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Elevate 2025

Technology & AI Innovation for Student Success

Empower your future—connect, explore, and innovate with Fresno State on November 3!

You’re invited to join us for Elevate 2025, Fresno State’s premier technology and innovation event, co-hosted by ASI, Technology Services, and Student Affairs – Student Involvement!

Join us on November 3, 2025, for Fresno State’s premier technology and innovation event dedicated to student success!
Discover how emerging technologies and AI are transforming the future of learning, research, and careers. This dynamic event features interactive showcases, hands-on workshops, and networking opportunities with peers, campus innovators, and industry professionals.

Students will be presented with the opportunity to explore campus technologies and collaborate with industry experts, gaining practical insights into innovation practices and future career pathways. Through engaging sessions, panels, and demos, participants will experience how technology and humanity converge to inspire creativity, problem-solving, and leadership in a digital world.

Swags and Giveaways

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November 3, 2025

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Location

Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union (RSU)

Vendor Sponsors

 

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Seating is limited — don’t miss your chance to be part of Fresno State’s Technology & Innovation for Student Success event on November 3, 2025. Reserve your spot now to explore cutting-edge technologies, connect with industry leaders, and experience the future of AI and innovation.

Keynote - The Dawn of Innovation: Shaping the Future of Student Success

Hear from leading innovators and industry professionals as they share exciting breakthroughs in technology and AI that are transforming education and student success. Explore how today’s digital tools empower learners, spark creativity, and open new doors for your future. Get ready to be inspired by real-world innovation in action!

RSVP for the Keynote

Students in Action: Building the Future Together

Enjoy lunch while joining Fresno State’s CIO and a diverse panel of student innovators for an open, forward-looking conversation about how technology connects us, empowers learning, and drives change. From AI and digital transformation to creativity and community impact, this dialogue highlights the power of student voices in shaping the future of innovation at Fresno State and beyond.

RSVP for Lunch

Create. Build. Innovate.

Choose from three exciting workshop tracks: Build with AWS to explore cloud engineering, AI development, and create your own Bulldog Genie Mini; Create with Adobe to unleash creativity through design and storytelling using Adobe Express and Creative Cloud; and Innovate with Fresno State Researchers to discover how campus innovators are using AI and emerging technologies to shape the future of learning and research.

RSVP for Workshops

Event Schedule

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM | Welcome

Begin your Elevate 2025 journey with a warm welcome from the Technology Services – Digital Transformation and Student Affairs – Student Involvement teams. This opening session sets the tone for a day of inspiration and exploration, highlighting the event’s goals, the power of technology and innovation across campus, and the shared vision of empowering student success. Get ready to discover new ideas, connect with innovators, and embrace the spirit of collaboration that defines Fresno State’s commitment to an elevated digital future.

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM | Keynote

Join us for an inspiring keynote with Saravana Kumar, Chief Technology Officer of Menera.ai and serial tech entrepreneur leading multiple AI-driven ventures. Saravana will share his journey as an innovator in the AI era, revealing how creativity, persistence, and bold thinking turn ideas into transformative technologies. This session invites students to see artificial intelligence as a catalyst for entrepreneurship and real-world problem-solving. Discover how AI is opening new pathways to create value, launch ventures, and drive meaningful impact across industries—empowering the next generation of innovators to shape the opportunities of tomorrow.

Tech Expo

Explore interactive exhibits from industry partners and campus technology teams. Students gain hands-on experience with tools that support learning, creativity, and discovery.

Technology Hotspot hosted by Technology Services


IT Support Services (Service Desk, TDX, Wifi)
MyFresnoState Portal
Computer Labs
Software Availability for Students
Zoom
Office365
Google Workspace
Supercomputing

Campus Services 

DISCOVERe
IDEAS 
Library Tech Lending and Media Center
Services for Students with Disabilities
Student Health and Counseling Center

Industrial Partners Showcases

Adobe
Apporto
Amazon Web Services and Hub of Digital Transforamtion and Innovation
Cisco/DUO
Crowdstrike and WITH-Cyber
F3
Grammarly
Google
Modo Labs
NVIDIA
OpenAI
TurnItIn.com

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM | Students in Action: Building the Future Together

Enjoy lunch while joining Fresno State’s Vice President for Information Technology and CIO and the ASI President for an inspiring, forward-looking conversation on how technology connects us, empowers learning, and drives change.

