2026 Annual Manufacturing Event

October is manufacturing month! Western's Business and Industry Services invites you to our 10th annual luncheon on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at Western Technical College's Lunda Center from 11:00am-1:30pm.

You asked for more on AI in manufacturing, and we listened.

Say hello to our 2026 keynote speaker, Emily Laird!

Emily Laird leads AI strategy, governance, and professional development at the University of Wisconsin-Stout Polytechnic and across the state of Wisconsin. Her work is focused on taking a technology everyone already has an opinion about and turning it into something faculty, staff, students, and organizations can actually use. She helps educational institutions and industry partners understand what AI tools do well, where they fall short, and how to apply them responsibly and effectively in the real world. Emily also hosts the Generative AI 101 podcast, where she explores emerging developments in artificial intelligence and explains what matters, what doesn't, and what comes next.