University of Florida Warrington College of Business introduces AI Launchpad for MBA students

Before starting their new program, Fall 2026 MBA students noted that technology and AI literacy were among the skills they most wanted to develop.

In response, the University of Florida Warrington College of Business launched the “AI Launchpad,” a half-day, on-campus workshop for Online MBA and Two-Year Full Time MBA students to teach AI skills at the start of their academic journey and prepare them for the future of AI work.

Joel Davis, clinical professor and director of the David F. Miller Retail Center with over 20 years of experience in AI, led the workshop across two orientation sessions.

The AI Launchpad centered around three guiding questions: (1) Where can AI create value? (2) How do I design an AI-supported workflow? And (3) How do I evaluate whether AI-generated output is good enough to trust?

“I didn’t want them to leave there thinking that they didn’t know something or they weren’t prepared,” Davis explained. “I wanted them to leave really energized and feeling that they could [approach AI] with a high level of confidence. [That the AI] wave that’s hitting businesses right now was something they could ride.”

Elena Williams-Cabrera (MBA ’28) attended the session.  

“[Davis] walked us through the history of AI, how it’s been implemented over time, and how it became so mainstream,” she said. “It gave me a much clearer picture of where AI came from and where it’s heading.”

In addition to improving AI literacy, the workshop was designed so that students could take home a conceptual plan for an AI solution tailored to their company or industry.

To develop that plan, students worked through a variety of questions related to approaching data collection, implementing decisions and creating value. 

Nikki Graham-Folks (MBA ’27) also attended the session. Graham-Folks is the director of customer experience operations at Genesis Reference Laboratories, where she owns the company’s customer and patient experience strategy, building action plans, tracking service-quality KPIs, leading service recovery and coaching customer-facing teams.

“In my work, I’ve spent years modernizing support workflows with CRM and automation tools, so I was comfortable with technology that makes teams more efficient,” she explained. “I used AI mostly for drafting emails and documents, summarizing information, and brainstorming, but I hadn’t yet approached it strategically as something that could reshape how an entire operation runs.”

For Graham-Folks, her biggest takeaway was that the value of AI comes from starting with a clear business problem rather than the technology itself.

“I left with something I could actually take back to work, not just a list of tools,” Graham-Folks said.

During the session, students also had the chance to work collaboratively with their cohort. At every hour, students broke out into small groups and discussed their proposed AI solution and how it could create value.

“I had only met my classmates the day before, so it was nice to work with them so soon,” Williams-Cabrera said. “They opened my eyes to sides of AI I hadn’t really considered before.”

Similarly, Graham-Folks felt that the collaborative aspect of the AI Launchpad was one of the most valuable parts of the session.

“Hearing how others applied AI in completely different settings made my own plan stronger and more realistic.”

Emerging innovations, like artificial intelligence, can reshape what business will look like in 2035.

By introducing AI early in the MBA experience, the AI Launchpad gives students a framework for identifying business challenges, evaluating AI-generated output and exploring how AI can create value as they progress through the program.