More than 200 people filled the Medical Properties Trust Commons October 17 for the 3rd Annual IS Tech Expo at the UAB Collat School of Business. The event, which focused on the progressive use of artificial intelligence by Birmingham businesses, connected business students with information systems professionals while raising $11,000 for student scholarships.
“It was an inspiring event for Birmingham’s technology community,” said IS professor Sam Thompson, Ph.D., one of the event's organizers. “Students were able to meet with local tech leaders and glean helpful insights from them, all with the goal of propelling UAB and Birmingham forward.”
Collat’s Information Systems Advisory Council and the Department of Management, Information Systems & Quantitative Methods and Graduate School of Management hosted the expo, which featured a mixer with nearly 50 working professionals and 150 students followed by a panel discussion.
Students learned how local tech companies are implementing AI and addressing the burgeoning technology’s benefits and challenges during a panel discussion with panelists Jason Johnson, CIO of Southern Research Institute; Kim Sorrell, Director of Information Management at Southern Company; and Yogesh Harsh, SVP, Enterprise Architecure Group Manager at Regions Bank. Online UAB students were able to watch the discussion online and ask questions.
Event sponsors enjoyed a reception immediately following the panel.
“We want to thank the companies that stepped up to sponsor the event and contribute their experiences to the panel session,” said IS professor Sam Goh, Ph.D., an event organizer. “It was a pleasure to see our students networking with these companies and learning more about how AI will impact them when they enter the workforce.”
The 2024 IS Tech Expo sponsors included:
Gold Sponsors:
- Hibbett City Gear*
- Obsidian Security
- Southern Company
Silver Sponsors:
- American Cast Iron Pipe Company*
- BlueCross/BlueShield of Alabama
- Dynics
- ITAC Solutions
- KEYSYS*
- Paradign Technology
- Regions Bank
- Sigao Studios*
- Southern Research Institute*
- sparkhound*
- White Oak Solutions
* Plankowners, a sponsor of the inaugural IS Tech Expo