WSU will lead a newly created committee focused on the thoughtful design and adoption of Workday A.I. tools for the higher education sector.
The Workday Higher Education AI Trailblazers committee, or HEAT, is made up of five additional institutions, including Arizona State University, Wake Forest University, and University of Arkansas. WSU’s Gerik Kimble, executive director of Financial Systems Modernization, chairs the group.
HEAT’s mission is to create a hub for higher education institutions to explore, implement, and share AI solutions tailored to the needs and challenges of higher education. Key focus areas include:
- Strategy & Implementation: Create an AI Readiness Framework and Higher Ed AI Playbook to enable higher education institutions to build a successful implementation for their HR and Finance AI-related journeys.
- Collaboration & Mentorship: Lead Workday AI discussions with other higher education institutions to foster cross-institution collaboration by sharing knowledge, experiences, and mentorship.
- Industry Leadership: Share success stories and generate trust through publications and presentations at major conferences such as EDUCAUSE and NACUBO.
By chairing HEAT, WSU receives access to new features at discounted pricing, as well as early access to review and help design the latest Workday AI tools and agentic technologies. Along with cost-savings benefits, early adoption allows the Modernization team more time to explore and test new functionality to determine the best tools for WSU, how to roll them out effectively, and provide key feedback to Workday.
By chairing HEAT, WSU receives access to new features at discounted pricing, as well as early access to review and help design the latest Workday AI tools and agentic technologies.
Modernization is committed to bringing on Workday AI tools that support WSU employees in performing their daily work more efficiently through reducing manual tasks and providing faster access to Workday data. These optimizations allow employees to enhance the support they provide the university through more informed data and quicker processes.
WSU’s role in HEAT positions the university as a leader in Workday AI innovation. Through mindful engagement and participation in the development and adoption of AI tools, WSU can make a meaningful difference in the future of AI for higher ed, and in the way we work at WSU.
Learn more about AI tools already available in Workday for WSU in these articles:
- New Expense Protect tool uses machine learning to detect duplicate records
- Workday Assistant now available to all WSU employees
Questions regarding HEAT may be directed to Gerik Kimble.
