Toledo AI Week Is Here: Build AI Skills for a Better Career at Great Lakes AI Week 2026

Great Lakes AI Week is underway, and for the second year in a row, it's officially Toledo AI Week. Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz has once again proclaimed November 9 through 12 "Toledo AI Week" in the City of Toledo.

This year, the week is about one thing above all: helping Northwest Ohio build the AI skills that lead to better careers. Attendees have access to workshops each day, attendance earns credit toward a free AI Ready Ohio certificate, and you don't need a technical background to start.

Why AI skills matter for your career right now

• AI skills pay. Jobs that require AI skills advertise an average 62% wage premium, according to PwC's 2026 Global AI Jobs Barometer.
• Demand is growing fast. The same study found jobs requiring AI skills are growing almost eight times faster than the job market overall.
• Most workers are learning on their own. 89% of workers already use AI at work, but only about one in three have received AI training from their employer, according to a 2026 Study.com survey.

Great Lakes AI Week closes that gap with free, hands-on training, real-world examples from Ohio employers, and credentials you can add to your resume and LinkedIn profile.

Earn your AI certificate this week

AI Ready Ohio certificates stack as your skills grow, and all three are free for attendees:

• AI Explorer (2 credit hours): foundational AI literacy, prompting and responsible use. Attendance at Great Lakes AI Week counts.
• AI Empowered Professional (4 credit hours): applying AI in your everyday work, from operations and marketing to engineering, finance and HR.
• AI Empowered Leader (8 credit hours): strategy and governance for people leading AI adoption on their teams.

Credit is tracked in the vFairs app. Download it from the App Store or Google Play, sign in with the email you registered with, and check in to each session by tapping the blue QR scanner button inside the app. Scanning with your phone's regular camera won't record your hours. After the event, keep learning with free online courses at aireadyohio.org. Next year the program is expected to expand with certifications focused on tool-based, role-based, and industry-based applied learning.

Three days, three ways to build AI skills this week

Tuesday, November 10: Great Lakes AI Leadership Summit at BGSU

9:00 AM to 4:00 PM | BGSU Bowen-Thompson Student Union, 806 Ridge St., Bowling Green

Best for leaders and managers guiding teams through AI. The day opens with a welcome from ETA CEO Summer Crenshaw and an AI Ready Ohio featured presentation, followed by a presidential welcome from BGSU President Rodney Rogers and remarks from Provost Ravi Krovi on AI and the future of learning at BGSU. Highlights on the Main Stage include:

• Elise Meyers, JobsOhio: Vibe Code What You Love, a beginner-friendly look at building with AI
• Steve Taplin, Sonatafy Technology: Scaling AI: From Experimentation to Enterprise Integration
• Nate Sowder, High Contrast: Who Decides Who Decides
• Fireside: AI Readiness, Governance and Compliance in the Digital Age with leaders from ETA, Lazy Moose Co and Big Kitty Labs
• Fireside: Impact of AI on Higher Education and Academic Research with BGSU faculty
• Shawn Ellis, MTM, Inc.: AI Is Turning All of Us Into Managers: The Human Skills We Need When Intelligence Becomes Abundant
• Fireside: AI to Revitalize Manufacturing and Industry with leaders from Wurtec, Dart Container and Scalable AI

Beyond the Main Stage, breakout tracks, workshops and roundtables run all day, along with an interactive expo. Curated roundtables are reserved for VIP ticketholders and invited guests.

Wednesday, November 11: AI Week Community Day at One SeaGate

12:00 to 5:00 PM | One SeaGate, downtown Toledo (virtual sessions 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM)

Best for residents, job seekers, students and small business owners. No keynotes, just co-working, office hours and hands-on AI Ready Ohio workshops, and attendance earns AI Explorer credit. On the schedule:

• How Real Small Businesses Adopt AI with Ale Alvarado, Reset & Grow (12:00 PM)
• AI For Me: Getting Started with Everyday AI, a hands-on workshop with LeSean Shaw, EmpoweredAI (1:00 PM)
• Building and Governing AI Agents on AWS with David Blocher, Pluralsight (1:00 PM)
• Rules Your AI Agents Can't Talk Past with Liz Rettig, Lil Agile Monster (2:00 PM)
• Toledo Codes Live: Building with AI Coding Agents with Justin Beaudry (3:00 PM)
• AMA: Ask the AI Builders Anything with Summer Crenshaw, Tom Bush (Actual Reality Technologies) and Jon Salisbury (Nexigen) (4:00 PM)

The day wraps with the Toledo Codes Social at 5:00 PM.

Thursday, November 12: AI for Business Summit at the University of Toledo

8:00 AM to 4:00 PM | Lancelot Thompson Student Union, The University of Toledo, 2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo

Best for professionals and employers putting AI to work. Start the morning at the Women in AI and Business Breakfast (8:00 AM), then head to the Main Stage. Highlights include:

• Dr. James Holloway, President, The University of Toledo: The AI Advantage in the Great Lakes Region (10:00 AM)
• Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (10:15 AM)
• Chris Abrams, JobsOhio: AI Strategy in the JobsOhio Tech Sector (10:30 AM)
• Max Nevermann, IMEG: AI in the Built Environment: What Engineering Firms Are Learning (11:00 AM)
• Panel: AI, Defense, and National Security: From Research to Mission Impact with UT researchers (11:30 AM)
• Steve Flowers, Microsoft: Harness Engineering and Why You Should Build Your Own (1:30 PM)
• Fireside: AI in Healthcare from Admin to Patient Care and Scaling Ambient AI at University of Toledo Health (2:00 and 2:30 PM)
• Fireside: AI in Manufacturing and Supply Chain with Crown Battery, Telios Technology Partners, UT and the Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium (3:00 PM)

Tips for getting the most out of the week

• Register before you arrive. It's the fastest way through check-in, and code AIReady saves you 50%. Get tickets
• Get the vFairs app before you arrive. It's where you check in to sessions and earn your certificate.
• Bring a laptop to workshops. Wednesday's sessions are hands-on.
• Update your profile. Add your AI Ready Ohio certificate to your resume and LinkedIn once it's issued.
• Mind the venues. Each day is at a different venue: Tuesday is in Bowling Green; Wednesday and Thursday are in Toledo. Registration opens at 8:00 AM on Tuesday, and registered attendees will find their BGSU parking pass in their email.
• Meet people. Some of the best career conversations happen at Wednesday's Toledo Codes Social and the community events around the week.

See you this week

Whether you're starting your career, changing careers, or leading a team through AI, there's a place for you at Great Lakes AI Week.

Use code AIReady for 50% off. Register and discover ways to get involved at joinaiweek.com/greatlakes.

AI Week, produced by Enterprise Technology Association. Powered by ETA and JobsOhio.