2026 IT Summit Sessions

Discover how Instructional Technology Services is creating a more consistent and reliable AV experience across the University through greater standardization and collaboration. This session will introduce new processes for requesting AV equipment and installation services, while highlighting how integration and support teams work together to better serve departments across campus.

Getting an answer from AI is easy. Knowing whether it’s the right answer—and what to do when it isn’t—is the real skill. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn practical techniques for steering LLMs, checking their work, spotting mistakes and recovering when things go wrong. Bring a laptop or phone and discover why the best AI results still depend on the person behind the prompt.

AI is only as effective as the knowledge behind it. This session explores how Knowledge-Centered Success (KCS) helps organizations create structured, reusable and continuously improving knowledge that supports AI-enabled services. Learn how automation can strengthen KCS practices and see how knowledge management played a critical role in supporting the University of Arizona’s VANA project.

Ready to spend less time on repetitive IT tasks? This session introduces Ansible and explores how automation can simplify system administration, improve consistency and make managing infrastructure more efficient. Learn how Ansible works, see where it can make a practical difference in your day-to-day work and discover how to start turning routine processes into repeatable, reliable automation.

This session explores nearly a decade of Arizona Digital and the launch of the Arizona Digital UX Community to uncover what transforms a grassroots initiative into a lasting institutional capability. Attendees will learn how to build and support effective communities, create sustainable value, establish the right governance, and identify what their own communities can deliver.

Discover how ThingLink can transform images, videos, presentations and 360° environments into interactive experiences that invite exploration and engagement. Through real-world examples, this session will showcase creative applications for teaching, training, research and campus outreach—from virtual labs and tours to orientation and instructional modules—giving attendees practical ideas they can adapt for their own projects.

How do you deliver a high-profile project at speed without creating technical debt or disrupting the broader ecosystem? Learn how the Arizona.edu initiative became a catalyst for enterprise capabilities, cross-functional collaboration, and lasting institutional value, while balancing rapid delivery with long-term sustainability.

Great automation starts with the process, not the tool. This hands-on workshop introduces an eight-step framework for building automations that people actually adopt and maintain—from choosing the right process and defining success to deployment and handoff. Using a real Power Platform example, attendees will apply the framework to their own work and leave with a practical, repeatable approach for turning everyday tools into lasting solutions.

Discover how engaging student employees can strengthen technology teams while building a pipeline of future University of Arizona and Tucson technology professionals. This session will share practical approaches for mentoring and collaborating with students across areas such as system administration and software development, creating partnerships that advance team goals while providing students with meaningful professional experience.

What if design and development could speak the same language? Explore how AI can help bridge the gap between design and code by turning structured design systems into functional components. This session will demonstrate a machine-readable Figma setup that combines Bootstrap variables and accessibility standards, then show how Claude Code can interpret those rules to generate state-aware React components on the fly. See what’s possible when design informs code—and code brings design to life.

Explore how “living plans” can transform traditional planning and analytic reports into dynamic, accessible resources that evolve over time. Using the Campus Master Plan as a showcase, this session dives into the StoryMap technology and methods behind its creation, demonstrating how spatial context can enrich planning while connecting participants with the EGIS team and resources that support StoryMaps across campus.

Go behind the scenes of AZPM’s technology transformation and discover how cross-unit collaboration brought together UITS expertise to support a complex, modern media environment. This session explores the technologies and infrastructure that make it possible—from IP-based video and audio distribution and Precision Time Protocol to multicast networking and modern data center design—while sharing practical lessons for successfully partnering across units to tackle ambitious technology projects.

Discover how YuJa Panorama and DocHub can help you create more accessible and inclusive digital content while supporting the University’s accessibility goals. Learn how these tools identify accessibility issues, provide actionable feedback and help improve course materials and other digital content—all while preparing campus for evolving ADA accessibility requirements. Come learn how to be “Accessible the Wildcat Way!”

As digital portfolios grow, information about ownership, lifecycle, support history, and technical implementation becomes fragmented across spreadsheets, ticketing systems, and institutional knowledge. Governance becomes reactive instead of proactive. This session will demonstrate how Campus Web Services built an organizationally-aware portfolio management system to address these challenges, using ServiceNow at the center.

Go inside Specialized IT Services (SITS) with the four Senior Directors for an engaging conversation about the teams, services and stakeholders behind each of its four pillars. Hear lessons from SITS’ first year, discover how the pillar model is creating new opportunities for collaboration and strengthening services, and get a look at the priorities and vision shaping what comes next.

