CIRPA is very excited to announce that this year’s workshops are offered at no additional charge! Based on member feedback, our conference schedule has moved workshops to Wednesday – letting you make the most of your weekend! Included with your registration you can select one of the exciting full-day workshops, offered by Microsoft or CIRPA.

If you’ve already signed up, simply return to the registration page to add one of our workshops, a tourism opportunity, or a guest ticket for your travel companion. If you have not yet registered for the conference, the early-bird deadline is coming up on Friday September 13th. The discounted hotel rates are guaranteed to CIRPA delegates who book their rooms before September 18th.

Workshops

Sign up during the registration process (ticket options) to reserve your spot. If you have already registered, simply go back to the registration page and continue through the process until you see your purchased ticket. Click on “Select Ticket Options,” check your choices, save, and continue through the checkout process.

 

Using R in IRP:  Tricks of the Trade

Sponsored by: CIRPA

In the world of data science and wrangling, R is one of the most popular and useful languages. This session will showcase what some fellow CIRPA members are doing with R as part of their regular workflows, with an eye to sharing useful methods and knowledge. We’ll cover data loading, transformations, reporting options, and web-scraping. Participants can expect to expand their working knowledge of R and take home a functional foundation for future projects. This workshop includes a start-to-finish introduction to web-scraping.

Fraser Hay, Conestoga College
Sarah Resnick, University of Manitoba
Sethulakshmi Sajeev, University of Manitoba

 

Transforming Data to Empower Institutions with Actionable Insights

In this interactive post-conference workshop, participants will learn about new AI and machine learning tools that can transform their data strategy and deliver more impactful insights. The workshop will begin by sharing examples from across Canada and the globe, to explore the potential impact of leveraging AI and machine learning to enhance insights into student experience both in the classroom and on campus.

The session will explore how higher education institutions are re-imagining their data strategy so they can better leverage data that is collected from multiple sources in order to create unique insights and better inform their institution’s strategic direction. In the era of AI, institutions now have the capacity to leverage new insights that provide a clearer picture of their students’ experiences as well as the predictive models that can deliver more significant impact to transform outcomes.

Participants will then explore how new tools including Microsoft Fabric, Azure AI and Copilot can augment their capacity to mobilize their data and create differentiated insights. In a world café style experience, participants will then identify key actions and barriers to transforming their data strategy that they can apply when they return to their institutions.

Dr. Elka Walsh, AVP Learning, Teaching and Transformation, Microsoft Canada
Karen McGregor, National Azure Lead, Education Segment, Microsoft Canada
Greg Milligan, Senior Account Executive, Microsoft Canada

 

We hope to see you in October!

 

CIRPA 2024 Conference Co-chairs
Stephen Blair Dove, University of New Brunswick
David Kilfoil, University of New Brunswick