Artificial intelligence (AI) programs, partnerships and possibilities will take center stage during a campus AI showcase on Thursday, Feb. 26. The event - UK x Microsoft: CATS AI in Action - is free and open to all faculty, staff and students as well as community members. It will feature officials from both Microsoft and the University of Kentucky in a day of exploration and discovery at the Gatton Student Center.
UK x Microsoft: CATS AI in Action will begin at 10 a.m. with a speaking program in Ballroom A at the Gatton Student Center. The event will then shift to interaction and hands-on AI activities with engagement zones located around the Gatton Student Center Social Staircase. In those engagement zones, AI innovators from across UK will explain how they have been using AI in education, research, operations, health care and media and creative arts. Microsoft representatives will showcase how UK academic, research and health care efforts can be enhanced through this new and growing partnership. A full schedule and details will be announced in the coming weeks.
"We are excited to highlight current AI projects taking place across our campus community in these AI engagement zones," said Ian McClure, vice president for innovation at UK HealthCare and associate vice president for research, innovation and economic impact at UK. "There are numerous innovative projects taking place across UK and CATS AI is helping to align and synergize those efforts. We invite the campus community to come, explore these engagement zones, engage with members of the Microsoft AI team and learn how this new partnership can improve their UK experience."
In late 2025, UK announced Microsoft became the first corporate partner to join the Advancing Kentucky Together (AKT) Network. The Microsoft-UK partnership is organized and implemented through the university's Commonwealth AI Transdisciplinary Strategy (CATS AI).
UK was one of the first institutions in the nation to collaborate with Microsoft in building a comprehensive, stakeholder-engaged framework for artificial intelligence. This distinction reflects UK's growing leadership role in developing responsible and scalable models for how AI can support education, research, service and care.
Through CATS AI, UK will provide students, faculty and staff access to Microsoft Copilot, Copilot Studio, Microsoft 365 and the newly announced Agent Store. UK Information Technology Services staff will have a table at UK x Microsoft: CATS AI in Action to show students, faculty and staff how to sign up for and use the new software.
About CATS AI
The Commonwealth AI Transdisciplinary Strategy (CATS AI) is the University of Kentucky's comprehensive framework for advancing the responsible use of artificial intelligence in education, research, health care and operations. Led by an institution-wide council of academic, research, healthcare and administrative leaders, CATS AI connects, coordinates and amplifies AI initiatives across UK's 17 colleges, libraries, UK HealthCare, research centers and institutes.
About the Advancing Kentucky Together Network
The Advancing Kentucky Together (AKT) Network is a statewide partnership that unites UK's research, service and learning capabilities with partners to co-create solutions that expand opportunity, strengthen communities and improve well-being across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
