BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:IEEE vTools.Events//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=2SU;BYMONTH=3 TZNAME:CDT END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD DTSTART:20261101T010000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;BYDAY=1SU;BYMONTH=11 TZNAME:CST END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260501T004331Z UID:DCC6BEAA-ADDF-496E-846C-32C2B1F40C9E DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260526T173000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260526T193000 DESCRIPTION:Tech is moving fast ā€” and the best way to keep up is together . Join the ACM-IEEE WIE Twin Cities community for an evening of expert-led talks\, real-world insights\, and genuine connection. This session is par t of our ongoing Track 03 ā€” Data Infrastructure & AI Readiness series\, designed to bridge the gap between AI architecture and enterprise-scale ad option.\n\nThis month's theme: AI in the Real World ā€” Build\, Adopt\, Be long.\n\nWe go from how multimodal AI actually works under the hood\, to w hy enterprise adoption still fails ā€” and what to do about it. Whether yo u're an engineer\, architect\, leader\, or student\, there's something her e for you.\n\nWhat's Happening\nšŸ‘‹ *Welcome & Keynote ā€” AI is ready. A re we?\nLakshmi Priya Gopalsamy\, Senior Engineering Manager ā€” Target\n\ nšŸŽ¤ *Multimodal AI: How Models See\, Hear\, and Reason Across Data Types by Rudra Pratap Chakraborty\, Cloud & AI Solutions Architect ā€” N5 Senso rs\nFrom text-only transformers to multimodal systems ā€” embeddings\, cro ss-attention\, and modality fusion. Real deployment patterns\, honest trad eoffs\, and what this means for the systems you're building today.\n\nšŸŽ¤ Beyond the AI Hype: What It Really Takes for Enterprises to Adopt AI by H arish Vundavalli\, Senior IT Architect ā€” Strategic Education Inc.\nWhy A I pilots stall\, what causes hesitation across teams and leadership\, and a grounded framework for moving from experimentation to sustainable adopti on.\n\nšŸ¤ Open Q&A + Networking & Community Mixer\n\nWant to speak at a future session? Submit your topic [[here](https://twincities-techhub.lovab le.app/apply)]\nLearn more about this group [here](https://twincities-tech hub.lovable.app/apply)\nJoin our LinkedIn Group [ACM-IEEE TwinCities TechH ub](https://www.linkedin.com/groups/19247009/)\n\nCo-sponsored by: Associa tion for Computing Machinery (ACM)\n\nSpeaker(s): \, \, \n\nRoom: 2nd Floo r\, Mary and David Doty Board Room\, Bldg: Minneapolis Central Library\, 3 00 Nicollet Mall\, Minneapolis\, Minnesota\, United States LOCATION:Room: 2nd Floor\, Mary and David Doty Board Room\, Bldg: Minneapol is Central Library\, 300 Nicollet Mall\, Minneapolis\, Minnesota\, United States ORGANIZER:gopalsamylakshmipriya@gmail.com SEQUENCE:28 SUMMARY:ACM-IEEE Twin Cities | Multimodal AI\, Enterprise Adoption & Commun ity Showcase URL;VALUE=URI:https://events.vtools.ieee.org/m/557963 X-ALT-DESC:Description: <br /><p class="mb-ds2-10">Tech is moving fast &mda sh\; and the best way to keep up is&nbsp\;<strong>together</strong>. Join the&nbsp\;<strong>ACM-IEEE WIE Twin Cities</strong>&nbsp\;community for an evening of expert-led talks\, real-world insights\, and genuine connectio n. This session is part of our ongoing&nbsp\;<strong>Track 03 &mdash\; Dat a Infrastructure &amp\; AI Readiness</strong>&nbsp\;series\, designed to b ridge the gap between AI architecture and enterprise-scale adoption.</p>\n <p class="mb-ds2-10">This month's theme:&nbsp\;<strong>AI in the Real Worl d &mdash\; Build\, Adopt\, Belong.</strong></p>\n<p class="mb-ds2-10">We g o from how multimodal AI actually works under the hood\, to why enterprise adoption still fails &mdash\; and what to do about it. Whether you're an engineer\, architect\, leader\, or student\, there's something here for yo u.</p>\n<p class="mb-ds2-10"><strong>What's Happening</strong><br>šŸ‘‹ *<s trong>Welcome &amp\; Keynote &mdash\; AI is ready. Are we?</strong><br><st rong>Lakshmi Priya Gopalsamy\, Senior Engineering Manager &mdash\; Target< /strong></p>\n<p class="mb-ds2-10">šŸŽ¤ *<strong>Multimodal AI: How Models See\, Hear\, and Reason Across Data Types</strong>&nbsp\;by&nbsp\;<strong >Rudra Pratap Chakraborty\, Cloud &amp\; AI Solutions Architect &mdash\; N 5 Sensors</strong><br><em>From text-only transformers to multimodal system s &mdash\; embeddings\, cross-attention\, and modality fusion. Real deploy ment patterns\, honest tradeoffs\, and what this means for the systems you 're building today.</em></p>\n<p class="mb-ds2-10">šŸŽ¤&nbsp\;<strong>Beyo nd the AI Hype: What It Really Takes for Enterprises to Adopt AI by Harish Vundavalli\, Senior IT Architect &mdash\; Strategic Education Inc.</stron g><br><em>Why AI pilots stall\, what causes hesitation across teams and le adership\, and a grounded framework for moving from experimentation to sus tainable adoption.</em></p>\n<p class="mb-ds2-10">šŸ¤&nbsp\;<strong>Open Q&amp\;A + Networking &amp\; Community Mixer</strong></p>\n<p class="mb-ds 2-10">Want to speak at a future session? Submit your topic [<a class="!tex t-ds2-text-fill-brand_primary-enabled hover:!text-ds2-text-fill-brand_prim ary-hover" href="https://twincities-techhub.lovable.app/apply" target="_bl ank" rel="nofollow noopener ugc">here</a>]<br>Learn more about this group& nbsp\;<a class="!text-ds2-text-fill-brand_primary-enabled hover:!text-ds2- text-fill-brand_primary-hover" href="https://twincities-techhub.lovable.ap p/apply" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener ugc">here</a><br>Join our LinkedIn Group&nbsp\;<a class="!text-ds2-text-fill-brand_primary-enabled h over:!text-ds2-text-fill-brand_primary-hover" href="https://www.linkedin.c om/groups/19247009/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ugc">ACM-IEEE TwinCitie s TechHub</a></p> END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR