By Élise Fenwick
Do you ever wonder what the future of education will look like?
Picture a room buzzing with energy: industry leaders sharing cutting-edge AI applications, students debating ethical considerations and professors showcasing how AI is revolutionizing their classrooms. This peephole into a future of AI-driven education was brought to life in February at the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Bob Gaglardi School of Business and Economics 2025 AI Summit.
Adina Gray, a TRU Gaglardi instructor and a driving force behind the summit, described the spark that ignited this year’s event, which focused on Generative AI’s Role in Education, Business and Society.
“The TRU Gaglardi AI Summit grew out of the 2024 AI Symposium which focused on AI for teaching and research,” Gray said.
“We wanted to take it a step further and bring in business leaders who can talk about the impact of AI on industry and the workplace. The Gaglardi teaching and learning committee and the GenAI Innovators Group saw the need for a larger conversation about AI and how it’s changing education, business and society.”
AI, more than buzz in the classroom
AI is no longer some futuristic concept; it’s reshaping everything from how we learn to how businesses operate.
With over 100 Canadian universities and colleges using AI tools in some part of their curriculum, it’s clear that AI is non-negotiable in the university experience. In fact, about 54 per cent of Canadian students expect their university to offer AI support tools.
Building on the 2024 TRU Gaglardi AI Summit, Gray says the main goals of the 2025 summit included showing faculty how to integrate AI into their teaching and helping students understand how AI is actively shaping their future careers.
“We wanted people to leave with a clearer picture of what AI means for them, rather than just seeing it as a buzzword,” Gray saids.
More than mere musings, the summit was packed with real examples of how AI is being used in higher education.
Jeff Kent, TRU accounting instructor and part of the summit’s faculty showcase, provided functional, in-class examples of how he is using AI in the classroom.
“I included AI in an assignment in my intermediate class. It’s pretty clear to me the accountant of the future has to not only know all of the accounting rules, but also how to supplement them with AI by letting it do the mundane, easy stuff. It’s a new way of teaching and TRU is not just sitting, they jumped right into it . . . to stay ahead of the curve,” Kent said.
Students using AI
Students shared their experiences with AI during the Students and AI: Experiences and Perspectives panel discussion. MBA student and panel participant Madhurima Das had been incorporating AI in her assignments but felt some professors were not encouraging student use of AI.
“Inside this summit, I got a totally different view. It made me believe that we are in good shape and TRU is on the right path,” she said.
TRU offers resources to students helping ensure they are using AI responsibly and with integrity. The library also created Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Students to help students critically evaluate, acknowledge and cite generative AI content.
“AI is the future,” Das said. “But we do need to think ahead of AI so we are using it to do our studies and assignments better.”
Gaglardi graduate student and panel participant Robert Odek, echoed Das’s sentiment, explaining that students lacking AI experience will not be properly prepared for the future workforce.
“As we finish our studies, you’ll realize that when you come out into the real world, you’ll see they use AI. If you haven’t studied AI in school, there will be a gap,” said Odek.
The summit presented some bona fide examples of how understanding and integrating AI brought positive change to local businesses.
AI at work in business
Industry leaders like the executive director of Central Interior Business Accelerator, Michael Andrews, gave insights to the summit that gave perspective to AI’s practical applications.
“Our panel presentation focused on our project from last year that supported small businesses in the Kamloops region in learning about and adopting artificial intelligence into their business workflows,” Andrews said.
Highlighting the experience of one client who integrated AI tools — which led to 100 hours saved per month and more time to focus on strategic growth activities — Andrews said his intention at the summit was to highlight the challenges of adopting new AI technologies.
“This field is constantly evolving, which can be overwhelming. Despite the complexity, there are still opportunities to find a starting point.”
That starting point? Currently at TRU, it’s about integrating AI into the classroom responsibly so students and faculty can not only learn from it, but also prepare themselves for a future that guarantees its inclusion.
“AI isn’t just a tool for the future,” Gray says. “It’s here now and it’s up to us to shape how we use it responsibly and creatively.”
While talking about AI was the focus of the Gaglardi AI Summit, TRU is forging forward, past discussion and onto shaping how AI is used in higher education.
