Charlotte Prepares The Next Generation With AI Summit for Smarter Learning
UNC Charlotte faculty and staff capped the 2024-25 academic year by participating in and learning from the third annual AI Summit for Smarter Learning offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning.
The summit, titled “Shaping Next-Generation Learning Experiences with Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools,” was held at The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City. Focusing on human-AI partnerships in teaching and learning, it offered a full day of presentations, workshops and hands-on opportunities for faculty — AI novices and experienced users alike — expressing the University’s leadership in the use of artificial intelligence for teaching and learning success.
Registrations, which totaled nearly 300, doubled that of the 2024 AI summit. Notably, 150 faculty from all academic colleges and 90 departments, more than 100 staff, and nearly 30 students and alumni participated. Similarly, presentation proposals were submitted at twice the rate of previous years, contributing to a robust, well-rounded agenda.
“The faculty and staff participating in the AI Summit displayed a commitment to thoughtful, responsible and ethical AI integration that supports teaching and learning in meaningful ways,” said Jennifer Troyer, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “It’s our responsibility to prepare the next generation of thinkers and leaders. That starts with understanding how students are using AI now and how we can help them leverage it for their learning in ways that support human collaboration, critical thinking and creativity.”
Among key highlights were panel discussions that offered a variety of perspectives on AI from campus and industry leaders:
- “Leading the AI Transformation: Campus Leaders on Strategy and What’s Next,” featured leaders from the divisions of academic affairs, OneIT, research and business affairs as well as the recently established AI Institute who outlined Charlotte’s direction for comprehensive institutional AI integration.
- During “From Classroom to Career: Navigating AI Skills for the Next-Generation Workforce,” industry experts from Microsoft, Apple, Bank of America and Lumen Learning shared insights about the importance of new graduates’ readiness to embrace AI in the workplace.
- “AI Faculty Task Force Perspectives on College-Level Needs and Future Directions,” showcased AI Task Force members from J. Murrey Atkins Library and the colleges of computing and informatics, education, engineering, science, and humanities & earth and social sciences who discussed ways to optimize the use of AI across disciplines.
The plenary and keynote addresses, delivered by Mike Carlin, CIO, vice chancellor for OneIT and chief university innovation and process officer, and David Wiley, chief academic officer for Lumen Learning, a producer of digital courseware, teaching resources and professional development tools, provided, respectively, a framework for AI use in regard to IT infrastructure for continued growth, and guidance regarding the introduction of new tools for teaching and learning:
- Carlin’s “Unstoppable AI: Where are We Headed,” outlined Charlotte’s embrace of artificial intelligence, led by guiding principles that cover concepts ranging from ethical use, privacy and data protection, transparency and more.
- “Designing More Effective and Ethical Learning Experiences with AI,” presented by Wiley, covered the evolving state of AI and higher education, and emphasized that foundational approaches to teaching and learning remain intact with new ways to enhance student learning.
Back by popular demand were “lightning sessions,” 15-minute presentations by faculty members that captured the lessons they’d learned using AI as part of their coursework, labs and assessments. Attendees chose from 25 lighting sessions and workshops on AI curriculum, disciplinary use cases, research, ethics and productivity.
New to this year’s summit was AI storytelling, highlighting the lived experiences of faculty users of AI. This complemented the work of the AI Faculty Fellows who gathered and edited AI use cases in the Spring semester prior to the summit.
Jennifer Adelhardt, adjunct professor, Belk College of Business, described her experience this way, “I shared how introducing generative AI tools in my undergraduate classroom transformed resume reviews and interview prep into powerful, curiosity-driven learning experiences. Spoiler alert: The magic wasn’t in the AI. It came from curiosity and play, in the questions students asked, the way they crafted their prompts and how they learned to collaborate with the tools to gain meaningful, usable insights.”