The third annual University of Wisconsin Sustainability Symposium was held Wednesday at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery.

The symposium featured brief presentations, poster sessions on sustainability and a keynote speech centered on the relationship between sustainability and artificial intelligence.

Will Erikson, Academic Program Manager at the UW Office of Sustainability and event planner for the symposium, said campus sustainability initiatives like Wisconsin RISE, RISE-EARTH and RISE AI helped shape the event’s theme and agenda.

“This event, we hope, helps highlight things to come and all of the great work that’s also being done on our campus currently, as a real living lab,” Erikson said.

The symposium demonstrated an effort to show sustainability’s impact across campus through talks and presentations from many different schools, colleges and divisions at UW, according to Erikson. He said the event’s turnout was fantastic, with students and faculty from all across campus in attendance.

“We hope that this event fosters collaboration across UW campus,” Erikson said. “We hope that it was the spark for a researcher who might feel siloed in their work to say, I should connect with this.”

The keynote speaker was MIT assistant professor Sara Beery, who gave a presentation on the role of AI in conservation and biodiversity efforts. Erikson said Beery was the perfect choice to highlight the nexus of sustainability and AI.

Julia Fechner, a student intern at the Office of Sustainability, was the green event coordinator for the symposium and said it was a zero waste, platinum-certified sustainable event.

Fechner said she is excited about the sustainability efforts underway on campus, and that being an intern allows her to see the internal side of fun and inspiring projects.

“The work that we do in the sustainability research hub gives me a lot of hope for the future of this campus,” Fechner said.

Erikson said he is encouraged by Chancellor Mnookin and the university’s sustainability initiatives, and their spotlight on the Office of Sustainability.

“It’s always been the right place, but it’s also the right time,” Erikson said. “It’s such an exciting time to be working in sustainability.”

The symposium was hosted by the Office of Sustainability in partnership with the Data Science Institute, Facilities Planning & Management, the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, University Lectures and the UW Environmental Awareness Fund, according to the Office of Sustainability website.