The 2026 Awayday was held in Oxford on the 2nd October. As always, a massive highlight of the annual event hosted by Freelance Publishing Professionals, is the focus on relaxed and friendly networking. It is always fantastic to meet so many freelancers and clients, both current and new, in person.
The speakers for the day’s sessions covered a variety of topics of interest to education professionals. An opening on the Lifecycle of Learning was close to the heart of Westchester project managers – the idea of constantly learning and using previous lessons learnt to make future projects run smoothly.
Workshops around design, marketing, networking and workflows gave practical insights and encouraged all of us to reflect on our current approaches and explore new ones.
The day was brought to a close with an engaging and thought-provoking panel discussion about the changing learner needs and what this means for ELT and Education publishing. Topics included AI, accessibility and the importance of life skills within curricula. One area of discussion centred on how educators and publishers can reduce cognitive offloading, where students rely on AI to do their thinking. When asked how this would work, an example of an activity was given where students were asked to give AI a prompt and then they use their critical thinking skills to evaluate why the answers need improvement rather than simply accepting them. The growing emphasis on life skills is constantly being talked about in curriculum discussions nationally. One panelist revealed outcomes from recent research with ELT students who were asking for more topics that prepared them for their future studies, careers and lives beyond the classroom.
As always, the Awayday provided an excellent opportunity to connect with colleagues across the industry, share experiences and gain fresh perspectives. The discussions throughout the day highlighted that while publishing continues to evolve, collaboration, lifelong learning and a focus on learner needs remain at the heart of what we do.