2024 Student Professional Development Conference

Networking reception

Welcome

Dr. Carla Carnaghan - Associate Dean, Dhillon School of Business

Gord Beal - Senior Vice President of Outreach, CPA Alberta

Dinner served

"The future is human: How AI and ChatGPT require us to be better leaders" with Cheryl Cran 

Interested in what human skills will continue to be relevant in the workforce, even in the era of AI and ChatGPT? Using research-based global business insights and examples from companies she has worked with, Cheryl Cran will help you understand what leaders and teams need to do to thrive today and beyond to the year 2030.

Closing remarks

Cheryl Cran

(Thursday evening)

The Future is Human: How AI and ChatGPT Requires Us to Be Better Leaders

This keynote — based on Cheryl Cran’s new book, Super. Crucial. Human — focuses on the key human skills leaders and teams need to have in a fast changing AI and ChatGPT era. Research has confirmed that not only are we in a workers market, we are going to need more people now and into the future even with the rise of automation, AI, ChatGPT, and robotics. What we need is people who have crucial human skills — skills that go beyond the basics when it comes to compassion, creativity, communication, and collaboration. This keynote will inspire and elevate the mindsets of audience members to embrace that being human means we have infinite possibilities to evolve and adapt at the speed of change. Audiences will leave with practical tools that they can apply personally and take back to their leaders and teams.

Audiences will learn:

• Research on the digital and social trends that are driving the urgent need for everyone to develop “crucial human skills”.

• How to reframe challenges, setbacks, and disruptions into elevated opportunities to evolve and grow.

• The 4 Cs of being a super crucial human — next level skills of compassion, creativity, conscious communication, and collaboration.

• How everyone can elevate to being “change leaders”, driving positive change forward.

• How to leverage the “me to we” mindset model to increase collaboration in a hybrid workplace reality.

• Actionable models and strategic ideas on how to elevate crucial human skills and apply them in life and work for accelerated success in all relationships.

Sheila Musgrove 

(Friday morning)

How to get HIRED

80% of resumes are rejected in less than 11 seconds.  Shocking, but true. And, your current resume is probably one of them.  Not to worry, by the end of this session, you’ll know exactly how to write a resume that WILL get your phone ringing for interviews. 

Audiences will learn:

• 6 Surprising things that get ZERO attention in the first 11 seconds.
• The BONES of your resume – fonts, sizes, spacing.  These small details make a big difference.
• The 2-step resume formula that has helped job seekers globally land their new zippy gig.  And, it will help you too!
• Are you nervous about what to say in a job interview?  You’re not alone.  Find out how, step by step, what and how to prepare to ACE your interview.
• There are 6 things a hiring manager wants to know about each of your jobs…but they don’t ask.
• There is ONE question you have to ask at the end of every interview.  You can’t miss this step!
• Curious about how to be a stand-out candidate AFTER the interview?  It’s an EASY strategy, but everyone misses it.
• Plus a ton more content – career pivots, crappy career moments, resilience in your job search, and MORE!

Cheryl Cran

(Thursday evening)

Cheryl Cran

Future of work expert | Founder of NextMapping and CEO of parent company, Synthesis at Work Inc. 

Cheryl Cran is a “future of all things” expert, including work, society, and life. She is recognized as the #1 Future of Work influencer by Onalytica and a top ten future of work expert by GoCatalant. Cran is passionate about helping leaders and teams develop the crucial human skills needed to lead a human-focused future where technology is leveraged to automate the mundane and elevate the humane. Her multi-industry experience and successful track record provides unparalleled value to her clients.

Cran is the founder of NextMapping and CEO of parent company, Synthesis at Work Inc. Prior to this, she held senior leadership positions in the corporate finance and insurance industries. Cran developed NextMapping as a proprietary business solution brand to encompass her work and research on the future of all things, including work and the future-ready skills needed by leaders and teams to navigate change in the workplace.

Her past clients have included Amazon, Upwork, AT&T, Gartner, Scottish Water, ExecOnline, and more. Cran is the author of 10 books, including her newest, Super.Crucial.Human, and her bestsellers, NextMapping: Anticipate, Navigate and Create The Future of Work and The Art of Change Leadership: Driving Transformation in a Fast Paced-World. Her thought leadership on the future of all things has been featured in publications such as Fast Company, Huffington Post, Forbes, Metro New York, Entrepreneur Magazine, Reader’s Digest, CBS Online, NBC Online, and more. She is also the creator of the NextNow podcast. 

