What this year taught us about human learning
Looking ahead to 2026.

As the year draws to a close, we’ve taken a moment to pause and reflect. Not just on what we delivered, but on what we learned along the way.

This year has been full of ambitious projects, honest conversations, and a shared belief that learning only works when it’s human, relevant and designed to change behaviour, not just fill time. We’ve partnered with bold organisations, grown as a team, and continued to challenge everything we dislike about soul-crushing, mind-numbing elearning.

Here’s a look back at some of the moments that shaped the last 12 months at Mindboost.

Tackling the engagement crisis

One of the biggest themes we kept coming back to this year was engagement, or more accurately, the lack of it. Across our projects, conversations and thought leadership, the same challenge kept surfacing: people feel disconnected at work, and learning often struggles to make a real impact.

We explored why traditional approaches fail to stick, why content-heavy modules leave learners cold, and how relevance, human connection, and psychological safety are essential to creating experiences that actually resonate.

Our piece on the engagement crisis reframed the problem entirely. Engagement isn’t about louder content, more gamification, or shinier platforms. It’s about relevance, psychological safety, emotional connection and respect for the learner. When learning feels like it understands people, they show up differently. Learn more here.

Supporting people on their AI journey

AI dominated conversations across L&D this year, but we were far more interested in the human side of the story. How do people actually feel about AI at work? What support do they need? And how do we design learning that helps people use new tools confidently without losing their sense of agency?

Our work and writing explored how AI should amplify human capability, not replace it. Critical thinking, empathy, communication and judgement aren’t “soft skills”. They’re essential skills, and they matter more than ever. You can read the full piece here.

Wellbeing beyond the buzzwords

We also spent time digging into wellbeing properly. Not perks. Not surface-level initiatives. Real wellbeing. Using the PERMA model as a lens, we explored what genuinely drives happiness at work, meaning, relationships, accomplishment and connection. The takeaway was clear: wellbeing can’t be bolted on. It has to be designed into the way people learn, lead and work together. You can learn more about The PERMA Happiness model here.

Learning Live and industry conversations

Attending Learning Live 2025 with The LPI gave us space to listen, reflect, and compare notes with peers and thought leaders from across the industry. What stood out most was how consistent the challenges were, dull learning, low engagement, and the ongoing pressure to prove impact.

Everywhere we looked, the same themes emerged: teams grappling with how to make learning meaningful, leaders asking how to demonstrate ROI, and learners navigating content that often doesn’t connect with their day-to-day reality.

It reinforced what we already knew. The industry doesn’t need more noise. It needs better thinking, braver design and a stronger link between learning and real-world behaviour. You can read more about what Caleb and Owen took away from Learning Live here.

Moments that matter

This year also saw a full run of Mindboost Moments — short, honest conversations about learning, leadership and human experience. From essential skills in the age of AI to leadership beyond job titles, these episodes gave us space to slow down and explore what really matters beneath the surface.

They’ve become a place to reflect, challenge assumptions and spark better conversations, and we’re excited to build on that in the year ahead. You can catch up on all the amazing episodes from 2025 on our Moments page.

Empowering pharmacists for Nestle Health Science

One of the highlights of the year was taking our work to Ireland with Nestlé Health Science. Partnering with pharmacists and health store teams, we designed learning to support customers navigating the rapidly growing weight loss medication space.

The project gave us a chance to see human-centred learning in action, adapting content to fit real-world environments and the specific needs of each learner. It reinforced how context matters, what works in one setting might need tweaking in another, and flexibility is just as important as creativity.

It was a reminder that great learning has to work in the real world. Different contexts, different pressures, different audiences, but the same human-centred principles. Practical, confident, and designed to stick. Check out some behind the scenes insights here.

Looking ahead

If this year reinforced anything, it’s that learning doesn’t fail because people don’t care. It fails because it’s often designed without them in mind.

As we look to the year ahead, we’re doubling down on what we believe in. Learning that respects people’s time. Design that creates emotional connection. Stories that change how people think and act long after the module ends. Thank you to everyone who’s been part of the Mindboost journey this year, our clients, collaborators, partners and community. We’re proud of what we’ve built together, and even more excited about what’s coming next.

Here’s to a well-earned pause, a bit of reflection, and a future full of learning that finally feels human. See you in 2026 as we continue to obliterate dull, mind-numbing eLearning.