Building the AI-Ready Campus: Rethinking Infrastructure for AI and Research
Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2026 at 11am PT / 2pm ET
As colleges and universities expand their use of AI and high-performance computing, many are facing practical digital infrastructure challenges around power, cooling, security, connectivity, and growing compute demands.
In this fireside chat, Campus Technology Editor in Chief Rhea Kelly and experts from Dell Technologies and Equinix will discuss how higher education IT leaders can approach infrastructure planning for increasingly demanding AI and research workloads, including how to scale those workloads, connect environments, and support growth without adding more campus data center capacity. The conversation will also examine Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s IGNITE initiative as a real-world example of supporting a secure, shared AI and HPC research environment with diverse research and compliance requirements.
If your institution is looking to expand research capacity, compete for new funding opportunities, and make AI resources more accessible across campus, this session will offer practical insights and a proven model for success.
You'll learn how to:
- Scale AI and HPC to accelerate research outcomes
- Meet compliance and data sovereignty requirements, including HIPAA, FERPA, CUI, and defense-related grants
- Enable secure connectivity across campuses, clouds, and research partners
- Reduce infrastructure complexity while controlling costs
- Utilize managed services to support evolving AI demands
- Build a foundation for long-term research growth and innovation
About the moderator:
Rhea Kelly, Editor-in-Chief, Campus Technology
Date: 12/08/26
Time: 11:00 AM PT
