When the Microsoft AI Tour rolled into New York City, higher education had a seat at the table. Ryan Elstad, senior director and architect of data and AI, represented Syracuse University on a panel focused on AI and education — one voice among the technology leaders, partners and practitioners who filled the North Javits Center to compare notes on what AI is already making possible.
The panel put a practitioner's lens on a question every campus is working through: how to move from AI curiosity to AI that genuinely supports teaching, learning and the day-to-day work of running an institution. It's a conversation Syracuse University has been having in the open for more than a year, and Elstad brought the University's hands-on experience to a room that wanted real examples rather than promises.
That experience runs deep. At Syracuse University, Elstad has helped lead the campus rollout of Claude Enterprise and co-hosted the University's AI at Work series, including a session on building reusable Claude Skills — practical tools that keep writing, branding and accessibility consistent across a large organization. Bringing that work to a national stage put Syracuse University's approach in front of peers still deciding where to begin.
The energy at the tour matched the moment. Across industries and sectors, attendees described the work on display as genuinely surprising — a snapshot of how quickly organizations are turning AI from experiment into everyday practice. For a university that has made responsible, practical AI a priority, it was familiar territory.
Syracuse University's presence in New York is one more marker of a strategy that keeps pointing outward: share what's working, learn from others doing the same and help shape where higher education takes AI next.