From the Nominator

In early 2023, global hype mounted around the revolutionary release of ChatGPT, the artificial intelligence (AI)-based model that disrupted industry, government, and society. To support our audience of executives and professionals who needed to understand the broad-ranging impacts of this emerging technology, the University of Waterloo's WatSPEED quickly developed a free, accessible webinar on the topic in just three weeks. "ChatGPT: What Executives Really Need to Know" highlights the impact that ChatGPT and other AI technologies will have on Canadian businesses and industries. Offered as a live, virtual one-hour webinar, it featured leading AI faculty experts, who delivered information about a timely, relevant topic for our target audience. A lengthy Q&A provided attendees the opportunity to ask their most pressing questions. We promoted the webinar via paid advertising, social media, and emails and leveraged our partners to spread the word. It was the first webinar that WatSPEED organized, and we far surpassed our expectations, with 2,200+ registrants from more than 10 countries and 1,400+ attendees (a university record). A YouTube video of the recorded webinar has since been viewed nearly 14,000 times. The success of the webinar led to the development of two courses for professionals on this topic. It also helped establish our new unit, and the university as a whole, as a credible, trusted leader of executive education in the tech and business space.

From the Judges

The initiative displayed a robust emphasis on the target market. The course's relevance to a timely topic was evident, and despite a short planning timeframe, it remained closely aligned with the strategic plan. Thorough research was conducted to identify the need before devising a solution. This process could easily be replicated elsewhere with other topics that are timely and target-market specific.