Discover how a deliberately thoughtful start helped shape the successful launch of Next Steps within UAccess Student Center, creating a more integrated experience for incoming undergraduate students. This session showcases how early collaboration, creative thinking and intentional planning helped turn ideas into actionable solutions—and demonstrates why slowing down at the beginning can set a project up for success.

Discover what transforms group training into a true cohort-based learning experience that creates lasting change. Through interactive reflection, paired discussion and small-group activities, participants will explore—and experience firsthand—the role of recurring structure, shared artifacts, psychological safety and peer learning, gaining practical strategies they can apply when training, leading or developing others.

Meet VANA—Virtual Agent + Now Assist—the University of Arizona’s AI-powered chat support experience built on the ServiceNow platform. This session explores how VANA uses generative AI and university knowledge to deliver smarter support, shares lessons learned from the pilot, and examines how content quality, cost and AI accuracy are being managed. Attendees will see VANA in action and get a look at what’s next for AI-assisted support at the University.

Come find out what's new in Zoom, from an updated Zoom Workplace app to a redesigned Zoom web experience. Get tips and tricks for using enhancements to the Zoom web portal, and features like the new Dynamic Gallery will bring your Zoom meeting experience to a whole new level.

This session will practically demonstrate how Campus Web Services uses GitHub actions to allow technical and non-technical users to manage hundreds of websites and applications with the push of a button. It will broadly build skills in CI/CD, deployment pipelines, and automated QA testing. GitHub Actions will be thoroughly explored, but the ideas can be transferred to any CI/CD service provider. The main takeaway is following a standardized process, with built in checks and balances, can help any size team manage services at an enterprise level.

Explore the services, infrastructure and emerging developments shaping research technology at the University of Arizona. Learn how new federal research regulations may impact the campus community, discover resources available through Research and Discovery Technologies, and get a look at the University’s new supercomputer and what it could mean for research and discovery.

Discover how to put generative AI to work thoughtfully and responsibly. Participants will gain a practical understanding of GenAI tools and learn strategies for using them effectively while navigating the real-world considerations of responsible AI use.

Discover how the Five Languages of Appreciation can make recognition more meaningful and effective in the workplace. Through IT-focused scenarios, reflection and conversation, attendees will learn how to recognize colleagues in ways that truly resonate and leave with practical strategies they can immediately use to strengthen connections, teamwork and a culture of appreciation.

Explore how UITS Health Sciences and Clinical Specialized IT Services uses collaboration as the “connective tissue” connecting teams that support the University’s complex health sciences environment. This session will showcase how cross-team collaboration, tiered governance and shared operational practices are breaking down silos, improving service and advancing a “One IT” approach across geographically distributed teams. Attendees will hear real-world examples, explore what’s next and share lessons for strengthening collaboration in their own environments.

What if setbacks aren’t failures, but unexpected turns leading us toward growth? This session explores the “invisible string” concept as a way to reframe challenges, change and redirection. Participants will discover practical strategies for cultivating gratitude, practicing emotional honesty and understanding their personal narrative while gaining new perspective on where their own journey may be leading.

Move beyond compliance and discover how risk assessments can become powerful tools for improving security. Using a GitHub Enterprise assessment as a real-world case study, this session explores how to apply NIST 800-53 controls, identify and prioritize risks, and develop actionable mitigation strategies that lead to better security decisions and investments.

Explore the University’s next-generation network infrastructure and the technologies shaping a more flexible, secure and policy-aware foundation for digital services. This session will highlight key design enhancements, including network micro-segmentation, traffic engineering and firewall policy, while providing a high-level overview of technologies such as MPLS, EVPN, VXLAN and FHRP.

Bring your IT questions and experience VANA, the University of Arizona’s AI-powered chat support experience, firsthand. In this informal, drop-in lab, you can sit down at a laptop, start a live conversation with VANA, and explore how AI-assisted support works. SMaT team members will be nearby to answer questions, hear your feedback, and talk shop. No slides or scheduled presentation—just hands-on exploration and conversation. Stop by whenever your Summit schedule allows. This lab complements the VANA and Service Catalog/Knowledge Base sessions, giving you an opportunity to put what you’ve learned into practice.

Learn how to turn organizational change into meaningful transformation by designing around capabilities, building specialized teams, and scaling through smarter operating models.

Some of the most important IT conversations happen when the answer isn’t a simple “yes.” This interactive session offers practical tools for uncovering the real need behind a request, navigating constraints and offering a helpful path forward. Attendees will leave with a simple framework and ready-to-use phrases for building trust, reducing frustration and strengthening collaboration.