Estu and AXA Health named finalists in two British Culture Awards

Estu and AXA Health are celebrating recognition for their innovative approach to training design that has created the impactful Systems Thinking Academy. Developing in-house skills to drive AXA HealthsHealth's’ transformation agenda and enabled by new technology. This has been shortlisted for both the Business Transformation Award and the Talent Strategy & Capability Award at the British Culture Awards 2026.

Together Estu and AXA Health have been named finalists in two categories at this year’s British Culture Awards, recognising the impact of the Systems Thinking Academy and the partnership behind it.

The Academy has been shortlisted for:

• Business Transformation Award  

• Talent Strategy & Capability Award  

Co-designed by AXA Health and Estu, the Systems Thinking Academy was created to build transformation capability from within the organisation, combining Level 6 learning with live business challenges.

Rather than separating learning from the work it is designed to influence, the Academy embeds new skills directly into AXA Health’s transformation agenda. Learners apply service design, systems thinking, leadership and change capabilities to real organisational priorities, building capability while delivering measurable impact.  

The results have been significant. Outcomes submitted to the awards include reductions in customer waiting times, cycle times and errors, alongside increased adoption of transformation initiatives. The programme has also delivered strong people outcomes, with  strong learner retention and many of participants securing promotions during the programme.  

Simon Littlewood, CEO of Estu, said:

“This recognition means a great deal as further validation of Estu’s innovative approach to training design and building the capability to lead change from within organisations.

The partnership with AXA Health has allowed us to design around real organisational priorities, giving people the confidence, capability and opportunity to apply new thinking directly at work. To see that approach recognised across both business transformation and talent strategy is something we are incredibly proud of.”

The shortlist reflects a partnership built around a shared ambition to make capability development part of transformation itself. The Academy has grown into a multi-cohort, multi-year programme, with AXA leaders describing Systems Thinking as a growing “movement” within the organisation.  

Winners will be announced at the British Culture Awards on 25 November 2026 at the InterContinental London Park Lane.

Congratulations to the AXA Health and Estu teams, learners and everyone involved in building the Academy.

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