What does an adaptive learning environment mean in 2024, and how can knowledge management support it? What makes an e-learning provider or product successful on today’s international stage? In the season finale of the Knowledge Hub podcast, Bertalan Péter Farkas welcomes two outstanding experts in e-learning and adult education: Gyöngyvér Vitéz, CEO of SkillDict Plc., and Tamás Könczöl, Director of Development at SkillDict Plc. Their discussion covers the transformation of the sector, the future of adult education, and the specific dynamics of the market – all through the lens of knowledge management.

🎧 Listen to the podcast on Spotify or YouTube, and subscribe for fresh episodes!

Not only teaching, but enabling learning

Many people can teach, but few can truly make learning happen

says Gyöngyvér Vitéz, highlighting one of the episode’s key insights. How can we be sure that the learner – whether a child or an adult – has actually mastered the knowledge? And more importantly, can they apply it in practice? This becomes clear only when the transfer of knowledge is measured continuously. When a process or protocol is taught and immediately assessed, gaps can be identified and addressed. This is the crucial difference between teaching and learning.

Adaptive learning is inherently a dynamic process. Creating a differentiated learning plan four months in advance is challenging: Will the learner need extra practice? Should tasks be made more complex? True development requires both qualitative and quantitative adjustments, based on monitoring progress and adapting accordingly.

Tamás illustrates this with an example from the Paks Nuclear Power Plant, which has one of the most rigorous training systems in the EHS (Environment, Health & Safety) domain. Previously, even well-educated staff would spend days leafing through thousand-page manuals, unsure of what they had absorbed and whether they would pass their exams. Since the introduction of their custom e-learning platform, learners gain knowledge faster and more confidently. They can see what they have mastered, how well they can reproduce it, and where they need improvement. The aim is for the employee – the “end-user” – to know exactly where they stand, what needs strengthening, and what they already know.

The current state of adult education and e-learning trends

The pandemic forced many to realise that adult training could be delivered online. After the initial boom came a correction, as providers reassessed which elements required face-to-face delivery. Today, most are still searching for this balance. As Gyöngyvér notes, many skills cannot be acquired online, but e-learning can take learners up to the point of proficiency. Rules, procedures, and protocols are often fully learnable in an online environment – and measurable too.

By moving theoretical knowledge online, face-to-face sessions can focus on “aha moments” and deeper understanding. Practical training time per person is often as little as 40–50 seconds in a classroom. If online tools can extend this, the impact is significant. E-learning can also offset shortages of physical equipment, or at least reduce the disadvantages and risks associated with them.

The methodology must remain at the core

stresses Tamás. Artificial intelligence is unavoidable today, but if it is used superficially without methodological grounding, it often fails in corporate contexts. By starting with the objective and choosing the right methodology, whether online or hybrid, results improve. Another critical issue: if training takes place across multiple platforms, managers and HR cannot properly track progress, undermining long-term success. Consolidated learner data and outcomes are vital for trend analysis and personalised learning.

Competence-based learning

Competence-based education is increasingly shaping the e-learning market. Successful programmes combine:

• Knowledge (theoretical content),
• Skills (practical capabilities), and
• Attitudes (mindsets and behaviours).

Adults are among the most critical learners: they must understand why they are acquiring knowledge. Training design succeeds when providers can clearly link the learning content to its future application in the workplace.

Measurement and evaluation

Typical e-learning systems today still capture only basic data: when a learner started and finished a course, and their exam score. Missing are insights into practice attempts, common mistakes, or learning patterns.

Ideally, both instructors and learners should receive detailed reports, highlighting strengths and weaknesses in equal measure. Multiple goals and indicators can enrich the process, from gamified feedback to end-of-section summaries. Even repeated exams could highlight typical past mistakes, helping learners prepare more effectively.

The diversity of assessments – entry tests, practice questions, formative feedback – enables adaptive learning pathways. Beginners may need detailed guides and practice exercises, while advanced learners benefit from targeted focus on identified weaknesses. The biggest barrier to adaptive learning remains limited resources, which constrain how much branching and differentiation can be built into a course.

Designing training and selecting tools

Adult training is a creative field – no two courses are the same. But it is not easy: clients often don’t know what they want or what resources are needed. Gyöngyvér highlights the value of a coaching mindset when identifying needs. Training should begin with clarifying objectives: is the programme to be fully online, or blended? This decision alone can save significant effort.

Integration is also key. Most companies don’t want to replace existing systems, but to enhance them. HR systems, training administration, credit systems, even payroll integrations – these all add value. Reviewing past courses for strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities provides valuable data for new system design. Equally, roles and resources must be defined: which elements can be covered internally, and which require external support.

The future of adult training

The landscape of adult training in Hungary remains dynamic, but also heavily burdened by strict administration – intimidating for example in accreditation processes. Easing this will require trust, but as Gyöngyvér notes, while learners can still complete courses by “just clicking through,” regulators will remain cautious.

Training development is increasingly a team effort: beyond subject experts, projects now require managers, graphic designers, video producers, HR professionals, and many others. The success of a programme depends ever more on this collaborative effort.

Az asztaltársaság tagjai:

Gyöngyvér Vitéz – CEO, SkillDict Plc.; Educator, School Development Expert, Innovation Manager

Gyöngyvér is a training methodology specialist, institutional and process consultant, educational technologist, trainer, advisor, and certified business coach for both corporate teams and executives. She brings years of leadership experience and focuses on the psychology and methodology of teaching, as well as e-learning pedagogy. Her main interests include effective learning techniques, adult education, collaborative learning design, personalised and competence-based learning.

For decades she has worked in organisational development, institutional process consulting, and executive coaching. As CEO and professional lead of SkillDict Plc., she owns proprietary know-how and plays a central role in shaping and developing the SkillToolkit Live! Virtual Learning Environment. Her responsibilities include overseeing instructional design, leading the expert team that develops modular training programmes and digital learning tools, and ensuring quality assurance across all solutions.

Tamás Balázs Könczöl – Director of Development, SkillDict Plc.; Creator of SkillToolkit Live!

Tamás is an e-learning expert with more than 30 years’ experience across public education, vocational training, higher education, and adult learning. He contributed to the launch of Hungary’s national digital education development programme, leading it under six consecutive ministers. The programme received three international and four national awards.
Today he serves as Director of Development and Co-owner of SkillDict Plc., where he leads the design of SkillToolkit Live! – a knowledge management-based, competence-driven adaptive training and e-learning methodology, platform, and suite of digital tools. The SkillToolkit Live! platform enables companies and organisations to manage their e-learning, blended, and face-to-face training programmes quickly and cost-effectively – even without prior e-learning expertise.

Bertalan Péter Farkas, editor-in-chief and podcaster of Knowledge Hub podcast

Bertalan is a knowledge manager, consultant, trainer, and project manager – originally trained as a geography and history teacher. He provides global knowledge management support to leadership consultants, coaches, and international experts, while as an entrepreneur he advances educational development in Hungary and Europe.

After graduating in Geography and History at Eötvös Loránd University, he taught for several years, then joined state agencies (Educatio, EMET, Tempus). For nearly six years he headed the Knowledge Management Department at the Tempus Public Foundation. As Managing Director of Learnitect Design Ltd., he focuses on designing learning environments that foster knowledge transfer, developing online and offline training, creating community spaces, and managing international projects.

He first conceived the idea of the Knowledge Hub podcast in 2022, which became a reality in autumn 2023.