ECU students get career advice at Tech Summit

Representatives from top business and technology companies had a clear message for East Carolina University students during the annual Technology Summit: Artificial intelligence won’t take your job. It will simply change it.

“A lot of people are saying that AI is taking over, so it’s nice to hear from someone who actually is currently working. It’s good to hear we won’t be replaced,” said Cassidy Fillingame, a junior software engineering student from Cove City.

Adam Orentlicher, chief technology officer at Wolters Kluwer, gives the keynote address during the Technology Summit.

The event allowed students to listen to and ask questions of professional industry experts from companies such as Microsoft, Google and Lenovo.

“I liked it. It’s interesting to see someone else’s perspective on everything about AI,” said Ashley Gomez, a junior software engineering student from Kernersville.

Deanah McDaniel, a junior software engineering student from Nashville, knows she has a future in her chosen field.

“There’s software engineering everywhere. I was looking more toward health care,” she said.

Adam Orentlicher, the chief technology officer at Wolters Kluwer, an international company that offers software and AI solutions and services, gave the keynote address for the summit. He told students that industries from health care to finance need people to navigate the AI landscape, stressing that the fundamentals of problem-solving and communication will never go away.

Sarthak Acharya, a sophomore from Nepal, said ECU’s software engineering and computer science programs provide just that — technical skills and knowledge combined with effective lessons in communication and presentations.  

“He said that having a mindset of being an engineer is more effective now than being a developer because your idea matters more than how you work,” Acharya said of Orentlicher. “It’s because AI is here now, and AI can do things, can automate things faster and in a more efficient way than humans can now. The only way you can be effective and be a good resource for the company is that you have to have a great mind that can think out of the box so you can work effectively with AI.”

Acharya said the presenters gave him information to explore.

“I want to know about new ideas since they are the ones who are currently working on those new adaptive technologies,” he said. “Getting fresh ideas from them actually can help me. I’ll go home and research it more so it helps me understand it more.”

He also took the opportunity to meet and talk to some of the presenters.

“I think with the things that you learn in class, it’s important to know more people, network with people, get more ideas about people who are already in those positions,” Acharya said. “So, this type of event helps with networking so if I apply for the jobs or internships in that company, I’ll have a resource.”

The summit focused on emerging roles in technology as well as career paths and opportunities, providing students a look at just how far their ECU degree can take them. Session topics included artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science and software development, many of which were presented by ECU alumni.

The College of Business Student Leadership Board, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Association for Information Systems student organizations hosted the event with support from ECU’s Student Government Association, the College of Business and the College of Engineering and Technology.