AI Catalyst
AI Catalyst is an initiative designed to introduce students to the evolving role of Artificial Intelligence in business, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary problem solving. The event serves as a platform to explore how AI is reshaping industries, decision making processes, and innovation across domains.
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Through expert-led discussions, panel conversations, and interactive formats, AI Catalyst brings together industry leaders, academics, and students to examine real world applications of AI in both corporate and startup ecosystems. The initiative encourages participants to think critically about the opportunities and challenges posed by AI while gaining practical perspectives on its strategic use.
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AI Catalyst aims to foster informed curiosity, analytical thinking, and responsible innovation among students. By combining industry insight with academic grounding, it equips participants with the mindset needed to understand, evaluate, and apply AI driven solutions in a rapidly transforming professional landscape.
AI CATALYST 2025
(January 6, 2025)
The AI Catalyst event, organized in collaboration with the Centre for Artificial Intelligence, was held on January 6th, 2025, at 9:45 AM onwards in the Seminar Hall, Block 2, Christ University. The event brought together 200 students from various departments, aiming to provide a platform for exploring the role of Artificial Intelligence in modern businesses, entrepreneurship, and interdisciplinary learning.
The event commenced with an address by Fr. Jossy P. George, Director, Centre of AI, Christ University who emphasized the importance of AI in reshaping industries and solving real-world problems. Dr. Biju Toms, Director, School of Commerce, Finance and Accountancy highlighted the increasing relevance of AI in commerce and finance, while Prof. Soumya V, Head, Department of Professional Studies inspired participants to embrace interdisciplinary learning.
The session featured esteemed speakers, including Mr. Ronobijay Bhaumik, Director of AI Transformation at Accenture, who led an engaging panel discussion moderated by Mr. Sirish Venkatagiri, Professor at the School of Business & Management, Christ University. The panel focused on the impact of AI on both traditional businesses and startups. They provided actionable strategies for leveraging AI in entrepreneurial and corporate contexts.
Additionally, Mr. BV Jagadeesh, Founding Partner of SVQ & KAAJ Ventures, Silicon Valley, conducted an insightful Ask-Me-Anything (AMA) session, offering valuable perspectives on the transformative potential of AI. A highlight of the event when Mr. Jagadeesh stated, “The power of AI lies not in replacing human intelligence but in amplifying human ability to innovate and solve problems globally.” This resonated with the audience, inspiring them to critically evaluate and innovate AI applications.
The AI Catalyst successfully achieved its objectives by fostering professional networking, enhancing critical thinking, and encouraging innovative applications of AI to solve societal challenges. The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Tulasi B, Faculty Member, Centre of AI, acknowledging the contributions of the speakers, participants, and EDEC in organizing such an event.
AI-POWERED EXCEL
(July 10, 2025)
The AI Powered Excel workshop conducted by Mr Prem Kumar R, Founder Director at Mindlogix, was a highly impactful session aimed at strengthening students’ digital and analytical skills. The workshop showcased how Artificial Intelligence can enhance the use of Microsoft Excel by automating tasks, generating insights, and supporting smarter decision making. Delivered in a clear and hands on manner, the session made advanced concepts approachable while reflecting Mr Prem’s strong industry and academic expertise.
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The session introduced the growing role of AI in productivity tools, with a focus on Excel’s built in intelligence. Mr Prem demonstrated features such as the Ideas tool, dynamic arrays, and enhanced data types, explaining how they simplify data analysis and improve efficiency. A key segment focused on Power Query and Power Pivot, where students learned to clean, merge, and structure large datasets accurately. The use of AI powered add ins and Excel’s integration with Power BI was also highlighted through examples of interactive dashboards and data driven visualisations.
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One of the major highlights was the demonstration of ChatGPT integration within Excel workflows, where natural language prompts were used to generate formulas, create macros, and extract insights. Students actively participated in practical exercises involving dashboards, AI assisted summaries, and task automation. Feedback from participants was highly positive, with many appreciating the workshop’s practical relevance and clear delivery. Overall, the session encouraged students to move beyond traditional workflows and adopt intelligent automation for academic and professional applications.