Innovative learning environments open up new, flexible, and real-life approaches to learning for adults. They arise from the interplay of suitable locations, contemporary instructional formats, digital opportunities, and reliable social relationships. In this way, they respond to the diversity of adult learners, who bring with them different experiences, needs, life situations, and motivations. Traditional instructional formats alone are therefore often insufficient to accommodate this diversity and reach everyone. This is especially true when it comes to reaching people who have rarely participated in continuing education.
Innovative Lernumgebungen verbinden daher sinnvoll analoge und digitale Elemente. Sie ermöglichen Lernen an unterschiedlichen Orten. Dies kann im Kursraum, online, im sozialen Umfeld oder am Arbeitsplatz stattfinden. Zu berücksichtigen sind neben technischen Anforderungen auch die sozialen und emotionalen Dimensionen des Lernens. Entscheidend ist außerdem, dass die Angebote leicht zugänglich sind und sich an den Lebens- und Arbeitswelten der Lernenden orientieren. So entstehen Räume, in denen Lernende ihre Kompetenzen weiterentwickeln können. Zugleich sollen sie Lernen als positiven und selbstbestimmten Prozess erleben.
The New European Agenda for Adult Learning 2021–2030 provides the central framework for the further development of adult learning. It aims to increase participation in formal, non-formal, and informal learning. To this end, it focuses on easier access, flexible learning opportunities, and the continuous improvement of the quality of learning programs. The focus is on equal opportunities, inclusion, and learning success, as well as the digital and green transitions. In this way, it strengthens the right to lifelong learning, which is enshrined in the European Pillar of Social Rights.
Innovative learning environments can contribute to this by breaking down barriers and opening up diverse learning pathways. The goal is to better reach particularly disadvantaged groups. The goal is for at least 60 percent of adults in the EU to participate in continuing education annually by 2030. To achieve this, learning opportunities must be more closely integrated into people’s personal and professional lives. These opportunities should provide guidance and make learning more flexible in terms of time, location, and teaching methods.
The key themes of the European Agenda for Adult Learning address central challenges and developments in adult learning—from future skills and digital transformation to innovative learning spaces, sustainability, and social participation. Selected Erasmus+ projects and mobility initiatives demonstrate how these themes can be put into practice. These examples provide insights into specific approaches, methods, and experiences from European educational work and highlight how European exchange helps bring the Agenda’s goals to life.
In the thematic focus area “Innovative Learning Environments,” the NKS highlights new approaches and promotes their implementation in practice. This is also intended to reach target groups that have had limited access to adult education thus far. The NKS’s work thus aligns with the European goal of promoting a culture of lifelong learning for all.
The NKS is continuing the European and national networking efforts of recent years. To this end, it participates in the European cluster “Innovative Learning Environments in Adult Education.” There, it supports the exchange of best practices and the transfer of successful approaches.
Visits to learning sites and discussions with experts provide insights into different learning environments. In addition, the documentation of best practices demonstrates how municipal, social, and corporate partners can work together to create new learning opportunities.
A Study Visit on workplace learning organized by the NKS offered European experts insights into workplace-based learning, dual vocational training, and adult education in Germany. As part of this event, participants also visited collaborative learning spaces.
An important milestone in 2025 was the symposium “Designing Learning Spaces in Basic Education” in Göttingen. The NKS organized it jointly with the Lower Saxony Agency for Adult and Continuing Education (AEWB). Experts from Germany and Europe discussed how to design both in-person and digital learning spaces. The focus was on low-threshold, real-life programs that can be implemented with reasonable effort. The discussion centered on local learning venues and collaborations, as well as people-centered digitalization. In addition, the conference addressed the use of artificial intelligence in basic education, European mobility, and learner participation.
In the 2026–2027 funding period, the NKS will also focus on outreach education in the social sphere. Together with stakeholders from the fields of practice, politics, and research, the goal is to further develop innovative learning environments and educational pathways. The focus will be on non-formal, intergenerational, and intercultural learning.
In addition, European case studies and experiences from the network’s work will be made accessible to a broader public. A European conference is planned for 2027. The debate on basic education, participation, and innovative learning environments will be continued there. The discussion will also center on how to better reach target groups that have been difficult to engage with thus far.
On the Electronic Platform for Adult Education, you will find a collection of resources from the theme week: Innovative Learning Environments in Basic Education
The “Learning Places” thematic network offers a wide range of articles and practical, targeted resources on the topic
In this installment of the discussion series on current challenges in adult education, Oksana Janzen, Program Director for Literacy, Basic Education, and Adult Education at the Lower Saxony Agency for Adult and Continuing Education (AEWB), shares her insights on the topic of “Innovative Learning Environments.”
