Featured Sessions

Maximizing Higher Education’s Relevance: An Industry Leader on Value, Access, and Applied Learning for Professionals

Dr. Vikas Sinha will address the tangible value of higher education for industry professionals, strategies for making educational opportunities more accessible to working professionals and bridging the gap between academic theory and practical industry applications.

Vikas Sinha is a senior technology and business executive with over 25 years of leadership experience at global firms like Broadcom, CA Technologies, IBM, and SPSS, where he has driven innovation across software engineering, product management, and strategic business functions. An enthusiastic advocate for lifelong learning, he recently earned a doctorate in Data Sciences and actively contribute to educational advancement as a volunteer board member at the University of North Texas College of Information Leadership Board. His professional and personal efforts reflect a deep commitment to pedagogy—whether through mentoring, leading technical teams, or guiding philanthropic initiatives focused on expanding access to quality education for underserved communities. Dr. Sinha sees education as a transformative force and continuously seeks opportunities to support and advance learning at both individual and systemic levels.

Reimagining Pedagogy with AI: Forging Inclusive, Engaging and Collaborative Higher Education

Dr. David Kellermann will address innovative use of technology to benefit students and his consulting work with Microsoft Research on AI implementation and higher education strategy.

David Kellermann, Associate Professor at the University of New South Wales, is pioneering a transformative approach to online pedagogy by developing an AI-powered learning platform that reimagines higher education for inclusivity, engagement, and collaboration. Facing massive classes and diverse student needs, Kellermann shifted from traditional teaching methods to a fully integrated digital ecosystem leveraging Microsoft tools—such as Teams, OneNote, and Azure—to foster community, personalize learning, and support students wherever they are. His platform features innovations like an AI Question bot, intelligent video retrieval, and real-time collaboration tools, all aimed at turning passive consumption into active, connected learning. With a strong commitment to accessibility and open-source sharing, Kellermann’s work exemplifies how educators can harness technology to create scalable, student-centered environments that meet the evolving demands of modern higher education.

Teaching Data Analytics with Real-World Problems from the JMP Case Study Library

Using realistic examples to teach data analytics can foster both student motivation and real-world problem-solving skill. To that end, JMP Statistical Discovery offers a collection of case studies freely available to any instructor. Each case includes a realistic problem and accompanying data set, a narrative detailing a multi-step solution, and exercises for hands-on practice. The collection covers many topics, from graphically exploring trends in airline complaints to predicting customer churn with neural nets to quantifying economic sentiment in the text of US Federal Reserve reports. Join this presentation to learn more about this free teaching resource and to explore several examples using the free JMP Student Edition software.

Make Innovation through Challenge-Based Learning
Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) is an educational approach that engages students in solving real-world problems through interdisciplinary collaboration and active learning. Originating from Apple’s educational initiatives in the U.S., CBL has since gained traction in Europe as a tool for fostering innovation and entrepreneurial thinking. This presentation explores the evolution and implementation of CBL, highlighting its potential to drive innovation within academic contexts. A case study of the University of Trento—particularly the challenges promoted by the School of Innovation—illustrates how CBL empowers students, researchers, and companies to co-create impactful solutions, bridging the gap between higher education and real-world innovation.

An Active Learning Game for Operational Excellence
In this experiential game, students learn and apply core concepts/tools of operational excellence, including 5S, lean, waste types/elimination, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle of process improvement, performance metrics, and more. Through iterative rounds, students improve their operational performance, taking their workplace from dysfunction to a smoothly running lean, quality workplace. As a paper and pencil desktop exercise, instructor preparation and materials are simple and low cost.  Depending on scope of tools and depth of discussion, the exercise requires 30 to 60 minutes. Feedback from undergraduate and MBA students, as well as industry practitioners, show that the learning game is highly engaging and effective.

Teaching Videos Created by Generative AL
As AI technology continues to advance, it will be critical for researchers and educators to explore new ways of leveraging AI-generated content to enhance learning experiences while also remaining mindful of the potential limitations and ethical considerations associated with its use. Our ongoing research hopes to give an example of what the future may hold for our occupation.

