AI Workshops for Staff
In January, FAS will offer a short series of generative AI workshops on the use of AI in administrative and operational tasks. Sessions will be scheduled during the weeks of January 19 and January 26, with a variety of morning and afternoon options within regular business hours.
The purpose is to help staff use Harvard supported AI tools to manage core writing, communication, and data work more efficiently, while staying within current guidance on appropriate use.
Led by Matthew Poplawski, Consulting Director, AI Innovation & Adoption in FAS, the sessions will work through step by step examples drawn from typical FAS workflows, for example:
- managing and drafting email for faculty, students, and internal colleagues
- extracting key points from reports, policy documents, or meeting notes
- turning outlines or bullet points into a first draft of memos, updates, or other documents
- cleaning and reorganizing spreadsheet data for analysis, reporting, or tracking
- assembling material for briefings, presentations, or divisional updates
These examples form an initial framework. Within that, each session will place greater weight on the scenarios that align most closely with the work and priorities of the people who register.
The workshops are designed for a range of experience levels. Staff who are new to AI tools will see clear, practical approaches they can apply immediately in their own work. Staff who already use tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini will see how similar approaches can be implemented with Harvard supported tools and how to use them more reliably in administrative contexts.
Sessions are voluntary and practical, with time for questions and discussion. The aim is for participants to leave with a small set of specific techniques they can reuse in their own tasks, rather than with a general overview.
When you register, you will be asked a short series of questions about your role, your current use of AI tools, the kinds of tasks you would most like to address, and your general availability in the weeks of January 19 and January 26. Responses are used only to plan these sessions and related staff resources so that the time is relevant and well spent.