ABOUT
Join a growing international community
Leadership in Design is a two-day, in-person conference that brings together experienced educators and school leaders working in Design, Innovation, STEAM, and maker-centered learning environments.
Hosted in 2026 at the American School of Warsaw’s Design Center, the conference creates space for meaningful professional dialogue, practical idea sharing, and genuine community connection. This is not an introductory event. Leadership in Design is designed for educators already building and leading programs who want to deepen their practice, exchange ideas, and explore the future of design education together.
The conference includes informal presentations, roundtable conversations, hands-on workshops, collaborative discussions, and opportunities for attendees to share their own work and experiences with the community. Sessions focus on real challenges and practical approaches connected to student engagement, authentic learning, program development, emerging technologies, sustainability, assessment, and interdisciplinary learning across grade levels.
More than a traditional conference, Leadership in Design is a gathering of educators who believe design education can play a transformative role in schools and who value learning through open conversation, collaboration, and shared experience.
Join a growing international community helping shape the future of Design, Innovation, STEAM, and maker education.
Who Should Attend
This conference is designed for educators who are already working in design and want to deepen their practice.
If you are looking for meaningful professional dialogue rather than introductory sessions, this gathering is for you.
Design teachers
Makers of all kinds
Innovation and STEAM coordinators
School leaders developing or expanding design programs
AREAS OF FOCUS
Design Curriculum
Discussing innovative approaches to structuring and evolving design curricula to meet contemporary educational and industry needs.
Technical Skills
Examining the key creative, technical, and critical thinking skills students need to succeed in design practice.
Tools and Equipment
Investigating the role of traditional and emerging tools, technologies, and workshop equipment in supporting effective design learning.
Safety
Exploring strategies for integrating safety awareness and responsible practice into design education environments.
Community
Highlighting the importance of collaboration, networking, and community engagement in enriching design education.
About hosting School
American School of Warsaw
Leadership in Design 2026 will be hosted at the American School of Warsaw (ASW), one of the most dynamic international schools in Europe. Built on over a decade of program development, ASW’s Design program is housed in one of the largest school-based Design Centers in Europe, part of a recently completed campus redesign.
The 1100m² facility includes dedicated upper school spaces for woodworking, robotics, textiles and fashion, digital design, and advanced manufacturing. At the elementary level, initiatives include the Early Years Workshop, a dedicated design space, and mobile maker carts that extend learning across classrooms.
Learn alongside ASW’s experienced Design faculty, explore a program built over years of thoughtful growth, share your experience and Design journey and become part of a global community of Design educators.
1100
square meter
facility
K-12
Pre-K through
grade 12
73
Years of
Excellence
Head of Design, ASW
Adam Campbell
Adam Campbell is the Head of Design at the American School of Warsaw and the founder of Leadership in Design, a global conference connecting educators who are building meaningful, future-focused Design programs in schools around the world.
Over the past decade, Adam has led the development of one of the most respected school Design programs in Europe. What began as a small initiative has grown into ASW’s 1,100m² Design Center, a dynamic learning environment that places creativity, problem-solving, craftsmanship, technology, and student agency at the center of school life. The program spans robotics, woodworking, textiles, advanced manufacturing, programming, product design, and interdisciplinary STEAM learning.
With more than 25 years in education, Adam specializes in creating Design programs that connect students to authentic challenges and meaningful community impact. His work emphasizes hands-on learning, empathy, sustainability, and the application of Design Thinking to real-world problems. Before Warsaw, he developed the Design program at the American Cooperative School of Tunis and has since consulted with international schools across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Adam believes great Design education is about far more than tools or technology. At its best, it helps students become more capable, creative, resilient, and connected to the world around them. Through Leadership in Design, he hopes to bring together educators who are pushing the boundaries of what Design learning can look like in schools and creating programs that genuinely matter to students and their communities.
