Ready, Set, Prompt: OSU celebrates possibility and innovation with AI Week
The excitement is palpable as Oregon State University prepares to kick off AI Week @ OSU on Monday, with a series of events exploring the limitless potential of artificial intelligence to celebrate OSU’s commitment to the ethical and innovative use of AI in higher education. While AI may not be a new concept — logician Alan Turing’s theoretical work in the 1930s is largely considered its conception — we continue to approach it in new and innovative ways that push the boundaries of what’s possible. AI Week @ OSU brings together the OSU community and leading industry partners to dive into the wide world of AI with presentations, workshops, and hands-on experience.
Building on the success and momentum of AI Week 2024, a dedicated AI Planning Committee has developed a robust schedule of events and opportunities that spotlight how AI can transform the student, faculty teaching, research, and employee experience across higher education. Key industry partners will share their expertise, knowledge, and aspirations in AI: Microsoft and NVIDIA will return to the Corvallis campus and be joined by Workday, ServiceNow, Dell, Deloitte, Zoom, Intel, Info-Tech, Mark III Systems, Google Cloud, and Amazon Web Services.
Join us for AI Week from April 28 to May 2!
The AI Week Planning Committee is eager to welcome the community for the 47 events planned throughout the week, being hosted both virtually and in person on the Corvallis campus. In anticipation, the co-chairs shared what excites them most about AI Week:
“I’m excited about so many things. The technology is changing so quickly, it’s hard to keep up, so I’m excited to hear from experts about the latest in where AI is going and how we are integrating it into our workflows at OSU. I’m also really interested to hear perspectives on AI from people across the university, particularly on topics like ethics, creativity, and societal impacts. There’s so much to discuss!”
— Inara Scott, Senior Associate Dean, College of Business and Student Track Chair
“For AI Week at OSU, I am most excited to shine a light on innovative teachers, researchers, and students at OSU who are blazing a path forward by experimenting with and asking critical questions about the role of generative AI in the work of higher education. We have leaders right here on our campus who will be sharing their ideas, assignments, and strategies for working with AI. It’s a great opportunity to learn from our peers and be reminded of the wealth of resources we have within our own university community.
Of course, I am especially excited about the series of sessions focused on faculty teaching: the line-up for that track includes a mix of sessions, some that would support faculty new to experimenting with AI and others that are showing some of the more advanced ways teachers at OSU are using AI in their courses to enhance student learning. I’m also glad to see sessions throughout the week focused on ethics--a topic that comes up often when I talk with OSU faculty about their concerns and interests about engaging with AI.
I’m looking forward to an energizing week with lots of opportunities to learn, share, and celebrate the creative approaches to AI happening at OSU!”
— Ashley Holmes, Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning and Faculty Teaching Track Chair
“I’m thrilled about our second annual AI Week event! This year, we’re seeing an increase in strategic industry partners who will be sharing their expertise alongside our campus experts. We’ve focused on providing hands-on opportunities to leverage AI, moving away from theory to offer more practical learning experiences.”
— Sam Williams, Executive Director for Business Architecture, UIT, and Employee and Community Track Co-Chair
“For fun, I asked Copilot to answer this question. Here was the answer: ‘Personally, I’m most excited about the Copilot Prompt-A-Thons hosted by Microsoft. These sessions offer hands-on opportunities to explore AI tools and applications, which can be incredibly insightful and practical for both students and professionals.
Additionally, the AI with NVIDIA event promises to be a highlight, showcasing cutting-edge AI technologies and their real-world applications. The combination of workshops, demonstrations, and talks from industry leaders makes this week a fantastic opportunity for learning and networking.’
For a human answer, I’m looking forward to the Women in IT/Women in Cybersecurity Club event, Protecting the Future: AI in Cybersecurity. I’m also looking forward to the Lightning Talks — it will be great to hear from the community!”
— Kirsten Petersen, Director, UIT Service Desk and Employee and Community Track Co-Chair
“In the College of Earth, Ocean, & Atmospheric Sciences we are very excited to have Brent Leback, the co-creator of CUDA Fortran, here to give a Keynote talk at the end of OSU AI Week. Our college uses lots of tools and runs many simulations that still leverage Fortran, and it’s exciting to see how we can move these to GPU-based technologies.
I am also very excited to see some of the cool new technology coming forward, like the Dell Digital Assistant that is interactive and will answer questions through a verbal conversation. This demo will be shown on Tuesday outside the NVIDIA workshops in the MU and Wednesday through Friday at the Alumni Center.”
— Christopher Sullivan, Director of Research and Academic Computing, College of Earth, Ocean, & Atmospheric Sciences, and Faculty Research Track Chair
