The Academy for Travel (AFT), an online learning platform designed for the corporate travel sector, officially launched on October 29, 2026, at ICC Sydney. Founded by Peter Harbison, Derek Sadubin, and Jamie Harbison, the platform offers self-paced courses authored by seasoned industry practitioners.
Extension of FACTS Conference Learning into Continuous Education
AFT was created to extend the insights shared at the annual FACTS Conference into year-round professional development. The FACTS event, held at ICC Sydney, is known as the region’s leading business travel and events expo and typically attracts travel buyers, management companies, suppliers, and technology providers. The platform invites FACTS speakers to develop courses, ensuring the knowledge
exchange continues beyond the two-day conference.
Mini-MBA: Corporate Travel in Australia as Flagship Course
The flagship program on the platform is the Mini-MBA: Corporate Travel in Australia. It consists of 10 modules covering over 13 hours of learning content that address corporate travel’s economic, operational, and strategic aspects in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The course curriculum includes travel management company operations, procurement processes, airline revenue management, distribution technology, duty of care, sustainability, data analytics, and the future corporate travel landscape through 2035.
The Mini-MBA is taught by co-founders Peter Harbison and Derek Sadubin, alongside Virginia Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of Partnership Travel Consulting and a FACTS advisory board
member with more than 25 years of industry experience. The platform also offers regional editions of the Mini-MBA for New Zealand, the UK, and the USA, plus a buyer-focused version designed for Australian procurement teams.
Additional Courses, AI Support, and Dynamic Content Updates
Beyond the Mini-MBA, AFT provides courses such as Scaling AI in Corporate Travel for Travel Management Companies and specialist courses in logistics for international yacht racing and Formula 1 events. Additional courses covering GDS distribution and the New Distribution Capability (NDC) for travel managers are in development. Learners on the platform receive support from Sofia, an AI learning assistant integrated to aid their progress.
Responding
to rapid industry shifts driven by evolving technologies like agentic AI and changing procurement and traveler expectations, the Academy’s courses are dynamically updated to maintain current relevance.
Details of FACTS 2026 Event and Delegate Offer
FACTS 2026 is scheduled for November 25 to 26, 2026, at ICC Sydney. The event is projected to gather more than 2,000 attendees, 150 exhibitors, and 200 speakers across eight stages, all without sponsored content. Delegates attending FACTS 2026 can access all Academy for Travel courses at a 50% discount until midnight AEDT on November 26, 2026.
This discount includes the Mini-MBA: Corporate Travel in Australia, reduced to A$497.50 from A$995 for the
duration of the conference.
Industry Leaders Endorse Continued Professional Development
Derek Sadubin, co-founder of the Academy, described the platform as an important new initiative that offers short-course training accessible to both newcomers and long-time professionals in corporate travel, emphasizing the flexibility to learn at one’s own pace. Peter Harbison cited the platform’s origin in the FACTS Conference and the lack of existing comprehensive products covering all complex and rapidly changing parts of the travel industry.
Virginia Fitzpatrick called the Academy a necessary professional resource addressing the gap in structured development pathways amid growing educational demands in corporate travel. She emphasized that the industry has lacked a
dedicated training platform despite the increasing entry and progression of talented professionals.
Corporate Travel Education Adapting to Industry Shifts
Corporate travel continues to evolve with advancements in agentic AI technologies and shifting standards in procurement and traveler requirements. The Academy for Travel provides a responsive educational ecosystem allowing travel managers, buyers, suppliers, and industry entrants to maintain professional readiness through consistent, up-to-date learning materials.
By transforming the two-day FACTS Conference expertise into ongoing, flexible online courses, the Academy addresses the demand for continuous knowledge beyond annual events, supporting professionals in a complex and changing market.
