AI is moving fast, and our community is moving with it. Right now, across Northeast Ohio, people are testing, building, and applying AI in their everyday work.
That’s why we’re excited to announce:
AI Success Stories: Practical AI from Our Community
📅 Monday, April 20, 2026
📍 In-person
🎟 Free, registration required
🍴 Food & beverages served
This evening event brings together professionals, students, and practitioners from across disciplines to share practical, real-world AI experiences.
We’re hosting this event in collaboration with PMI Northeast Ohio and Cleveland AI and Data. AI Success Stories will take place at Cuyahoga Community College, School of Creative Arts, whose generous support helps make this evening of networking and shared stories accessible to our regional tech community.
▣ This isn’t a conference.
▣ It’s not a vendor showcase.
▣ It’s not a theoretical discussion about the future of AI.
It’s a room full of people sharing what they’ve actually tried and what they’ve learned.
Why You Should Attend
AI adoption doesn’t happen because of big announcements or trend reports. It happens when:
- You see someone like you use it successfully
- You understand the workflow, not just the tool
- You hear what worked and what didn’t
- You leave with ideas you can try tomorrow
Across UX, project management, engineering, data, marketing, and education, professionals are integrating AI into daily practice. But those stories often stay inside teams or organizations.
If you’ve been curious about AI but unsure how it applies to your work, this event is built for you. If you’re already experimenting and want to deepen your thinking, you’ll find peers doing the same.
AI Success Stories are about skill-building, perspective, and practical momentum.
What to Expect
The evening runs from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM and includes:
- 30 minutes of networking and refreshments
- 6 fast-paced, 10-minute lightning talks
- A closing group Q&A
- Dedicated networking time afterward
Each speaker will follow a simple storytelling structure:
- The problem or opportunity
- The AI tool(s) or approach used
- The outcome or result
- A key lesson learned
Short talks keep the energy high and the insights focused. You’ll hear a range of applied examples across industries and roles.
Call for Speakers: Share Your AI Story
We are currently seeking six speakers to present 10-minute lightning talks at AI Success Stories.
If you’ve:
- Used AI to improve a workflow
- Tested tools in your organization
- Built an automation
- Experimented in a classroom or side project
- Learned something through trial and error that adds value
We encourage you to send a proposal. We’re especially interested in:
- Practical use cases
- Clear outcomes
- Honest lessons learned
- Cross-disciplinary perspectives
- Northeast Ohio voices
- Students and early-career professionals are encouraged to apply
This is not a sales stage. We’re not looking for product demos or promotional presentations. Instead, we want real experiences that help others gain confidence and clarity.
The submission deadline is March 21, 2026.
Speakers will be notified the week of March 23.
Go to the UX Akron speaker proposal form and indicate your session is for “AI Success Stories – April 20, 2026.”
Your story could be the moment someone else realizes they can take the next step in growing their knowledge about AI.
Register to Attend
Attendance is free, but registration is required.
Whether you’re actively implementing AI or just beginning to explore it, this event is designed to meet you where you are.
You’ll leave with:
- Concrete examples of AI in action
- New ideas to test in your own work
- Insight into tools being used locally
- Connections with professionals and students across disciplines
A Community Effort
At UX Akron, our mission is focused on advancing user experience education and building strong professional connections across Northeast Ohio.
AI adoption is cross-disciplinary. We’re excited to partner with PMI Northeast Ohio and Cleveland AI and Data to learn, share, and grow in AI skills and collaborations.
We’re also grateful to Cuyahoga Community College, School of Creative Arts for serving as our event sponsor and venue partner. Their support helps make this learning opportunity accessible and community-centered.
Join Us on April 20, 2026
AI is already shaping how we design, manage projects, analyze data, and build products. The question isn’t whether it matters. The question is how we engage with it thoughtfully and practically.
On April 20, we’re creating space for that conversation.
If you have a story to share, we invite you to send a speaker proposal.
If you want to learn, connect, and gain practical insight, we invite you to attend.
We look forward to seeing you there!
