Gateway Technical College hosted a Microsoft train-the-trainer Artificial Intelligence Bootcamp for Educators event at its SC Johnson iMET Center in Sturtevant on Thursday, July 11, an event that marks one of the many steps taken by Microsoft to invest in Wisconsin and its economy.

As part of Microsoft’s AI Skills initiative, Microsoft is offering curriculum, resources and training to support faculty and educators who provide – or are interested in providing – training and enablement for student AI skilling. 

“Generative AI is being used increasingly by companies and by individuals,” said Gateway Technical College President and CEO Ritu Raju. “As a leading-edge provider of technical education, Gateway Technical College is excited about our collaboration with Microsoft to support broad-ranging solutions to train our workforce in AI as well as to help companies looking for AI solutions. 

“The initial foray into training faculty is absolutely timely since students and companies are using AI for various tasks. For students in particular, customizing assignments to make sure they are learning the material and using AI in acceptable ways is crucial.”

A select number of Wisconsin Technical College System educators came from across the state to learn AI best practices at this event. 

“Empowering educators with AI skills is a cornerstone of building a future-ready workforce,” said Michelle Schuler, US TechSpark program manager, Microsoft and TechSpark manager - Wisconsin. “The AI for Educator Bootcamp at Gateway Technical College is a pivotal step towards this goal, training more than 40 educators from 14 Wisconsin Technical Colleges. 

“This initiative not only equips educators with cutting-edge AI knowledge but also ignites a ripple effect of tech empowerment across the educational landscape. By investing in our educators, we're investing in every student they inspire, fostering an AI-fluent generation poised to thrive in the digital economy.”

The final courses of the training will be offered online.