Educational Ecosystems to Enhance Entrepreneurial Mindset: Preliminary Evidences from the Italian Rurual Living Lab
This presentation explores the Rural Living Lab, an innovative educational initiative designed to foster entrepreneurial mindset among young people in rural and agri-food sectors in Apulia, Italy. The lab engaged 33 participants through a structured learning path combining action research, cooperative learning, and the ecological theory approach. Nine innovative ideas were developed and selected through a public call. The session will highlight the implementation of the program, skill assessments conducted before and after training, and qualitative insights from student feedback. Special attention is given to how experiential learning shaped awareness, self-efficacy, and the capacity for value creation in rural entrepreneurship.

Generative AI for Teaching Core Business Analytics Courses: Is this the Next Paradigm Shift?
Based on our past experiences with the spreadsheet revolution and our current early experiences with Generative AI, we discuss with examples the pros and cons of teaching analytics with Generative AI. We debate whether Generative AI can or should replace Excel (or other options) as the software used in many business analytics undergraduate core courses.

AI as a Learning Partner: Promoting Critical Thinking and Engagement in the Classroom
This session will explore the thoughtful application of AI tools in research, teaching, and learning environments within higher education, with a focus on developing pedagogical strategies to support meaningful, structured engagement using AI-based tools.  Emphasis will be placed on guidelines and guardrails that are focused on promoting analytical thinking and integrating individual value-added contributions with AI support.  Specifically, the use of Google’s Notebook LM will be illustrated as an AI-informed tool used in an analytics class to support inquiry-driven learning through critical inquiry and conceptual application while improving student engagement.  Session will finish with a broader view of AI as a pedagogy partner.

Use of AI and Agents in the Business World
Many organizations find themselves paralyzed — unsure of what AI really means, where to start, or how to apply it effectively. In this session, we’ll move beyond the buzzwords and unpack the true nature of AI: what it is, what it isn’t, and how it can be practically leveraged to enhance—not just replace—human and organizational capabilities. Through real-world examples and live demonstrations of AI agents and custom applications, we’ll explore how leaders can thoughtfully integrate AI into their operations to drive clarity, efficiency, and innovation. Whether you’re just beginning or already experimenting, this will help you move from confusion to confident, strategic action.

Experiences with the Use of AI and SimNet for Enhancing Class Instruction
Experienced faculty will share lessons learned about the use of AI and SimNet for class instruction.  Session will begin by discussing how AI tools can be used effectively for course development and instruction planning.  Class instruction discussion will consider the benefits and limitations of ChatGPT on specific issues such as coding/software instruction and the usefulness of chatbots for exam and assignment grading.

Best Practices Teaching OM with Littlefield 2.0

You will discover how to effectively integrate the newly updated Littlefield Operations simulator into your curriculum. This session will delve into the latest enhancements of this widely used tool, designed to teach critical concepts like process analysis, inventory control, and capacity planning through engaging, competitive simulations. Learn how to leverage Littlefield 2.0 to foster student engagement and mastery of essential operations management principles, whether in synchronous or asynchronous learning environments.

Optimization in the Context of Aggregate Planning: The Supply Chain Game

Explore the power of optimization in aggregate planning with “Optimization in the Context of Aggregate Planning: The Supply Chain Game.” This session will introduce a novel assignment that utilizes the popular Supply Chain Game to teach students how to build and apply optimization models for minimizing costs while meeting forecast demand. Discover how to integrate this dynamic simulation into your supply chain management courses, enabling students to make strategic decisions related to production capacity, location selection, and logistics. Gain practical insights into using tools like Solver to enhance students’ analytical and problem-solving skills in a realistic, competitive setting.

Leveraging Your Teaching Into Research

The SOTAL SIG would like to invite you to learn from different perspectives how you can take what you may already be doing in the classroom and turn it into publishable research.

We have five panelists ready to share their insights and answer your questions:

• Susan Palocsay who recently served as the DSJIE editor with tips on what pedagogy journals generally look for in submissions.
• Mike Ellis and Laquanda Leaven Johnson who have recently published empirical pedagogy papers on how they created their studies and suggestions for how to do one as well.
• Rickard Enstroem who recently published a teaching brief will share his experience with developing an in-class activity for that purpose.
• John Visich who has published multiple teaching cases rounds out the panel explaining how he creates these cases for his own and others use.

Join us to learn more about leveraging your pedagogical work into publication for a broader impact.