Leaders from Mississippi state agencies and higher education institutions gathered October 15 in Starkville at The Mill at Mississippi State University for AI Executive Workshop: Unlocking Innovation with SHI + NVIDIA, a free session on the decisions involved in putting artificial intelligence to work inside public-sector organizations.
The Mississippi Artificial Intelligence Network (MAIN), Mississippi’s statewide AI initiative, and Mississippi State University hosted the workshop. SHI and NVIDIA led and sponsored the program, which connected AI strategy with the infrastructure, security and data considerations behind institutional deployment.
Dr. Kollin Napier of MAIN helped open the workshop, joining Stefanie Straub of SHI and Dr. Julie Jordan, MSU’s senior advisor for artificial intelligence and data governance, in welcoming participants. The audience brought together agency and campus perspectives on AI adoption, with the workshop designed for decision-makers in IT, research and academia.
From AI strategy to implementation
The program addressed the work between an initial AI pilot and a system an institution can put into regular use. Its focus included AI deployments at other institutions and the resources needed to support generative AI projects securely.
SHI and NVIDIA’s sessions covered the AI factory for higher education, getting started safely with AI agents, and agentic AI and NVIDIA Blueprints. The program also included a session on accelerating institutional AI adoption.
MAIN AI Strategist Wayne Francis participated in the closing interactive discussion and Q&A. That portion of the program provided time for participants to bring questions into the conversation with the workshop contributors.
The workshop ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and was free for the Mississippi public-sector audience it served. MAIN’s Events page lists upcoming workshops and webinars, along with a route to event updates through the MAIN newsletter.