Widener AI Day Showcases AI Exploration and Education

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Widener AI Day Showcases AI Exploration and Education

Widener hosted the university's first "AI Day" to engage students, faculty and staff in meaningful conversation, exploration and education about artificial intelligence through hands-on workshops, a keynote address and more.

"What we really wanted to do is create an opportunity for faculty, staff, and students to come together to start talking about AI and the effects it's going to have on education and the workforce of the future," said Thomas Wilk, assistant professor of philosophy and co-chair of the Widener AI working group. "AI Day is really focused on critical AI literacy and ensuring we know how these tools work, their limitations, challenges and what opportunities they can provide us with."

The keynote address featured Amanda Bickerstaff, co-founder and CEO of AI for Education, which works with academic institutions on responsible AI adoption and training. Her talk was made possible through the Beideman Visiting Scholar Program generously funded by Widener Board of Trustees Chair Paul Beideman '79 '14H and his wife, Caroline Beideman.

Bickerstaff brought her 20 years of experience in the education industry to cover current events and the future of AI in education, AI literacy and ethical usage, and how educators and students can prepare for more AI integration with the classroom of tomorrow.

"We are living through an inflection point that is probably most similar to the industrial revolution," said Bickerstaff. "ChatGPT is the fastest growing consumer technology by a magnitude. This is an opportunity for students, staff and faculty to talk to each other."

Bickerstaff also led several hands-on workshops throughout the day, focused on using generative AI tools. Attendees learned about the many generative AI tools available and a little about how to use them. She showcased the history of AI and machine learning, effective prompt writing, and the power of AI creativity.

"Certainly, our students are using [AI] and some of them are doing it in really interesting and creative ways," said Wilk, who brings AI into his classes helping to prepare students for effective, ethical and appropriate uses of the technology. "I introduce all of my students in each class to AI and talk about when it's acceptable and when it's not for my classes."

Vitoria Dos Santos '27 attended one of these workshops to hone her AI skills and put them to use right away.
"One of the main ways I use [AI] is whenever I have a test I have it make me a study guide, so I know where to start," said Dos Santos. "I learned that I can just talk to AI like a person and there's a little bit more depth to it than I realized."

In addition to Bickerstaff's keynote and workshops, the day featured panel discussions with industry professionals and university alumni covering topics such as the advantages of AI in business processes and public relations, and AI in the field of engineering.

Joe Viscuso (left) and Dave Darji (right)

Widener alums Joe Viscuso '73 and Dave Darji '15 spoke with attendees about how AI is shaping their personal and professional lives. The two brought examples from their lives and careers showcasing how AI is changing the engineering industry.

"My personal [interest in AI] really came down to an inherent curiosity. That's part of being an engineer is just having an inherent curiosity to see the new things and embrace new technology," said Darji, an electrical engineering graduate currently working as an engineering and design manager for PECO. "Professionally, the utility industry has generally lagged in technology advances. There's a level of expectation that our customers have, and we want to be able to service that. AI has really helped us look at how we can really dive in."

Viscuso, civil engineering alumnus and director of strategic growth at Pennoni, shared how the company is using AI to help their clients make objective decisions for allocating funds to projects such as road construction.

Viscuso, who previously taught as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Engineering, was happy to bring this real-world application to the day.

"AI has the ability to take what is subjective and make it objective, and I think that's really an advantage," Viscuso said. "It can be difficult to keep up with the technology from the academic side, but as an adjunct we see and touch it every day, so I thought this was a great way to bring the technology to students."
Overall, the two alumni shared the same words of wisdom to students: embrace the technology and learn how to use it effectively and ethically.

"It's going to be a very rapid growth in terms of where AI and technology in general is going to take us. I think it's very exciting! I can't even predict where we're going to be five years from now in terms of the changes that are going to occur," said Viscuso.

Trigg Watson performing with an audience volunteer

Magician Trigg Watson brought his exciting "Magic of the Future" act to campus to build buzz around AI and the event. Known for his appearances on "America's Got Talent," Watson mixed AI technology and classic street magic for a unique experience.

The day ended with crowning student winners for the AI Day 2025 competition. Students were encouraged to submit unique and creative ways they use AI technology with prizes available for winners.

Widener is a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities' Institute on AI, Pedagogy, and the Curriculum. Wilk, along with Provost Andrew Workman and other faculty and staff, have been bringing what they learn back to campus.

"None of us know where AI is going or how exactly we're going to get there, but there are a few things I would like to see us do here at Widener," explained Wilk. "Our guiding light is first, that we want students to be prepared to enter a world where this is the workforce of the future. And second, to empower faculty to make the changes that we need to make. We want to put faculty into a position to start thinking really carefully to ensure we're preparing students."

Check out all that AI Day had to offer: