Together as facilitators and trainers in the AI era

From the very beginning, a key ambition of the partnership between MS TCDC and Danida Fellowship Centre has been to deepen our impact and strengthen our shared commitment to staying at the forefront of our fields.

A dedicated space for learning together
To support this, we have created a dedicated space for reflection and innovation: the Experiential Learning and Reflection Circle (ELRC), an annual gathering where we come together to reflect, question, and rethink how learning happens.

The ELRC is more than a meeting, it is a shared annual practice. It is a space where differences become strengths. Danida Fellowship Centre brings expertise in problem-based learning, while MS TCDC contributes deep experience in experiential learning. Together, these perspectives create fertile ground for new ideas about how learning can be designed and made more impactful.

Over time, the circle has grown. What began as an internal exchange between the two partner organisations now includes partners, universities, and facilitators. Each year, we choose a theme that reflects the shared questions and knowledge gaps of our institutions, starting with social, problem-based, and experiential learning, and gradually moving deeper into learning methodologies and educational design.

More recently, we realised there was one area in particular that we all wanted to better understand and develop digital learning. The 2026 gathering, held from 11–14 March in Arusha, was a direct response to that need. It focused on blended learning and the meaningful integration of AI into educational practice.

Technology is shaping how we teach and learn

“Technology has always influenced how we learn and transmit knowledge,” said James Karatu Kiemo, one of our partners and facilitators from the University of Nairobi.

“Today, AI and other digital advancements are shaping how we teach and learn, ultimately shaping the society of tomorrow. Ignoring this evolution is not an option, if we want to understand and be part of the future.”

To facilitate this year’s ELRC and learning process, we partnered with the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) - a leading international learning institution with extensive experience in adult education, digital learning, and instructional design.

Already on day one, inside the library room at MS TCDC, the traditional roles of trainers and learners began to shift. No one was “just” a trainer anymore - not even our facilitators from ITCILO, Delphine Dall’Agata and Fausto Saltetti. While guiding the process, they also stepped into the role of learners alongside us. The result was a genuinely shared learning experience, where knowledge was not delivered from the front of the room but built collectively through dialogue, experimentation, and reflection.

This approach reflected one of the central principles of experiential learning: everyone contributes knowledge, and everyone has something new to learn.

Designing blended learning and AI together

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift to online learning, making education more accessible by reducing the need for travel. Yet face-to-face learning remains essential for building trust, relationships, and meaningful human connections. Blended learning aims to strike the right balance, combining the flexibility of digital learning with the richness of in-person interaction.

Throughout the course, we explored two key questions: How can learning journeys meaningfully combine online and face-to-face experiences and how can AI be thoughtfully integrated into those journeys without losing the human touch?

Part of the answer lies in learning design frameworks such as the Radcliffe Model  and the ADDIE Model.

The Radcliffe Model reminds us that the way we design learning environments matters. Are participants sitting in rows facing a presenter, or in a circle where they can see and engage with one another? Are they working independently online or collaborating in groups? Small design choices like these can have a significant impact on participation, engagement, and connection.

The ADDIE Model offers a practical design cycle. Analyse learners’ needs, design and develop the learning experience, implement it, and continuously evaluate and improve it based on feedback. It is a structured approach that keeps learners at the centre throughout the process.

As we explored these frameworks, our facilitators demonstrated them in practice, and together we co-created the learning experience itself. Even the library room reflected the principles of the Radcliffe Model, with a layout designed to encourage interaction, collaboration, and shared reflection.

And where does AI fit into all of this? Often, quietly in the background. AI can suggest resources when someone is stuck, help groups brainstorm more quickly, or provide examples that spark deeper reflection. But it does not take over. In that physical room, it became clear that technology does not replace the human element, it amplifies it. 

Learning together again at E-learning Africa in Accra
The spirit of continuous learning together did not end in Arusha. Three months later, from 3–5 June, some of us met again at E-learning Africa 2026 in Accra, Ghana, the continent’s largest conference on digital learning, skills development, and educational transformation. There, the conversations that began during the ELRC continued on a much larger stage.

The 2026 conference theme, “Africa’s Time, Africa’s Terms: Learning for Sovereignty, Strength and Solidarity,” reflected a growing shift in the continent’s education agenda. It pointed towards a future where Africa will not only participate in global education discussions but will actively shape them.

One debate Is the current education system setting young people up for failure in particular echoed the questions we had been exploring throughout our training. It centred on whether education systems around the world are preparing young people for a world that no longer exists and, as a result, setting them up to struggle in the future.

The conclusion was clear. Education systems must evolve rapidly, if they are to equip learners with the skills, mindsets, and adaptability needed for the realities of today and tomorrow.

For us, this reinforced one of the central lessons of the ELRC: learning must not remain static in a rapidly changing world.

In the end, the most important takeaway is not a specific AI tool, learning methodology, or design framework. It is a way of being. As trainers and facilitators, we never really graduate. We remain forever learners.