Annual Northwestern SPS Symposium
Join us for the 2025 Northwestern SPS Symposium this October. The annual two-day event and academic conference provides an opportunity for you to interact and learn from fellow students, faculty, and staff. The event corresponds with Northwestern Reunion Weekend (October 3 and 4) and has been developed to forge connections between students at all points in your program.
This is your opportunity to meet students outside of your courses; to talk, listen, and engage with exciting speakers and panels across disciplinary fields, and to experience the Chicago and Evanston campuses.
To attend, submit your RSVP by September 19, 2025. We will be sending out more details as we get closer to the fall quarter, and we look forward to seeing you October 3 and 4.
Below is the full program for the 2025 Annual SPS Symposium.
DAY ONE
2025 Symposium Conference
Friday, October 3, 2025, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. CT
Wieboldt Hall (339 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago)
The Symposium conference academic presentations and discussions are an opportunity for students to interact with their instructors face-to-face and engage in topics not covered in a typical course for further learning and professional development. The conference portion of SPS Symposium begins with breakfast, followed by academic presentations for students in a wide range of programs, and honoring this year's SPS Alumni Award recipient.
The 2025 Conference Event Schedule is below.
2025 Schedule
| 9–10am |
Breakfast Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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| 9am-1pm |
Professional Headshots (complimentary) - Dynamic Photo Systems Room: Wieboldt 7th floor lounge |
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| 10:00–10:40am |
Utilizing ML to Classify Type of Heartbeat Based on Echocardiogram Data (Nathan Akerhielm) Room: Wieboldt 507 |
Empowering Girls to Pursue Data Science Careers (Gus Elmashni) Room: Wieboldt 712 |
Beyond the Encampment: A Case Study Evaluation of Elgin’s Homelessness Initiatives (Ismael Cordová-Clough) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
Leadership Resources Management – A Case Study on Improving Leadership Utilization (J. Bryan Bennett) Room: Wieboldt 517
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| 10:40–10:50am | Break | ||||
| 10:50–11:30am |
Applications of AI in Building Sustainable Digital Systems (Abid Ali) Room: Wieboldt 507 |
Exit from International Organizations: New Book Release Policy Discussion (Felicity Vabulas) Room: Wieboldt 712 |
Live by Grants - Die By Grants: Realizing a Robust Development Strategy in Austere Environments (Carl Evans) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
Designing With, Not For: Participatory Practices for Business Strategy (Lauren Katy & Liss Kaushansky) Room: Wieboldt 712 |
From Pixels to People: Counterbalancing Artificial and Natural Intelligence in Career and Life (Ryan Hough) Room: tbd
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| 11:30–11:40am | Break | ||||
| 11:40am–12:20pm |
Revolutionizing Service Industries with GenAI-Driven Automation (Atef Bader) Room: Wieboldt 711 |
Molecule Meets Machine: The Promise and Pitfalls of AI-Driven Assay Development (Crystal Yu) Room: Wieboldt 712 |
Policy Making From the Bottom Up: A New Framework for Public Administration at the Local Level (Sara Kuehlhorn Friedman) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
The Ethical Implications of AI in Recruitment (Gopika Nair) Room: Wieboldt 517 |
Motivation: Exploring Drive and Determination and the Science Behind It (Judy Roman) Room: tbd |
| 12:20 –1:30pm |
Lunch Break Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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| 1:30–2:10pm |
Exponential AI: The Acceleration No One’s Ready For (Daniel Balette) Room: Wieboldt 711 |
A Data Deep Dive into Ballroom Dance (Lida Tetyusheva) Room: Wieboldt 712 |
Emotion at the Point of Risk: Adaptive Fraud Communication Through Cognitive and UX Insight (Neil Rice) Room: Wieboldt 506 |
Resilient by Design: Non-Traditional Students in a Shifting Labor Market (Denise Kytko) Room: Wieboldt 517 |
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| 2:10–2:20pm | Break | ||||
| 2:20 –3pm |
Keynote: Title TBD (Dr. Dana Schinasi) Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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| 3 - 3:30pm |
SPS Alumni Award Presentation (George Casey, Jr.) and Closing Remarks Room: Wieboldt 704 |
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DAY TWO
2025 Homecoming Tailgate & Football Game
Saturday, October 4, 2025, time tba
Tailgate: Bat 17 - 1735 Benson Avenue, Evanston
Game: Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium - 2235 N. Campus Drive, Evanston
The final day of the SPS Symposium will take place in Evanston during the spirited festivities of Reunion Weekend (“Homecoming”). All are invited to attend a tailgate with fellow SPS students, faculty, alumni and staff. Attendees have the option to purchase tickets to cheer on the Wildcats at the Northwestern vs. ULM homecoming football game at the beautiful lakefront Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium. Football tickets will be available for purchase (limited quantities on a first come, first served basis; $89 each in section N-3.)
Travel and Accommodations
Travel and Accommodations
Please refer to the Northwestern University Reunion Weekend's webpage on travel and accommodations. Preferred Chicago hotels can be found on this page. These are suggestions and accommodations made by the University to make booking your stay easier. You are not obligated to stay in these recommended hotels to attend the SPS Symposium. Guests are responsible for their own travel arrangements.
Parking on the Chicago Campus
A discounted daily and evening rate will be available for parking at the Erie Ontario Garage and the Huron Superior Garage from 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. or daily from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. You must park
and exit within the specified time to receive the discounted rate. If you enter before the rate takes effect, or exit after the specified end time on the date of entry you will be charged the full public rate for the entire time you are parked. If parked for 12 hours or more, regular garage rates will apply. See the Chicago campus parking map.
How to obtain a discount:
- Park in the eligible garage and obtain a parking ticket at entry.
- While at Symposium in Wieboldt Hall, obtain a QR code from the check-in desk, the Symposium Guidebook app, or the Erie-Ontario or Huron Superior Customer Service Offices.
- When ready to exit, go to a garage pay station on the ground level and insert your parking ticket.
- Once the pay station has stated parking fee, scan the QR code on the pay station scanner. Once scanned correctly, the pay station will reduce the parking fee.
- Pay the fee with payment card or cash following the machine instructions.
- Collect the parking ticket back from the machine after your transaction is complete.
- Insert the parking ticket at the exit gate as you leave the garage with your vehicle.