Frequently Asked Questions

Our next convening is September 13–15, 2026 at City University of Seattle in Seattle, Washington. Our inaugural convening was held at Miami Herbert Business School in June 2026 — we're grateful to the leaders who joined us there. Register now to secure your place in Seattle.

We cap each convening at approximately 100 attendees to preserve the intimacy required for honest conversation and meaningful connection. This typically means 35-45 institutions plus a small number of technology partners and industry experts.

Your implementation partner should be the person who will own implementation when you return to campus. This might be an associate dean, a director of faculty development, a chief information officer, or another key decision-maker. The right implementation partner has both the authority and the bandwidth to drive the work forward. If you're unsure, we're happy to discuss your situation.

AI Convergence convenings are intentionally in-person. The working sessions, peer conversations, and relationship-building that make this experience valuable require physical presence. If you cannot attend a particular convening, we encourage you to register for a future one.

If you're a technology partner (building AI tools for education), see our Technology Partner Participation section. If you're an industry leader, employer, or practitioner who wants to contribute perspective on how AI is reshaping your sector and what it means for talent development, we welcome your participation as an invited industry expert. Contact us at info@aiconvergence.ai to discuss how you might engage.

Registrations are transferable within your institution with advance notice. We understand that leadership schedules can be unpredictable. However, we strongly encourage original registrants to attend when possible—the pre-work, context, and preparation matter for the experience. If you need to substitute, contact us as early as possible so we can ensure continuity.

Yes, with advance approval. We carefully curate industry participation to ensure constructive dialogue and avoid sales-focused agendas. If you have a specific industry partner you believe would add value to the community, contact us to discuss. We're particularly interested in employer perspectives on workforce needs and how AI is changing skill requirements in specific sectors.

AI Convergence is not a conference. Conferences are built for knowledge transfer—attend sessions, collect ideas, return home. This is a convening—a catalyst for transformation. The goal isn't to leave with more information. It's to leave with a clearer sense of what you believe, an actionable plan you've already begun, and relationships with peers who will hold you accountable for following through.

We limit attendance, require pre-work, and structure the experience around honest conversation rather than polished presentations. Most importantly, the experience doesn't end when you leave Miami. The Transformational Leadership Circles that follow are where implementation really happens.

Registration includes all convening sessions, meals during the event (breakfast, lunch, and select dinners), access to materials and resources, placement in a Transformational Leadership Circle, and one full year of Circle membership with monthly meetings and ongoing support. You'll leave with an implementation plan and a community committed to your success.

Registration does not include travel or accommodation, though we provide suggestions for nearby hotels.

Yes. Approximately six weeks before the convening, you'll receive pre-work designed to help you clarify where your institution stands and what you hope to achieve. This isn't busywork—it's the foundation for productive conversations during the event. The pre-work typically takes 3-4 hours and should be completed with your implementation partner.

Circles are carefully curated based on institutional type, strategic priorities, and the specific challenges you're facing. We aim for productive diversity within each Circle—you'll work with peers from different contexts who can offer fresh perspectives, but everyone will be grappling with similar core challenges. Circle placement is finalized during the convening itself, after we've had a chance to meet everyone and understand their goals.

That's precisely why you should be here. "Not ready" usually means one of several things: unclear strategy, resistant stakeholders, competing priorities, or uncertainty about where to start. These are the challenges AI Convergence addresses directly. We don't assume everyone is at the same place—in fact, we design the experience specifically to meet leaders where they are.

If you're asking the question, you're ready enough to engage productively.

No. While the inaugural convening is hosted at Miami Herbert Business School, AI Convergence serves leaders across all disciplines and institutional types—colleges of arts and sciences, engineering, health professions, community colleges, liberal arts colleges, research universities. The challenges of AI integration cut across institutional boundaries, and the best solutions emerge from cross-sector dialogue.

The Six Standards provide the framework for institutional readiness. They're not prescriptive—we don't tell you exactly how to implement them—but they give you a common language and set of benchmarks for evaluating progress. During the convening, you'll assess where your institution stands on each standard and develop concrete next steps. The Standards are built into the Circle work that follows, helping you track progress and troubleshoot challenges.

Absolutely not. The Standards are aspirational—they describe what institutional readiness looks like, not prerequisites for participation. Most institutions arriving at the first convening will meet only a handful of the Standards partially. That's expected. The goal is progress, not perfection.

We're exploring formal recognition options for institutions that demonstrate evidence of meeting the Standards. However, the primary value isn't external validation—it's the actual transformation that happens when you systematically address each standard. The Standards serve as a roadmap for your work, not a hoop to jump through.

Implementation is where the real work happens. Transformational Leadership Circles provide ongoing support as you execute your plan, troubleshoot obstacles, and refine your approach. Your first year of Circle membership is included with convening registration, and you can continue participating by attending a future convening or through annual renewal. Many leaders return to future convenings with different implementation partners to tackle new challenges, building institutional capacity over time.

Circles meet monthly for 60-90 minutes via video conference. These sessions are designed to fit into already-full schedules while providing meaningful peer support. Beyond that, the commitment is to ongoing learning and implementation at your own institution. We also offer optional resources, webinars, and community discussions for those who want deeper engagement.

Your first year of membership is included with convening registration. After that, you can maintain your circle membership by attending another convening or paying a $500 annual renewal fee. We designed this structure to encourage sustained engagement while keeping the community accessible.

You're not alone—this may be the most common challenge leaders bring to AI Convergence. Many are facing exactly this: external pressure to move on AI while internal stakeholders push back.

We don't pretend these challenges have easy answers. But we believe they're leadership challenges, not technical ones—and leadership challenges respond to strategy, coalition-building, and peer learning. Track B focuses specifically on faculty development, including strategies for working with resistant colleagues.

The honest truth: you probably won't convert everyone. But you don't need everyone. You need enough of a coalition to move forward, and you need strategies for protecting innovation from those who would block it. That's what we work on together.

This is one of the most politically fraught questions in higher education right now. IT wants control for security and infrastructure reasons. Academic affairs argues it's fundamentally a teaching and learning issue. Individual colleges want autonomy. And sometimes everyone wants someone else to take responsibility.

AI Convergence doesn't prescribe a single governance model—what works at a large R1 won't work at a regional comprehensive or a community college. But we do help you think through the trade-offs. Track C addresses governance directly, and you'll hear from institutions that have navigated these battles. The short answer: someone has to own coordination even if implementation is distributed, and the longer you wait to address governance, the harder the battles become.

We're committed to a community that closes gaps, not widens them. Our Sponsored Access Fund subsidizes registration for under-resourced institutions. If cost is a barrier to your participation, please contact us directly at info@aiconvergence.ai to discuss options.

Yes, and we do. AI will change the nature of work in higher education—that's not a question. The question is whether institutions approach that change thoughtfully or let it happen to them.

We believe leaders have an obligation to be honest about workforce implications while also recognizing that AI transformation done well can create opportunities rather than just eliminating roles. The conversation about job impact belongs in strategic planning, not as an afterthought.

AI Convergence creates space for honest discussion about these concerns, including strategies for workforce transition, reskilling, and communication. We don't pretend the answers are easy, but we don't avoid the questions either.