1:00 PM – 3:15 PMHands-on workshopLaptop required
Skills Workshop: Going Deeper with AI Tools — Advanced Prompting Techniques
This workshop is for professionals who are already comfortable using AI chatbots and want to get more out of them. The session will cover LLM foundations, personalization settings, projects/notebooks, Excel + AI, and practical wrap-up.
Expert leaders
- Zach Blattner
- Dr. Berkeley Almand-Hunter
Before you arrive
- Complete the pre-survey.
- Bring a charged laptop and charger.
- Make sure you have an enterprise or paid subscription to Claude, Copilot 365, or ChatGPT.
- Download and install the Excel plug-in for Claude or ChatGPT. Copilot 365 works automatically in Excel.
- Download the workshop files: Sample Sales Data, TRIAD Framework, and Project Proposal.
Replace the # links with the final survey and file URLs.
1:00 PM – 3:15 PMInteractive innovation workshop
IdeaJAM: Design Thinking and AI Integration with Slalom
IdeaJAM is a high-energy, interactive innovation workshop led by Northeastern University’s Roux Institute Entrepreneurship & Venture Creation team with Slalom. The group will tackle an identified challenge and move through a structured, design-driven process to generate practical, actionable solutions.
Best for
Attendees who want a collaborative, hands-on session focused on AI-enabled problem solving, innovation, and practical application.
Before you arrive
- Come ready to participate, share ideas, and work with others.
- No technical setup is required unless otherwise noted.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PMDiscussion
AI in Life Sciences & Health Care: Session 1
AI in Life Sciences and Health: Where We Are, What’s Working, and What Isn’t Ready Yet
A candid conversation about how organizations are using AI today, where they see opportunity, and where the technology is not yet ready for prime time. The session opens with a panel, followed by audience discussion.
Expert leaders
- Brendan Arbuckle, The Jackson Laboratory
- Sam Scarpino, Institute for Experiential AI
- Elena Brondolo, The Roux Institute
Before you arriveCome ready to participate in the discussion. No technical setup is required.
2:15 PM – 3:15 PMDiscussion
AI in Life Sciences & Health Care: Session 2
A second offering of the life sciences and health care discussion, giving more attendees a chance to join the conversation.
Expert leaders
- Brendan Arbuckle, The Jackson Laboratory
- Sam Scarpino, Institute for Experiential AI
- Elena Brondolo, The Roux Institute
- Matteo Chinazzi, Northeastern University
- Vivek Philip, The Jackson Laboratory
- Giovanna Guidoboni, University of Maine
Before you arriveCome ready to participate in the discussion. No technical setup is required.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PMInteractive lightning talks
Academic Research Lightning Talks: Session 1
Researchers will briefly introduce applied AI projects, then engage attendees in discussion around practical use cases, industry relevance, partnership opportunities, and business, public-sector, and community challenges.
Expert leaders
- Michael Pollastri, The Roux Institute
- Mahsan Nourani, Northeastern University
- Justin Dimmel, University of Maine
- Felipe Benavides, GMRI/Northeastern University
Before you arriveThink about challenges, workflows, or opportunities in your organization where applied AI research could help.
2:15 PM – 3:15 PMInteractive lightning talks
Academic Research Lightning Talks: Session 2
A second interactive session showcasing applied AI research and how it could connect to practical use cases, industry relevance, and partnership opportunities.
Expert leaders
- Michael Pollastri, The Roux Institute
- Saeed Amal, Northeastern University
Before you arriveThink about the applied AI questions your organization is exploring and where research partnerships could help.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PMOpen conversation
Climate, Sustainability, and AI: Session 1
A discussion and audience engagement-driven session on where AI can support climate, sustainability, resilience, energy, and operational decision-making.
Expert leaders
- Gerard Pozzi, The Roux Institute
- Laney Brown, Avangrid
- Lydia Covert, Unum
- Dan Koloski, Roux Institute
- Will Hewes, Amazon
Before you arriveThink about where sustainability, energy, resilience, reporting, or operational efficiency intersect with your AI questions.
2:15 PM – 3:15 PMOpen conversation
Climate, Sustainability, and AI: Session 2
A second offering of the climate, sustainability, and AI discussion session, with opportunities to ask questions, weigh in, and connect directly with speakers.
Expert leaders
- Gerard Pozzi, The Roux Institute
- Laney Brown, Avangrid
- Lydia Covert, Unum
- Dan Koloski, Roux Institute
- Will Hewes, Amazon
Before you arriveBring your questions and examples from sustainability, reporting, resilience, energy, infrastructure, or operations.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PMPublic sector
Municipal Innovation with AI: Session 1
A discussion-focused session for municipal, public-sector, community, and civic leaders exploring how AI may support local government operations, service delivery, planning, resident engagement, and workforce capacity.
Before you arriveCome ready to share where your municipality, department, or community organization is seeing pressure, including staffing, communications, data, service delivery, reporting, or resident support.
2:15 PM – 3:15 PMPublic sector
Municipal Innovation with AI: Session 2
A second opportunity to join the municipal innovation discussion and explore where local governments may need clearer guidance, support, and guardrails around AI.
Before you arriveThink about one municipal challenge where AI might help and one place where guidance or risk management feels especially important.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PMIntroductory to intermediateGeneral audience
AI Agents in Action
This practical session introduces agentic AI and what makes an AI system “agentic.” Attendees will see real-world use cases and walk through an example agentic workflow.
Expert leader
- Omer Alis, Director, AI Solutions Hub, Northeastern University
Before you arriveNo coding experience is required. Review the preparation guide before attending.
2:15 PM – 3:15 PMTechnical audienceLive build
Coding Agents in Action
This technical session shows how a coding agent can be used to build a non-trivial use case live. Attendees will see how coding agents can accelerate development and help create practical agentic workflows.
Expert leader
- Omer Alis, Director, AI Solutions Hub, Northeastern University
Before you arriveThis session is best for developers, low-code/no-code builders, and technically curious practitioners. Review the preparation guide before attending.