BC students organize AI series
A student-run series of workshops that debuted this semester at the Carroll School of Management’s Shea Center for Entrepreneurship is focused on demystifying artificial intelligence through conversations and presentations involving Boston College faculty and alumni, industry executives, and undergraduate leaders.
“Start@AI: Build Your Toolkit” is coordinated by Luciano Casale ’27, a member of the Shea Center student executive board.The 75-minute sessions at 245 Beacon Street are open to any student curious about AI, regardless of major or class year.
“AI is transforming life and every field of business faster than anyone can keep up,” said Casale, a psychology major and finance minor from Los Gatos, Calif. who conceived the idea for the series. “Start@AI is meant to close that gap for BC students.”
The workshops kicked off on October 8 with Carroll School of Management Professor Sam Ransbotham, the David J. Mastrocola Dean’s Faculty Fellow and a professor of business analytics, who emphasized in his remarks that everyone recognizes the recent rapid progress in generative AI tools.
Carroll School Professor Sam Ransbotham spoke at a session of the Shea Center's student-organized “Start@AI” series earlier this fall. (Photos by Nicholas Conway ’27)
“With these tools, entrepreneurs can quickly build out businesses, particularly in non-core support areas,” he explained. “As these supporting aspects become cheaper and easier, the core differentiating business idea becomes even more critical. Unfortunately, potential competitors also have access to these same tools and replication has never been easier. If everyone has access, what differentiates? I expect increasing returns to greater technical depth.
“People who better understand and use these tools will benefit; however, they aren’t eliminating the need for learning technical aspects—they’re increasing the technical depth required to differentiate.”
The Shea Center student executive board—typically 20-25 student leaders across a mix of class years and disciplines—reports to Kelsey Renda ’12, M.B.A. ’18, the senior associate director of the Shea Center for Entrepreneurship, who serves as their advisor and mentor.
“I help guide strategy, programming, and execution across their initiatives,” said Renda. “My role is to provide institutional support, ensure alignment with the Shea Center and BC goals, and to serve as a resource for leadership development, alumni connections, and logistics.”
She explained that the Shea Center team has autonomy to propose and design series such as Start@AI based on emerging trends and student interest.
“It’s very much a partnership; students lead with passion, and I help turn their ideas into high-impact programs.”
Coordinator Luciano Casale said Start@AI offers the opportunity for students to learn and practice the applied skills that would make them more hirable, promotable, and valuable in any role.
Casale said Start@AI offers the opportunity for students to learn and practice the applied skills that would make them more hirable, promotable, and valuable in any role.
“The ideal outcome is an AI toolkit that will carry a student into any interview, internship, job, or project.”
He described the sessions as a mix of fireside chats with alumni and executives using AI to shape their industries; hands-on skill labs to understand AI tools; mini projects and challenges to build a student’s AI toolkit; and peer collaborations that convert ideas into projects, each meant to blend inspiration and action.
Casale emphasized that the sessions are focused on tactics that turn AI into a career advantage by analyzing how it’s reshaping industries, mastering the tools that drive real results, and partnering with other students on projects that will eventually prove to prospective employers that BC students are ahead of the curve.
Top executives across finance, technology, and consulting overwhelmingly agree on one salient truth, said Casale: The future belongs to “AI-native” workers.
“Our mission isn’t just to prepare the BC community for that shift, but to lead it.”
Earlier this fall, Casale led a session focused on AI and investing, an informal, hands-on workshop attended by a dozen students that began with recent technology news and developments within the AI sphere, and then delved into AI’s use in investment companies, venture capital firms, and hedge funds.
Speakers anticipated for this semester include Peter W. Bell ’86, general partner at Amity Ventures and a past BC trustee and current trustee associate, who is a highly successful entrepreneur and early-stage investor.
More sessions are planned for the spring semester and next fall, including a proposed student-organized AI summit that would merge Start@AI with another student-led technology group focused on machine learning.