Highlights from the Successful 2023 AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference

Florida International University in Miami, FL, USA hosted the first in-person AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference since 2019. Held March 30 – April 1, more than 180 students and faculty members representing 25 universities from three countries registered for the conference.

The undergraduate and masters students participated in competitions with topics including artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cybersecurity, analytics, supply chain logistics, and smart cities. During the conference, students had the opportunity to attend peer-led leadership and technical workshops as well as a panel discussion on Microsoft Women in STEM. Faculty advisors in attendance had the opportunity to participate in a faculty advisor workshop on Analytics Simulation and Simternships.   

Dr. Gladys Simpson, FIU Conference Organizer and Dr. Alex Barsi Lopes, Associate VP of AIS Student Chapters

"We extend our heartfelt thanks to the team at Florida International University, including staff, sponsors, and student volunteers for hosting an exceptional conference! We eagerly anticipate our 2023 online conference and next year's in-person AIS Student Chapter Leadership Conference, hosted by Utah State University," said Dr. Alex Barsi Lopes, Associate Vice President of AIS Student Chapters.

The winners of the six competitions are:  

Recent developments in Artificial intelligence (AI) tools make it possible for them to be used to support data analysis in a variety of ways allowing analysts to spend more time on higher-level tasks such as interpretation and visualization of the data. The AI-Assisted Analytics Challenge encouraged students to rely on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support analysis of the FDA data about drug approvals in order to identify major trends and derive useful insights. The winning teams were:

• First Place: Brigham Young University
• Second Place: Florida International University
• Third Place: Auburn University

The Blockchain Renewable Energy Challenge encouraged students to design a peer-to-peer energy marketplace using smart contracts, smart meters and renewable energy suppliers. The marketplace would enable the energy producer to sell energy directly to the consumer or will enable a buyer to resell excess energy purchased downstream to other customers. The winning teams were:

• First Place: Brigham Young University
• Second Place: Florida International University

The Cybersecurity Challenge encouraged students to design a budget for a cybersecurity function (people, process, technology) that suffices for protecting against common and anticipated cybersecurity threats and that considers regulatory compliance requirements. The plan should consider the needs after the EMR-Cloud migration. The winning teams were:

• First Place: Brigham Young University
• Second Place: Utah State University
• Third Place: University of Georgia

The aim of the FedEx Latin America Customer Satisfaction Analytics Challenge was to examine Business to Business (B2B) transactions to uncover potential factors that affect customer satisfaction and their decision to continue doing business with FedEx Latin America or its providers. The winning teams were:

• First Place: Temple University
• Second Place: Florida International University
• Third Place: California State University, Long Beach

The aim of the PayCargo Supply Chain Logistics Case Study was to identify and propose innovative solutions to improve the processes associated with supply chain management. Students were asked to explore each of the case challenge areas to familiarize yourself with some select challenges in the industry, analyze which business processes, stakeholders, and technology systems may be impacted by the challenge areas, and propose a supply chain management system solution in the form of a business case to address the challenge areas. The winning teams were:

• First Place: Middle Tennessee State University
• Second Place: Florida International University

For the Assurant Smart Cities Case Study, students were told to select a government institution of their choosing (city, town, or county, as examples), analyze an area where the government institution can improve using public documentation/data from a government institution to support their analysis, and offer recommendations for how smart city technologies can help address the challenges that a government institution faces. The winning teams were:

• First Place: Florida International University
• Second Place: University of Alabama
• Third Place: Brigham Young University

Please visit the AIS Student Chapters website to view all competition and award winners.  

AIS Student Chapter Annual Awards were also presented during the closing ceremony. These awards are based on their annual reports, which are submitted in the spring, and the winners are listed on the AIS Student Chapters website.

Congratulations to all award winners!