Beyond Spreadsheets: How AI is Teaching Higher Ed New BI Tricks
AI-powered Business Intelligence (BI) is transforming higher education by moving beyond static spreadsheets to enable predictive, real-time decision-making. This session explores how AI can be engineered and adopted to drive institutional intelligence. Max Tsai, the engineer, will showcase hands-on applications of AI-enhanced BI—from Python scripting to Generative BI platforms—demonstrating how automation, natural language processing, and intelligent workflows can streamline analytics and surface strategic insights. Esuri Peiris, the designer, will offer perspectives on AI adoption in higher ed, highlighting opportunities for predictive modeling, personalized learning, and operational transformation. Rather than present a prebuilt solution, this session fosters collaborative exploration. Participants will engage in a design-thinking conversation, working backward from real-world academic challenges like course demand, transcript analysis, and student success forecasting, to identify where AI-infused BI can deliver the greatest value. Ideal for educators, administrators and IT leaders, this session invites you to reimagine the future of data and decision-making in higher education.
Presenters
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Esuri Peiris
Technology Solution Analyst,
California State University, Fresno
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Max Tsai
Director of Planning and Digital Transformation,
California State University, Fresno
Resources & Downloads
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Beyond Spreadsheets Slides
Updated on 6/12/2026