ALEXANDRIA, La. – Louisiana State University of Alexandria (LSUA) hosted its first Artificial Intelligence Summit, welcoming more than 200 participants from across central Louisiana for a full day of hands-on learning, collaboration, and innovation.

Hosted by LSUA Continuing Education and the LSUA Division of Academic Affairs, the summit brought together small business owners, educators, nonprofit leaders, manufacturing leaders, and public service professionals to explore how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of work across industries. Attendees engaged directly with real-world AI tools, participated in guided exercises, and developed practical strategies they can immediately apply within their organizations.

As the leading higher education institution in the region, LSUA is committed to serving as a regional resource for workforce development, equipping professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate rapidly evolving technological landscapes.

“This summit represents exactly what LSUA strives to be for central Louisiana,” said LSUA Chancellor Paul Coreil. “We are a public institution that exists to serve our community, and that means helping businesses, educators, and organizations understand and apply emerging technologies like artificial intelligence in meaningful, practical ways.”

Participants represented a wide cross-section of the regional economy, including manufacturing, healthcare, technology, education, and small business sectors. The diversity of attendees underscored the growing relevance of AI across all industries and the importance of accessible, applied training opportunities.

The summit featured keynote presentations from two leading voices in Louisiana’s innovation ecosystem. Tony Zanders, President and CEO of Nexus Louisiana, shared insights on building talent pipelines and advancing digital skills to support economic growth. Noah Deshotel, Founder and CEO of Subterra Technologies, highlighted how artificial intelligence is being used to improve operations, enhance decision-making, and scale organizations through applied machine learning and automation.

Throughout the day, attendees participated in a series of breakout sessions designed to translate complex AI concepts into practical applications. Sessions included topics such as integrating AI into small business operations, leveraging AI tools in classroom settings, improving efficiency in public service organizations, and building workflows using automation and generative AI platforms. Each session emphasized hands-on engagement, ensuring participants left with actionable tools, templates, and strategies.

Liz Beard, LSUA Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, noted the importance of connecting academic expertise with real-world application, saying, “Artificial intelligence is no longer a future concept. It is a present-day tool that is reshaping industries. LSUA is proud to create opportunities like this summit where learning is practical, accessible, and directly connected to the needs of our community.”

The success of the inaugural summit was made possible through the support of regional partners and sponsors, including Walker Automotive Group, Southern Chevrolet, Business Acceleration System, the Central Louisiana Regional Chamber of Commerce, LSUA’s Division of Academic Affairs, and Delta Engineering Group.

LSUA Continuing Education is also grateful for the contributions of the summit’s steering committee, whose leadership and collaboration were instrumental in bringing the event to life: Alisha Ferrington, Kayla Johnson, Rafael Romero, Jay Callegari, Nathan Sammons, Prakash Ghimire, Tanya Lueder, and Adam Lord.

To find more public learning opportunities at LSUA, visit: www.lsua.edu/academics/continuing-education.

A group of people sitting in a room looking at a screen.

 

Written by Adam Lord

Photo credit – Adam Lord

Source link