Learning design talent at Sponge attracts top award

NEWS: Kate Nicholls, Head of Learning Innovation at leading elearning company, Sponge has been named Learning Technologies Designer of the Year.

She took the gold prize at the Learning Technologies Awards 2016 for her track record in the high quality design of effective workplace elearning programmes.

In their citation, the award judges said of Kate:

“Her focus on user experience, coupled with her ability to get to the heart of the business requirement, is achieving measurable results for a wide range of global clients. Described as a creative powerhouse, Kate has a strong focus on learner needs and an ability to utilise a wide range of innovative solutions.” 

After more than a decade working in learning design, Kate became Head of Learning Innovation at Sponge this year.  She said:

“It’s an exciting time to be involved with learning technologies. My new role enables me to push the boundaries of what’s possible, helping learning technologies to deliver greater impact for businesses. I’m proud of what we are achieving for our clients at Sponge, and honoured to be recognised with this award.” 

Part of Kate’s role at Sponge is nurturing learning design talent by leading and training teams of young professionals, many of them new to the learning technologies industry.

Working with some of the biggest global brands like Coca-Cola, Tesco and Google, Kate is pioneering new technologies and approaches to make digital learning more absorbing and successful.

his year’s Learning Technologies Awards were the biggest ever with entries in a huge range of sectors from across the world.

Eight fellow professionals were finalists for Learning Technologies Designer of the Year, one of the most sought after categories in the competition.

Sponge also won a silver award with Tesco in the compliance category for a blended learning project that helped the supermarket giant challenge behaviours and deliver cultural change on grocery regulation compliance. 

The award winners were announced on Wednesday, November 30 at a gala ceremony in London, hosted by Canadian comedian, Katherine Ryan.

Sponge is one of Europe’s leading learning technologies companies, employing 70 people at its headquarters in Plymouth.