The July 24 event, presented by Google, brought together employers, educators and emerging talent at the NCAA Hall of Champions to discuss AI, workforce readiness and the future of work.
TechPoint welcomed over 250 members of Indiana’s tech community for Community Connect: Building a Workforce AI Can’t Replace, presented by Google. The event was held alongside TechPoint’s XTERN farewell gathering, and created space for industry leaders to learn, discuss, and engage directly with the next generation of talent.
TechPoint VP of talent Sally Reasoner opened the event. Dr. Latha Ramchand, chancellor of IU Indianapolis, followed with remarks on the importance of partnerships between organizations like TechPoint, the companies they serve, and in-state higher education. She compared the relationship to supply and demand: colleges supply talent and companies demand it. “Programs like XTERN are the perfect opportunity for companies to sample our talent, especially with 37 XTERNs being IU students,” she said.
Exploring AI, Talent and Innovation
The morning featured a panel, titled “Building a Workforce AI Can’t Replace,” with experts Tiffany McCree of Google, Dr. Anne Leftwich of Indiana University, Derek Weinberg of CICP, and Keenan Collins, senior HR and organizational development leader. Sally Reasoner moderated the panel.
The panel covered:
- How AI is changing work across industries
- The skills employers increasingly value
- Stronger partnerships between education and industry
- Emerging talent as a driver of innovation
- Indiana’s future competitiveness in an AI-enable economy
Collins said soft skills are becoming business critical. Relationship building, communication and the ability to navigate ambiguity are growing more valuable and harder to find as AI access increases.
Weinberg pointed to the value of early career talent. Junior employees often bring ideas that senior staff or AI tools would not generate. He emphasized building experience through continuous learning and understanding the reasoning behind tasks, not just the tasks themselves.
Breakout Discussions
Prior to the event, TechPoint intentionally assigned attendees to different groups to include a variety of experience levels, industries represented, and proficiency with AI.
Groups were asked to discuss and answer three questions:
- What has AI already replaced?
- What do you wish AI would replace?
- What’s something AI cannot replace?
Groups noted AI has begun replacing basic coding, marketing and outreach tasks, and has made software development easier. One group pointed to personal productivity and wellness where AI could offer easier ways to track and manage stress.
On what AI cannot replace, groups agreed on human judgment, creativity, leadership and the relationship driven work of governance.
Emerging Talent Showcase
Community Connect also featured an Emerging Talent Showcase, where XTERNs presented projects, experienced and perspectives gained through their internships and through previous work experiences. 24 XTERNs showed work and attendees were free to visit as many projects as they could.
Andrew Dile, an intern at Indigo BioAutomation, built a water monitoring and control system for applications like water wells, using Arduino’s industrial PLC, the Arduino Opta. The system uses fleet provisioning for secure distribution and connects to two AWS endpoints, one for client telemetry and configuration, and one for device monitoring and maintenance. Dile is migrating the project from a single-processor proof of concept to a dual-processor device capable of handling safety-critical inputs and outputs, using AI to build test suites and catch edge cases early. The goal is to prove out the Arduino Opta’s capabilities and limitations for industrial automation.
Pranav Ramnath, an intern at Outside Source, built Prova, an AI introspection app that helps users examine their thought process on arguments about topics like education, homelessness or geopolitics. The app probes users’ arguments and pushes back on their reasoning, revealing and addressing contradictions to refine their viewpoints. Each session produces a PDF summary covering what the user said, how they reasoned, where they got stuck and what they might be missing, along with recommended readings based on the session.
Partner Support
During the lunch hour, attendees were encouraged to visit the expo hall, where organizations supporting Indiana’s tech community shared resources, connected with participants and continued conversations from the morning sessions. Presenting sponsor Google was joined by keynote sponsors Indiana University and Rolls-Royce, as well as table sponsors Afidence, ANSA Solutions, Bearstone LLC, Comcast Business, eimagine, Genpact, OTAVA®, Reveal Risk and Western Governors University.
The Chemistry of Innovation
Josh Haines of Rolls-Royce delivered an afternoon keynote on the importance of innovation, framing it as a chemical reaction rather than a fixed recipe. Haines built the talk around three ideas: psychological safety as the foundation of team performance, learning ability as the most critical skill in a fast-changing world and the value of crossing boundaries between industries and roles. He argued that leaders cannot force innovation, they can only set the right conditions and let it happen.
Haines closed by pointing to Indiana’s diverse industrial base, spanning defense, agriculture, manufacturing, pharma, motorsports and software, as an advantage most regions lack. He called on Indiana leaders to increase collaboration across sectors, including proposals like short-term professional rotations between companies and universities, to unlock the state’s potential for innovation.
Chelsea Linder, vice president of Innovation at TechPoint, closed the afternoon. She noted that talent isn’t the finish line. It’s where everything begins. A stronger talent pipeline means more solutions, ideas and opportunities for economic growth and community building across the state.
The event closed with two save-the-date announcements: TechPoint’s next Community Connect, “Building Through Innovation,” is set for November 4 at Butler University. The 2027 Mira Awards will be held on Friday, April 23 at the brand new Signia by Hilton.
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Community Connect wrapped up the day, but the XTERNs still had one more moment in the spotlight: their annual Awards and Farewell ceremony. Read about the celebration and find out which students, mentors and organizations were honored here.
Join Us at the Brand New Signia by Hilton
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