Save the Date!
The next Future Readiness Workshop for Faculty will be held on August 8, 2024!
The first Future Readiness Workshop for Faculty was held on January 26, 2024 at Penn State New Kensington. The event topic was Artificial Intelligence (AI) and how it is changing (and will continue to change) the educational landscape. Attendees of this free, one-day event:
- Learned from an exciting keynote speaker, Dr. Jeffrey Cole,Research Professor and Director of the Center for the Digital Future at USC Annenberg School of Communication, about the broader implications of AI across all academic disciplines;
- Participated in one of two workshops that will took a deeper dive into AI in business and industry to find out what students will face now and after graduation (one workshop will focus on social sciences and humanities, and the other will focus on STEM-related fields);
- Networked with colleagues from across the region's colleges and universities; and
- Enjoyed a complimentary lunch.
Individuals attended the event at NO COST thanks to the project being part of the SWPA New Economy Collaborative funded by a Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant.
This event is open to all full-time and part-time faculty members from colleges, universities and post-secondary institutions in Southwestern PA.
January 2024 Workshop Keynote Speaker:
About the Keynote Speaker's Presentation from Dr. Cole:
Disruption comes from completely unexpected places and turns the traditional ways of doing things upside down. Many industries and institutions do not survive disruption because they do not understand what is happening to them and how to respond, but most often businesses and institutions can survive if they quickly recognize the threat and their own vulnerabilities in order to avoid making poor decisions. Now, artificial intelligence (AI) is on the verge of becoming the most disruptive change of all time; everything and everyone will be affected. It is essential that citizens, industry executives and political leaders focus on the nature of AI's looming threat to their ways of doing business. Using case studies, this talk will look at ways to recognize imminent disruption and to effectively take action before enormous, sometimes existential damage occurs. Moving beyond past disruption, it will look at AI and the 2024 landscape to see which fears are supported by facts and how to recognize both the threat and the opportunity. Faculty and administrators will come away from the talk understanding past mistakes leaders have made in dealing with disruptive risks and how they can be ready for anything that comes and even make it work to their advantage.
January 2024 Workshop Presenters:
- Camille Dempsey, Coordinator - M.Ed. Advanced Study Program in Educational Technology and Online Teaching and Associate Professor of Middle and Secondary Education at Pennsylvania Western University
- Camille will be leading a workshop on the fundamental evolution of artificial intelligence in higher education and sharing ideas for humanities areas, along with tools and strategies for leveraging AI.
- Jay Burns, Associate Professor and Director of the Masters in Science for IT Management and Chair of the Department of Technology, Analytics, and Mathematics in the School of Business at Seton Hill University
- Jay will be leading a workshop on the impact of AI in STEM-related disciplines. Come away from this session with a deeper understanding of AI and ideas for implementing AI projects with your students.