EdgeCon Winter 2025

Jadwin Hall, A07

Join us for an insightful session on the successful implementation of the Zoom Phone project at Stevens Institute of Technology. This initiative aimed to modernize the campus communication infrastructure by transitioning from traditional phone systems to the innovative Zoom Phone service. The project involved meticulous planning, procurement, and deployment phases, ensuring a seamless transition for all departments.

We will delve into the change management strategies employed to facilitate this significant shift, including comprehensive user training, stakeholder engagement, and continuous support. The project management efforts were pivotal in coordinating the migration of facilities phones, decommissioning outdated systems, and ensuring compliance with new regulations such as the Ray Baum Act and Kari’s Law.

Discover how the collaborative efforts of the IT team with institutional stakeholders led to the project’s success. We will share key insights, challenges faced, and the remarkable outcomes achieved, including enhanced remote work capabilities, improved emergency calling services, and significant cost savings.

This session will provide valuable lessons for institutions looking to upgrade their communication systems and navigate the complexities of large-scale IT projects.

Presenters:

• Maryam Mirza, Senior Director for IT, Client Experience and Strategic Initiatives, Stevens Institute of Technology
• Hammad Ali, Senior Director of Infrastructure Services, Stevens Institute of Technology
• Luis Quispe, Associate Director of Networking and Telecom Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology

Jadwin Hall, A08

Higher education technology is undergoing a pivotal phase shift, navigating the liminal space between the past and the future. Institutions face a stark choice: retreat into the stability of legacy systems or embrace the transformative potential of emerging technologies. This presentation explores the dichotomy between these paradigms, contrasting the structured, productivity-focused past—characterized by databases, deterministic algorithms, and tools like the Microsoft Office Suite—with the unstructured, human-centered future, defined by AI, cloud computing, Python, and automation.

Grounded in Per Bak’s theory of self-organized criticality and Pierre Lévy’s phases of human development, the discussion highlights how small technological shifts can catalyze systemic transformation. It emphasizes the transition from structured data to unstructured intelligence, from repetition to adaptive machine learning, and from quantity-driven productivity to quality-focused collaboration between humans and AI.

The session challenges institutions to confront the “no middle” reality: clinging to legacy systems limits innovation, while adopting future-focused technologies enables resilience, adaptability, and intelligence augmentation. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of the critical decisions shaping HigherEd computing and strategies to position their campuses as leaders in this transformative era.

Presenter:

• Robert Clougherty, CIO, Drew University

Jadwin Hall, A09

Across the US, students are taking more time to finish their degree programs, or are dropping out before completion, leading to low graduation rates and long-term financial burdens. Advisors are key to ensuring individual student belonging and increasing student success outcomes, but with caseloads of 350 students or more, they can miss out on important information about their students. Getting the right analytics into advisors’ hands allows them to reach students who may be facing obstacles in completing their degree as soon as needs for support emerge.

In this session, DataKind will share their approach to working with institutions across the country to tackle this problem by leveraging machine learning and AI to identify which students are most in need of support and why. DataKind is building a nationwide cohort of institutions leveraging this data-assisted advising product through a philanthropy funded engagement with support from Google.org. By using predictive models trained on an institution’s unique data, the institutions that DataKind works with are able to equip advising staff with the analytics they need to provide students with the correct resources and level of support to enable student success in degree completion and beyond.

The presentation will cover lessons learned in both predictive model development and implementation in the field, best practices for preparing your institution’s data for engagement, how DataKind approaches product scaling, and ways for institutions to get involved in this work.

Presenter:

• Dr. John Harnisher, Head of Education Initiatives, DataKind

Jadwin Hall, A10

Whether you use AI regularly or are just starting to learn about it, AI is not going anywhere. As artificial intelligence continues to revolutionize various sectors, its impact on education and industry becomes increasingly significant. This panel discussion aims to explore the intersection of AI, education, and industry, focusing on what industry wants, what students are learning formally and on their own, and what the implications for future careers—and the respective training needed for them—are. We will delve into how Career and Technical Education (CTE), creative industries, and academia are adapting to these technological changes and preparing learners for the evolving workforce.

Panelists include 1st Street Partnerships Co-Founder and AI strategist Monk Inyang; the tech visionary, speaker, and author Rachael Mann; and a current New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) student or graduate. We will entertain questions after asking our panelists how they see AI being used in formal and informal educational settings at various levels, which tools they think are most useful for different populations, and what skills they think are necessary to flourish in this rapidly changing economy and workforce. What do these trends and considerations all mean for you whether you’re a student, a working professional, or an educator? A team member from the Learning and Development Initiative at NJIT/New Jersey Innovation Institute will moderate and facilitate audience questions and discussion.

Participants:

• Stefanie Toye, Project Manager, The Learning & Development Initiative, New Jersey Institute of Technology
• Rachael Mann, Keynote Speaker | TEDx Speaker | AI in CTE Strategist | Author of Pack Your Bags for an AI-Driven-Future, The Martians in Your Classroom, The CTSO Competition Companion | 2022 Top 30 Global Gurus
• Monk Inyang, Co-Founder, 1st Street Partnerships

McDonnell Hall, A01

Business Process Management (BPM) is transforming higher education by enhancing efficiency, reducing redundancies, and aligning institutional operations with strategic goals. This session will explore how BPM streamlines workflows across the higher education enterprise while supporting cost savings and operational agility. Learn how BPM empowers institutions to adapt to evolving challenges, such as technological advancements and regulatory requirements, while maintaining a strategic focus. Attendees will gain insights into leveraging BPM for improved outcomes and sustainable institutional success in a rapidly changing landscape.

Presenter:

• Stephanie Thomas, Business Process Architect, Edge