AI for Digital TransformationCornell

Certificate Program

As new digital technologies become embedded in business operations, there are more questions than answers for many leaders. How can you harness the power of digital technologies to help your business thrive without falling into pitfalls along the way?

In this course, you will gain a foundation in a number of technological advances. You will start by discussing ways that technologies can improve your personal and professional life, including ways to produce work more smoothly, quickly, and effectively. You will also explore ways that technologies fail to deliver on promised results and access methods to prepare your team to benefit from digital technologies. By the end of this course, you will understand ways to harness the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls of digital technologies.

Now more than ever, businesses are recognizing the common pitfalls of digital technologies. Yet leaders who adopt and implement these technologies without a critical eye will likely be held back and have trouble thriving in the strategic marketplace. It is crucial to strike a balance between adopting new technologies for innovation and strategically assessing and building new technologies into your organizational strategy. But how can you better understand the options presented by these new technologies?

In this course, you will examine a variety of new technologies and the roles they could play in your industry and community. You will also assess the usefulness and suitability of these digital technologies for your own organization. Finally, you will discuss the large negative externalities that these innovations place on society. By the end of this course, you will better understand digital technologies, allowing you to strategically adopt them with purpose.

In a competitive business marketplace, being on the cutting-edge sets businesses apart for consumers, stakeholders, and workers. How can technology innovation improve business operations, and how can you make this happen in your organization?

In this course, you will explore ways to leverage new advances in digital technology to reinvent how things get done in your industry. To do so, you will identify opportunities for improving processes and work in your organization or society using digital technologies. You will also assess key metrics for work and processes in your organization, supporting your strategy and helping you communicate your vision and goals. Finally, you will explore the idea of translating or expanding your process improvement ideas into a consulting business or standalone product for companies or individuals. By the end of this course, you will have the necessary foundation to strategize a vision for the future of work powered by digital technologies at your organization and beyond.

With so much variety across industries and strategies, it can be difficult to ensure that your business model will support the growth and success of your business. When adding innovative digital technologies to the mix, the situation can become even more complicated. How can you create an informed, successful strategy?

In this course, you will explore the ways that new technologies can enable innovative business and operating models for organizations like yours. You will analyze the existing structures in your organization and evaluate ways that technology can affect key factors such as the optimal scope, the revenue model, the timing of the processes, and the players involved. Finally, you will identify and pitch several opportunities for reinventing business models, gaining practical experience to bring back to your organization.

Having a great idea for a new digital product is just the beginning. Ensuring there is an effective culture behind the team bringing the idea to life is key to long-term success.

In this course, you will discover how to create a digital builder culture. You will first identify common pitfalls and strategize on how to avoid them. You will then explore the values that make leaders and managers successful in this area, including a focus on exploration and fast, intelligent experimentation. Finally, you will establish a prioritization scheme to support you and your team as you sequence your learnings about any unknowns affecting your product. By the end of this course, you will have the foundation necessary to move your organization from a know-it-all culture to a learn-it-all culture.

Even though all companies work with data, not all leaders understand how to harness the power of the right data for the right situation. Whether you are assessing operations or discussing data-based evidence with stakeholders, business leaders must be prepared to make informed decisions that support the success of their businesses.

In this course, you will discover how to harness the value of accurate data for your organization. You will examine how to use data to both monitor and improve existing business operations and test and implement new initiatives. You will also identify ways that data can support decision making in the C-suite at your organization and beyond. Importantly, you will identify several societal concerns in the use of data in organizations. Finally, you will practice interpreting data-based evidence for a business, gaining practical skills to bring back to your organization.

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The AI Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll share experiences from across the industry, inspiring real-time conversations about best practices, innovation, and the future of AI. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to some of the most pressing topics and trends in the field. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across a variety of industries.

Upcoming Symposium: March 18, 19 and 20, 2025 11AM – 1PM ET

• Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:00 AM ET – 1:00 PM ET
• Wednesday, March 19, 2025 11:00 AM ET – 1:00 PM ET
• Thursday, March 20, 2025 11:00 AM ET – 1:00 PM ET

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.