From Tool to Practice - Rethinking How Engineering Teams Adopt AI
Synopsis
Most engineering teams have access to AI tools, but access alone rarely translates into measurable value. Adoption tends to be uneven - some engineers use AI deeply, others hardly at all - and leaders are often left without a clear sense of whether it is helping or not. The gap is not the technology; it is the lack of structure around how people adopt it.
This presentation introduces PRIME-AI (Persona-based, Responsible, Impact-Measured Enablement for Artificial Intelligence); a framework which will help engineering teams move from scattered AI experimentation to a governed, repeatable practice. The central idea is that effective AI adoption is a people-and-workflow challenge, not a tool-selection one. Because different roles face different friction points, PRIME-AI takes a persona-based approach: each role receives its own task maps, curated prompt patterns, tiered training and clear guardrails - so engineers know not only which tool to use but how, when and with what safeguards.
The talk will share how the framework came together, what emerged from testing it with real teams and how others can adapt it to themselves, teams and organizations.
Key Takeaway: The understanding of practical, reusable interview guide, persona-based prompt libraries, a tiered training model, governance guardrails and a measurement schema for tracking adoption and impact.
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- Starts 28 August 2026 05:00 AM UTC
- Ends 24 September 2026 05:00 AM UTC
- No Admission Charge
Speakers
From Tool to Practice, Rethinking How Engineering Teams Adopt AI
Biography of Kumar Avizeet
Kumar Avizeet is a Senior Manager Software Engineering at Optum, where he leads teams building next-generation healthcare data-analytics platforms. With nearly two decades of cross-industry experience, Kumar is specializing in artificial intelligence, solution architecture, cloud computing, DevOps and microservices, working across emerging technologies like machine learning, large language models and other cutting-edge technologies.
Kumar's focus is on building reliable, equitable and responsible AI for high-stakes environments. He has authored multiple peer-reviewed publications across AI, applied machine learning and healthcare analytics.
Kumar is a Senior Member of IEEE and holds a Master of Science in Management of Technology from the University of Minnesota, along with a Master & Bachelor of Computer Applications in computer science.
Beyond his professional role, Kumar serves as a reviewer, judge and mentor on IEEE research paper review panels, conference technical program committees and international programs such as the CES and John Hopkins Tech Hackathons. He also mentors at events like the First Tech Challenge (FTC) Championship, High Tech Kids and the FTC State Championship in Minnesota, helping shape the next generation of engineers and innovators.
Agenda
Thursday September 24th, 2026 (times are CST -- for Minnesota)
6:00 PM: Check-in. Socialize.
6:30 PM: Presentation -- From Tool to Practice, Rethinking How Engineering Teams Adopt AI -- Kumar Avizeet
7:15 PM: Q&A and general discussion.
7:30 PM: Conclusion.