failures', due to 'woefully inadequate systems' and that 'data rules had not been adequately communicated, raising serious questions of governance and accountability'.

London (UK), December 2009 - (by Bob Little) A report on the UK eLearning sector in 2009 - 'The UK eLearning market 2009' - published this month by Learning Light, the Sheffield-based centre of excellence in the use of eLearning and learning technologies in the workplace, paints an optimistic picture: stating that the sector is 'flowering' despite the recession. The report's principal finding is that the UK eLearning industry remains 'robustly positive in its view of the market and the prospect for continuing growth'.

Mountain View, CA (USA), December 2009 - (by Erik Finch, Talent Development Specialist, SumTotal Systems) SumTotal currently sees growing interest in SaaS for learning and talent development. While it will never be the right option for all, the next few years are likely to witness a gradual migration to an SaaS-based model. Erik Finch of SumTotal outlines the benefits of SaaS for learning and talent development and examines issues that companies should consider before adopting it.

Neuss (GER), November 2009 - Modern didactic principles make a concerted effort to impart knowledge to the learner through autonomous action and personal experience. These principles lend themselves well to presentation via the technology of virtual and expanded reality. Using learning simulators, the e/c/s virtual worlds constitute an instrument that makes complex offerings accessible and a diverse product palette simple, manageable, and - most important - exciting. In the following, Managing Director Norbert Fritz reports on his experience.

Ardmore, PA (US), November 2009 - The current crisis is placing great strain on corporate learning and development, yet many use learning technologies to creatively adapt to rapidly changing business needs and, at the same time, to deliver more for less. Nick van Dam will present his point of view as visionary, consultant, and thought leader in learning and development. He is the Global Director Learning, eLearning Solutions and Technologies for Deloitte, with 170,000 employees globally, and he also serves as engagement advisor for clients at Deloitte's Global Human Capital Practice. At the same time, van Dam is Founder and Chairman of the global non-profit foundation "eLearning for Kids".

Ontario (CA), November 2009 - At IBM, a point of current discussion is the importance of "education for a smarter planet" and the "future of learning to enable economic growth". Mick Slivecko, Alliance and Market Development Executive, IBM Global Education & Learning Industry explains that "Now and in the future, learning, skills development, and workforce training will be seen more as an 'educational continuum' that should provide a smarter way of achieving national objectives". In the following, he explains IBM's vision of the learning future.

Sonoma, CA (US), November 2009 - Building on last year's highly interactive session at Online Educa Berlin (OEB), this year's edition of the Battle of the Bloggers will feature a selection of the blogosphere's most critical and creative writers. Ellen Wagner, well known international eLearning expert, will participate in the bloggers' shoot-out. In the following interview, she speaks about her expectations.

Munich (GER), November 2009 - Digital publishing (dp) offers language training for individual users, schools, universities, and companies worldwide. The company also provides assessment systems, self-paced online training, personalized tutoring services, phone training, and virtual or live communication classes. A recent innovation is that training providers are able to integrate learner-generated content into their courses. Armin Hopp, member of the board of directors of dp, explains the idea of language training 2.0.

Oslo (NR), September 2009 - Open source learning management systems (LMS) are not necessarily cheaper than commercial ones. For CHECK.point eLearning, Kirsten Seegmüller spoke with Roger Larsen, founder of Fronter, which is a combination of both. Fronter's clients have access to the source code, but they are willing to pay for full service, including server space, high availability, and immediate support.

Valenciennes (FR), August 2009 - In the north of France, a new centre for serious games is being established at the initiative of the local Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI). The target group will be creative companies, professional training schools, and IT students. Jean Menu, Director of Digital Development at the Valenciennes Chamber of Commerce and Industry, spoke with Kirsten Seegmüller of CHECK.point eLearning about the focus of his project.