- Overview
- Speakers
The Generator: Building An Interdisciplinary AI Lab for Innovation, Learning & Collaboration - Webinar
Where: Webinar/Virtual
When: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
1:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m. ET
Note: Login instructions will be sent directly from Zoom prior to the event. If you have not received login instructions by 4:00 p.m. the day before the webinar, please check your spam folder. If you still have not received the login details, please email nercomp@nercomp.org.
Workshop Organizers: Erik Noyes of Babson College
Registration Fee:
NERCOMP Member: Free
Non-Member: $45.00
Event Overview:
What does it take to build an interdisciplinary AI community while the technology—and higher education itself—is rapidly evolving? This session explores the journey of The Generator, Babson College’s faculty-founded, student-engaged AI lab, from its launch three years ago to its continued growth and impact. Presenters will share lessons learned from building an interdisciplinary community, fostering faculty-student partnerships, and developing innovative curricula, programs, and research. Participants will also have opportunities to reflect on and compare approaches to AI innovation across NERCOMP institutions.
Session Outcomes:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Examine strategies for building interdisciplinary communities around AI amid rapidly evolving opportunities, expectations, and uncertainty.
- Identify opportunities and challenges associated with AI-driven pedagogical innovation, research, and faculty-student collaboration.
- Compare approaches and experiences across institutions to identify practices that may inform AI initiatives on their own campuses.
Registration Cancellation Policy:
By clicking the 'Register Now button, you are indicating a commitment to attend and will be held responsible for the registration fee. Your fee can be refunded if you notify us of a cancellation at least 2 days prior to the event via email to nercomp@nercomp.org
Accessibility
NERCOMP strives to make its online offerings and in-person workshops accessible to all registrants. Please contact us should you have an accessibility need. We've worked to provide resources that are accessible to as many people as possible, and if you encounter any issues while attending our events, please contact us at accessibility@nercomp.org or at 860-345-2081 to request assistance.
Erik Noyes
Associate Professor, Michael London '92 and Stephen H. Kramer '92 Term Chair in Entrepreneurship, Academic Division: Entrepreneurship, Babson College
An expert in innovation, growth strategy, and AI, Professor Noyes is the Michael London ’92 and Stephen H. Kramer ’92 Term Chair in Entrepreneurship. His research examines entrepreneurial thinking, AI-enabled innovation, and disruptive innovation in both startups and new corporate ventures.
Dr. Noyes led the creation of The Generator, Babson’s interdisciplinary AI lab whose mission is to empower innovators from all fields to bring visionary ideas to life by harnessing AI capabilities. The Generator supports an interdisciplinary community of innovators, provocateurs, and boundary-spanners from across diverse industries to seize upon transformative opportunities enabled by the AI-age. In connection with the Lab, he teaches the MBA course AI Pioneers: Creating the Future of Business and Entrepreneurial Opportunities in AI, among other graduate and undergraduate entrepreneurship courses.
Professor Noyes is the founding Faculty Director of the Weissman Foundry, an interdisciplinary venture and innovation-space shared by Babson College, the Olin College of Engineering, and Wellesley College. Recognized as a Top 50 business professor in the United States by Poets & Quants, Noyes was awarded Babson’s College-wide Teaching Excellence Award in 2023 and Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award in 2010. Noyes co-led Babson's award-winning Foundations of Management & Entrepreneurship (FME) program, rated the most innovative undergraduate entrepreneurship course in the U.S. by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE). He also co-founded Affordable Design & Entrepreneurship (ADE), a collaboration between Babson College and the Olin College of Engineering.
Prior to joining Babson, he consulted for companies such as Nokia, BMW, Hewlett-Packard, New Balance, and Motorola to identify and evaluate new growth businesses in diverse areas such as healthcare, mobile computing, consumer products, sensing systems, and automotive design.
Professor Noyes is a Founding Editor of the journal Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy (EE&P). His research has been published in the Journal of Small Business Management, Advances in Entrepreneurship, Firm Emergence and Growth, Entrepreneurship Education & Pedagogy, the International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Frontiers in Entrepreneurship Research, multiple books, and the Harvard Business School case collection. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, USA Today, The Chronicle for Higher Education, and international press.