Micro-credential Summit 2026Pre-conference Webinars

Thursday,
January 29, 2026
10:00am – 11:00am EST

Speaker:

Tony Bonen

Executive Director, Economic
Research, Signal49 Research

AI and other automation technologies impact on productivity, jobs and skills

Our research provides a new, comprehensive framework on AI and automation, linking task-level exposure, potential productivity gains, and likely adoption pathways by Canadian businesses. This provides a concrete understanding of potential automation probabilities across jobs and sectors and is integrated into a unique macroeconomic outlook on labour market impacts of automation.

Thursday,
January 29, 2026
12:00pm – 1:00pm EST

Speaker:

Sasha Thackaberry-
Voinovich, PhD

President and CEO,
Newstate University

Designing in ROI: Making Micro-Credentials Count

Newstate University is redefining educational value by intentionally engineering ROI into the curriculum through a dual-pillar architectural model. We move beyond simple upskilling by anchoring high-quality, industry-aligned content within a unique “Lego-block” stacking structure. This session explores how our modular design eliminates academic dead-ends, ensuring every micro-credential serves as a portable, high-currency asset that integrates seamlessly into larger degree frameworks.

Key Takeaways:

• Engineered Value: How we embed labor-market “currency” into micro-credential content and quality standards.
• Structural Stackability: The mechanics of our modular design that allows for seamless, multi-directional credit accumulation.
• Strategic ROI: Balancing academic rigor with the flexibility required to provide immediate professional impact.

Thursday,
January 29, 2026
2:00pm – 2:30pm EST

NBCC Credential Centre: Meeting the Needs of the Modern Learner

New Brunswick Community College (NBCC) is modernizing its approach to PLAR (Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition), which will transform our offerings to better serve our province’s population. “The Credential Centre” is an initiative that reduces barriers for learners seeking credentials for their existing knowledge and skills. Open to anyone, this new hub allows learners at any stage in their educational or work career to participate in microcredential programs, including assessment of experience-based prior learning. With the establishment of our microcredential framework, participants can use the hub to claim badges for microcredentials if they already have the skills. Learners will be able to engage with these offerings and come away with a skills-based transcript of their proven learning. Through collaboration with industry and employers, we can assess our workforce for the skills and knowledge most needed in our region.

Michelle Chisholm,
Learning Design Consultant for
Prior Learning, New Brunswick
Community College

Gail McLaughlin-Aubé,
Business Development Manager –
Special Projects, New Brunswick
Community College

Patrick Reinartz,
RPL Consultant, New
Brunswick Community College

Thursday,
January 29, 2026
2:30pm – 3:00pm EST

Balancing Affordability, Accessibility, and Diversity with Indigenous Pedagogy in online Learning

Creating online independent learning opportunities for Indigenous learners presents unique challenges that require more than adapting mainstream digital education models. Indigenous pedagogy is deeply relational, land-based, and rooted in community and intergenerational knowledge transmission. Translating these values into online, independent learning environments requires attention to
cultural integrity, connection to place and respect for Indigenous ways of knowing and being. This presentation will explore the tensions and possibilities of designing online learning that is not only affordable and accessible, but also reflective of the diversity of Indigenous learners and communities. It will highlight approaches that prioritize relationality, community involvement, language, and
land-based teachings while offering learners flexibility and autonomy. By reflecting on both challenges and innovations, this session invites educators and curriculum designers to consider how digital spaces can be shaped to honour Indigenous pedagogies while advancing affordability, accessibility, and diversity in meaningful and respectful ways.

Samantha Servi
Curriculum Development
Coordinator, Oshki-Pimache-o-Win: The Wenjack Education Institute

Lynnita Jo Guillet
Indigenous Pedagogy Specialist
Oshki-Pimache-o-Win: The
Wenjack Education Institute