The session begins with a live OpenAI streaming presentation “AI in Higher Education” offering a look at how OpenAI has partnered with the CSU, key new features to explore in advance of finals, and insight into how students are preparing to enter an AI-native workforce -- Andrew Glenn is an AI Deployment Manager on OpenAI's Higher Education team, based in San Francisco. He partners with students, faculty, and staff at the CSU and across the country to thoughtfully shape AI's role in the future of education.
 
Following the presentation, engage in a conversation with a panel of student leaders and innovators as they share their insights on digital transformation, creativity, and community impact. The program concludes with an interactive Q&A on today’s AI trends and opportunities at Fresno State and beyond.

Panelists: Ayanna Avalos, Sarah Sevy, Danielle Vu, Parker Hill 
Hosted by: Camalah Saleh (ASI President) and Dr. Bao Johri (VP/IT and CIO)

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM | Create. Build. Innovate. (Hands-on Workshops)

In the afternoon, students can choose from three interactive workshop tracks designed to inspire creativity, technical skill, and innovation through real-world experience.

Building the Future with Agentic AI and Cloud Innovation with AWS
Trinity Key, AWS Solutions Architect and Fresno State Digital Transformation Team

Discover the power of Agentic AI and cloud engineering in this hands-on workshop led by AWS experts and Fresno State innovators. Participants will explore how autonomous AI agents and scalable cloud infrastructure drive next-generation intelligent solutions. Through interactive sessions on AWS EC2, AI services, and architecture design, attendees will learn to deploy adaptive systems and build their own “Bulldog Genie Mini.” The workshop includes demos, collaborative coding, and a reverse-present session with Amazon Q Developer. Join us to experience how cloud and AI integration are transforming innovation in education and beyond.

Creative Intelligence in Action — Designing with Adobe Firefly & Adobe Express
Chana Messer, Adobe

Experience how AI and creativity intersect in this dynamic, hands-on workshop led by Chana Messer, artist and educator. Learn to harness Adobe Firefly and Adobe Express to generate visually stunning, copyright-safe content using the power of generative AI. Participants will explore prompt design, image generation, and workflow integration across Adobe Creative Cloud tools. With live demonstrations and guided exercises, you’ll create professional-quality visuals and discover new ways to express ideas through AI-assisted design. Ideal for educators, creators, and innovators ready to transform imagination into intelligent, scalable visual storytelling.  Join via Zoom

Innovate with Fresno State Researchers
Engage with Fresno State’s leading researchers and innovators as they share how cutting-edge technologies and AI are transforming discovery, creativity, and student learning. Get inspired by the “buzz” of innovation happening right here on campus—and explore how you can be part of shaping the next big breakthrough.

Hovannes Kulhandjian, Ph.D.
This session bridges cutting-edge AI robotics research and accessible machine learning. In the first segment, we’ll explore real-world deployments of autonomous systems—AgTech robots for harvesting and pollination, AI-powered infrastructure inspection using vision and LiDAR, and assistive technologies like CrossBot and brain–computer interfaces that enhance accessibility. Participants will then engage in a hands-on lab using Google’s Teachable Machine to collect data, train image and sound models, and deploy them in-browser. By the end, attendees will understand how to design, train, and deploy lightweight AI systems—connecting high-level robotics insights with practical, creative AI applications.  

Hubert Cecotti, Ph. D.
Explainability is important in Artificial Intelligence because it builds trust, accountability, and understanding between humans and intelligent systems. When humans understand an AI’s reasoning, they can collaborate more effectively and work as a closed loop, thereby making both parties more efficient. Humans are needed for labeling data and data curation. They are also required to validate AI outputs. This presentation highlights applications and challenges of pattern recognition systems in agricultural and clinical problems where humans are involved at different levels. It stresses the importance of interfaces and data visualization tools for validating input data or AI outputs.
RSVP for Workshops

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM | Network and Social Hour

Take a break, connect, and collaborate! This engaging session offers a relaxed space to meet peers, campus technology experts, researchers, and industry professionals. Share ideas, exchange experiences, and build meaningful connections that can shape your academic and career journey. Whether you’re exploring new opportunities or simply expanding your circle, this is your moment to engage, learn, and grow within Fresno State’s vibrant community of innovation.

Fireside Chat with NVIDIA Alumni: Agustin Rivera, Zaira Rivera, Mark Philpp 
Faciliated by: Dr. Alex S. Liu (Computer Science | USher) and Max Tsai (Technology Services | DXIHub)

 

For industry partnerships and Cal State collaboration opportunities

Please contact: Bao Johri, Vice President and Chief Information Officer

For program information and sponsorship inquiries

Please contact: Max J. Tsai, Director of Planning and Digital Transformation | Amy Allen, Associate Dean of Student Involvement