EPIC AI Conference - AM Workshops
Description
Learn AI by doing
The morning workshop block of the EPIC AI Conference is designed for people who want practical experience, not just theory.
Across five fast, hands-on sessions, you’ll explore how AI can support communication, workflow design, nonprofit impact, and visual creation. This is a working session for professionals, founders, operators, and curious learners who want to try tools, test ideas, and leave with methods they can use straight away.
Hosted by the Christchurch AI Meetup Group as part of TechWeekNZ, the EPIC AI Conference brings together local and international practitioners for a compact, high-value morning of experimentation and applied learning. Whether you’re just getting started, or already using AI at work, these sessions will give you fresh ways to think about what the tools can do, where they fit, and how to use them more effectively.
AM Workshop lineup
8:00-9:00am - Coffee & Games
Get caffeinated, network with other attendees, play some AI games
9:00–9:30am — Caelan Huntress
Create Your Own AI Coach to Learn Anything
As LLMs become more conversational, asking better questions shapes your AI thinking partner around the goals you care about, and the way you learn best. Coaching is a meta-skill that unlocks any other skill. In this interactive workshop, you’ll learn practical techniques you can use immediately for learning, reflection, and growth.
9:30–10:00am — Siena Brody-Heine
Transform Meetings into Actionable Insights
Conversations are one of the most valuable and underused resources in any organisation. In this live demo, Hannah will record a role-played conversation inspired by audience topics, then show how AI can turn that raw material into useful outputs, insights, actions, and communications.
10:00–10:30am — Steve Fox
Mapping AI Opportunities in Your Organisation
This applied workshop introduces a practical framework for identifying where AI can create new value in your workflows, illustrated with real examples. Using a simple sliding scale from manual to fully automated, Steve will guide participants through breaking work into tasks, assessing where AI fits, identifying where human oversight still matters, and estimating the cost and opportunity impact of each change.
10:30–11:00am — Lois McClintock
AI for Good: Empowering Nonprofits
This session explores how nonprofits can use AI to increase impact, free up volunteer time, and improve operations without needing large budgets or complex systems. Lois will share practical examples from nonprofit work including strategy, social media, fundraising, and policy support.
11:00–11:30am — Dan Randow
Ideas Into Action: A Micro-Hackathon
Dan Randow closes the morning with a fast-moving micro-hackathon that turns the room's AI ideas into action in under thirty minutes. Participants pitch ideas, develop them in teams – and everyone walks into lunch with actionable inspiration.
Hosted and emceed by Caelan Huntress, founder of the AI Coaching Academy and organiser of the Christchurch AI Meetup Group, this morning session sets the tone for a day focused on learning, experimentation, and community.
Tickets are $10 each for Workshops, Speakers, and Panel. RSVP for those parts of the day you want to attend ($30 for the whole day), or only those events that interest you.
Also happening at the EPIC AI Conference
Build your own conference day with these other TechWeek26 events at EPIC and nearby:
AI Workshops AM — 9:00am–11:45am
Hands-on workshops designed to help you build practical AI skills, explore tools, and learn by doing.
RSVP AI Workshops AM (on this page!)Coffee & Jam by Ministry of Awesome — 12:00pm–1:15pm
A relaxed networking session with founders, builders, and members of Christchurch’s innovation community.
RSVP Coffee & JamAI Speakers PM — 1:30pm–5:00pm
Talks and demos from speakers across business, research, startups, and the innovation ecosystem, sharing how AI is being applied in practice.
RSVP AI Speakers PMLeadership in AI Panel — 5:30pm–7:00pm
A panel conversation exploring strategy, governance, adoption, and the leadership questions shaping AI’s role in everyday work and life.
RSVP Leadership in AI Panel
Networking with Christchurch’s innovation community
As part of TechWeekNZ, this Christchurch AI Conference highlights local capability, shared learning, and the expanding role of AI in shaping how we live and work in Aotearoa. Register early to receive speaker announcements and secure your place at EPIC Innovation.
FAQs
- Who is this event for?
This event is designed for professionals, founders, operators, students, researchers, and curious practitioners who want to understand how AI is being applied in real work. If you are looking for practical AI training in Christchurch, this TechWeek26 programme is built to help you see how AI is being used across business, leadership, community, and creative contexts.
Who should attend:
Professionals looking for practical AI skills they can apply immediately
Founders, marketers, consultants, and operators exploring AI workflows
Team leaders and decision-makers assessing adoption opportunities
Nonprofit and community leaders interested in accessible AI use cases
Creatives and communicators wanting better results from generative tools
- Do I need technical experience to attend?
No. Most sessions are designed to be accessible for beginners while still offering useful insight for intermediate attendees. If you are AI-curious but not deeply technical, you will still be able to follow the discussions, join the workshops, and leave with practical ideas you can apply.
What to expect
Five short workshops and live demos
Practical frameworks, not abstract hype
Beginner-friendly sessions with useful depth for experienced attendees
Real examples across business, nonprofit, and creative work
A strong starting point for the rest of the EPIC AI Conference day
- What is the difference between the three EPIC AI Conference events?
The day is split into four public sessions so you can choose the format that suits you best. AM Workshops focuses on hands-on learning and live demonstrations. Coffee and Jam, hosted by Ministry of Awesome, showcases local founders working with AI. PM Presentations brings together talks and case studies from practitioners applying AI in real settings. The Leadership in AI Panel in the evening is a discussion for people interested in strategy, governance, adoption, and the bigger questions leaders need to think about now.
8-9am - Doors open, networking, AI gameplay
9-11:45 - AM Workshops
12:00-1:15 - Coffee and Jam
1:30-5pm - PM Presentations
5:30-7pm - Evening panel
RSVP for only those events you want to attend, or for the whole day.
- Can I attend just one part of the day?
Yes. Each session has its own Humanitix listing, so you can register for the workshop block, the speaker sessions, the evening panel, or build your own full day across the programme.
Tickets are $10 each for Workshops, Speakers, and Panel. RSVP for those parts of the day you want to attend ($30 for the whole day), or only those events that interest you.
- What will I learn at this event?
You will see practical examples of how AI is being used for communication, workflow design, leadership, creative production, organisational decision-making, and community impact. The focus is on real applications, not abstract hype, so attendees leave with examples, methods, and questions worth exploring further in their own work.
You’ll leave with
New ways to interact with AI tools
A clearer sense of where AI fits into your work
Practical examples you can adapt to your own organisation
Better prompting approaches for text, insight, and visuals
Connections with others exploring AI in Christchurch
- Who is hosting the event?
The EPIC AI Conference sessions are hosted by Caelan Huntress and the Christchurch AI Meetup Group as part of TechWeek26. Caelan Huntress is an AI educator based in Christchurch who helps professionals become more capable AI operators through workshops, training, and the AI Coaching Academy. The Christchurch AI Meetup Group brings together developers, business leaders, researchers, and curious professionals to explore AI practically, ethically, and locally.
The venue is sponsored by EPIC Innovation, the central hub for clever businesses in downtown Christchurch.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
