December 2023 Convocation Ceremony and Open House Registration

Registration for the December 2023 iDegrees Convocation Ceremony and the iDegrees Celebration and Open House are now open! Each event has its own registration form. 

December 2023 Convocation Ceremony: held in person on Friday, December 15 | 1:00-3:00 pm CT at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. Register Here

December 2023 Open House: held in person Friday, December 15 | 9:30-11:30 am CT at the Krannert Center. The open house is a time to gather before the ceremony with your guests to socialize, take photographs, and enjoy refreshments. Register Here

Please refer to the Gies Convocation Website for more details on the convocation ceremony.  

iDegrees Convocation Ceremony: This ceremony is a celebration of completing your degree, but your degree conferral is the formal process by which the University awards your degree, and this is an entirely separate process from the convocation ceremony.  

Degree Conferral: Refers to the process that the University will officially verify that learners have completed their degree requirements and award degrees. The University will begin to confer degrees for December 2023 graduates starting on December 18, but it may take longer for the degree to be officially awarded. For December 2023 graduates to be awarded their degree, they will need to apply for graduation on student self-service by October 29.  

Gies Volunteer Opportunity at Danville Correctional Facility

In Spring 2023, Gies Business partnered with the Education Justice Project to begin offering an Accounting Certificate Program for incarcerated individuals in the Danville Correctional Facility. We are preparing for our second cohort of learners and would love to have you be a part of the program. Come learn more at one of the info sessions listed below. Hear from current EJP members and learn about opportunities to volunteer and make an impact in our local communities. Join on Zoom. 

• Wednesday, September 20 | 10-11 am
• Thursday, September 21 | 10-11 am

The Accounting Certificate Program requires a team of volunteers including: UIUC faculty, staff, or graduate students who will provide instructional or academic support to learners. No specialized knowledge in accounting is required. 

Gies also offers business workshops to persons in custody. Volunteers can facilitate a three-hour workshop on any business topic of their choosing. If you are interested in leading a workshop in the Spring of 2024,please fill out this form.

Applications are due October 2, and volunteers are needed for Spring 2024 and/or Fall 2024! Watch this video to see the impact EJP can have. For more information, contact Jessica Thornton at jat11@illinois.edu.

On Zoom | Meeting ID: 863 8867 6733 | Password: 757100

What are your thoughts about AI?

The Graduate College is curious to know some of the ways AI is changing your world as a graduate student. Please tell us in a few brief sentences. We will share a compilation of anonymous responses in an upcoming GradLIFE blog post.

Gies Business Professors Innovate in their Digital Marketing Course

Professors Aric Rindfleisch and Steve Raquel teach MBA 545 Marketing in Our New Digital World for the iMBA. Learn more about how they take interaction to the next level and find unique ways for learners to acquire and apply industry relevant skills. Link to article here. 

Events

Champaign Urbana Pride Parade and Fair
September 30 | 1:45- 5:00 pm CT| Register Here

March with the LGBTQ+ and Allies at Gies Affinity Group in the Pride Parade on Saturday, September 30, to show support for the LGBTQ+ community of Urbana-Champaign. A group from Gies will meet at the staging area at 1:45 pm and line up together. (We’ll update you with the staging location once it’s determined by Pride Fest organizers.) Look for Gies apparel to find our representatives, and please wear your Gies gear. Also feel free to wear any Pride accessories you may have. Register here. After the parade, we’ll enjoy the CU Pride Fest Fair in downtown Urbana. See the full schedule for CU Pride Fest.

Interested in Being a Disability Ally? 

October 5 | 1:00- 4:00 pm CT | Register Here

Would you like to be more aware of how disability and ableism are experienced in your academic, social and living environments? Join the Disability Ally Training on Thursday, October 5; 1pm-4pm (in person and virtual). Please complete the registration form and contact Stephanie Wheeler (slwheele@illinois.edu) for more information.

Women's Coffee Chat

October 5 | 11:00 am CT| Register Here

Join us to explore how women in business can achieve success in Gies Online Graduate Programs! A recruitment leader will be joined by some of the amazing women currently studying in one of our online programs. Bring your questions and a cup of coffee to sit back and discuss the experiences and challenges women face in business and how graduate education can help women succeed.

Ivy Exec Webinar: The Impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence in Online Learning Platforms

October 31 | 11:00 am  CT | Register Here

The rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, such as ChatGPT has led to both excitement and skepticism among academics and industry. In this Webinar, Professor Unnati Narang will discuss how these technologies impact user-generated content (UGC) creation and engagement in online learning platforms. Using empirical evidence from ongoing field experiments, she will demonstrate the dual impact of AI; while encouraging the use of AI results in higher content creation, it results in 5-16% less engagement (i.e., fewer views and comments) relative to not using AI. She will also share the results of a practical, low-cost strategy managers can use to mitigate the negative effects on engagement. 

In Case You Missed It...
Use the Online Program Announcements to view the previous At-a-Glance issue.

Calendar
Use the Event Calendar for upcoming events and academic deadlines this semester.

Deadline to Apply to Graduate by December 2023

October 29 | Apply to Graduate
For December 2023 graduates to be awarded their degree, they will need to apply to graduate on student self-service by October 29. This application will not register you for the December 2023 convocation ceremony.

December 2023 Convocation Events 

Open House     December 15, 2023 | 9:30-11:30 am CT | Krannert Center | Register Here
Ceremony     December 15, 2023 | 1:00-3:00 pm CT  | Krannert Center | Register Here

Japan Virtual Immersion October 4-17, 2023 

Mexico City In-Person Immersion January 3-8, 2024

May 2024 Convocation Ceremony Friday, May 10, 2024 | 3:00-4:30 pm CT