Sheila Musgrove

(Friday morning keynote)

Sheila Musgrove

Founder of award-winning recruitment firm, TAG Recruiting |Best-selling author

Sheila Musgrove is the owner of TAG Recruitment, an award-winning 19-year-old recruitment firm; speaker, and Amazon best-selling author.
She's received numerous awards including being ranked as one of Canada's Top 100 Women Entrepreneurs - she's appeared on the list 4 times.  Sheila was recognized by Red Deer College as their Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.  She received the "Global Influencer" award from the Universal Women's Network for the global reach of "Hired!".
Her third book, "2^nd Edition, Hired!  How to Get The Zippy Gig.  Insider Secrets From A Top Recruiter." hit the Amazon Best-Seller ranks in just over 3 hours of being released! It was released in Ukrainian at the end of 2022. 
Her second book, "Unexpected Mentors.  Weird & Creative Ideas To Boost Your Career.", launched in 2019.
Sheila is also a popular resume and job-search expert on: CTV Calgary, with appearances on CTV Ottawa & Vancouver, Global Morning Calgary, Breakfast Television (Calgary & Vancouver), CHCH in Hamilton, 660 & 770 radio & CBC's Alberta at Noon. She was recently chosen as 1 of 13 Canadian women business owners profiled in the national and international #DriveDefinesHer ad campaigns for Porsche Canada and Porsche International.

Keegan Dargie

Leaping Forward: Harnessing AI in Everyday Life and Work

Kimberly Lyall 

Leading Change & Transformation in a Boundaryless World

The future of work is undefined, ready to be whatever you make it! The only absolute truth is that change-makers will lead the way. Kimberly has created ground-breaking initiatives in several industries, believing that it is far better to lead change than to be forced to react to it.  In this interactive session,

Kimberly shares stories and lessons from these experiences and reveals how you can get ready to lead the next revolution!"

Audiences will:

• Discover the power of purpose.
• Learn how to embrace change and spot opportunities.
• Master the use of creativity and collaboration to lead transformation.

Ryan Miller

How to become indispensable:  Understanding today’s labour market

Employers are looking for agile and resilient employees who can anticipate their needs and become valuable problem solvers.  In this interactive workshop you will learn about the current labour market and about how to become indispensable to your employer.  

Keegan Dargie

Partner and CTO of Make More Creative

Keegan Dargie is a visionary in AI-driven innovation, specializing in Large Language Models and automation to streamline complex business challenges.
Creator of [TheKitchen.ai](http://thekitchen.ai/), an AI-based recipe content engine, Keegan utilized his technical knowledge and problem solving to build a tool to create tailor made recipes, making it easier to eat healthy based on your requirements and preferences.
With a global business background in tech and finance from Manila, Hong Kong, London, and now Calgary, Keegan excels in developing AI products and consulting on AI and automation solutions. This international experience shaped his approach to transforming and scaling businesses through cutting-edge technology.

Kimberly Lyall

Speaker |Author

For nearly three decades Kimberly Lyall has empowered leaders to thrive in the face of adversity. She’s worked with hundreds of organizations and different levels of government in multiple sectors, and understands the complexities that leaders face in a rapidly changing world. Using the insights she’s gained from leading successful innovation throughout her career, Kimberly ‘Lights up Leaders’, creating mindset shifts that inspire action and fuel incredible results.

Kimberly was a CEO and highly regarded community leader by age 26. Two years later an employee committed major fraud, and then died by suicide. While struggling with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Kimberly rebuilt the organization into a powerhouse, but was later fired when she stood up to harassment. During the 7-year legal battle that followed she consulted for several organizations, taught at Lethbridge College, and lead award-winning projects. She also made a political run 30 years in the making, finishing in second place. During this period her husband became terminally ill. After working with medical teams across Canada to extend his life another 7 years, he passed away. Following his death Kimberly continues to learn, lead, and inspire, supporting leaders to navigate challenges and change.

Kimberly is a collaborative author of ‘Trailblazer Secrets’, book three of the Dynamic Women Series. She is a YWCA Woman of Distinction, and has been awarded the Governor General Award for Excellence in Community Programming and the Alberta Centennial Medal. A non-Indigenous woman, Kimberly is the recipient of the Blackfoot blessing "On the Trail of the Buffalo", and the Blackfoot name Kómmonoi Saamiaki: Blue Paint Headdress Woman.

Kimberly is the 2024 President of the Alberta Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. Her clients include FujiFilm Sonosite, Alberta Nonprofit Network, Telus, Blackfoot Family Lodge Society, Blood Tribe Department of Health, Teck, Policywise for Children and Families, Lethbridge Interfaith Foodbank Society, Town of Vauxhall, Baron-Eureka-Warner FCSS, Volunteer Lethbridge, Galt Museum and Archives, and many more.

Ryan Miller

President and CEO of Teamworks Training and Select People Solutions

A certified Canadian human resources practitioner with 25 years as an HR and business leader. Ryan grew up in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan and came to Lethbridge in 1990 to attend the University of Lethbridge. While he studied towards a Bachelors of Fine Arts in percussion, he later realized that music was more of a hobby. During his studies he was employed at the Ability Resource Center, which built his passion for working with people, especially those with developmental disabilities. Because of this passion, he figured that it should be what he further explored for his future career. He started working full time there and started their supported employment program, which involved helping people with disabilities get work out in the general community.

This segways into what he does today as the co-owner and CEO of Teamworks Career Center and Select People Solutions. Started by his mother and later taken over by Ryan, Teamworks and Select became one of the first joint agencies in Alberta that helped unemployed people, and also had services for employers to help them find and connect with talent.