Information Technology Services (ITS)

Explore AI with ITS Thursday@3 series

Published on: August 25, 2025

The IT@UofT community is encouraged to attend ITS’ upcoming Thursday@3 webinars, which focus on the topic of AI from a range of perspectives. This webinar series is hosted by ITS and is open to all University of Toronto staff.

ITS staff members will automatically receive an optional Outlook invitation to attend. Members of the broader IT@UofT community will need to register to receive additional meeting information.

Upcoming webinars:

AI virtual tutors: Exploring student use cases at scale

Oct. 16, 2025, 3 – 3:50 p.m.

Presenter: Jordan Holmes, Senior Manager, Teaching, Learning & Technology, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation

This session will introduce the latest iteration of the University of Toronto’s AI Virtual Tutor Initiative, now integrated into Quercus through Cogniti, a conversational AI tool designed to support student learning directly within course environments.

Jordan will share insights from the team’s work on addressing student use cases, including a “red-teaming” exercise. In this context, red-teaming refers to a testing approach where the team deliberately challenges the AI Tutor to identify weaknesses, ensure it stays on topic and verify that it reliably connects students with appropriate U of T supports and services.

This session offers a practical look at how generative AI is being thoughtfully deployed to enhance the student experience at scale.

AI Jam 2.0: More challenges, more experiments and more solutions!

Nov. 13, 2025, 3 – 3:50 p.m.

Hosts:

• Laurie Harrison, Director, Digital Learning Innovation, Information Technology Services (ITS)
• Esther Simmonds-MacAdam, Service Management Program Lead, Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions, ITS

Back by popular demand! AI Jam 2.0 is an open mic-style session featuring lightning talks from
U of T IT staff and technologists. Come and hear how AI is being explored across U of T. Whether you’re experimenting with Microsoft Copilot, building custom GPTs or finding clever ways to automate everyday tasks, this is your space to:

• Hear what colleagues are trying.
• Spark ideas for your own work.
• share your own AI project — big or small!

Come curious, leave inspired.

AI meets procurement: Navigating vendor relations in the age of AI 

Dec. 4, 2025, 3 – 3:50 p.m.

Presenters:

• Kanupriya Kejriwal, Information Security Risk Manager, Information Security, ITS
• Klara Maidenberg, Coordinator, Social Science Collections Collection Development Department, U of T Libraries
• Sandra Nelson, Director of Procurement Services

As AI tools become increasingly embedded in vendor offerings, the university is facing new challenges in evaluating, selecting and integrating these technologies. This panel brings together leaders from the information security, the library and procurement to explore how different units across U of T are responding to the influx of AI-enabled products. Panelists will discuss strategies for assessing vendor claims, aligning AI tools with institutional values and ensuring responsible product evaluation. Join us to gain insight into emerging practices and approaches for managing AI in procurement and adoption processes.