TRAIL | Technology, Real-world AI, and Learning

University of Montana

Technology, Real-world AI, and Learning

Free workshop series. Bring a real work problem. Spend an hour with AI tools. Leave with it solved.

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About the Series

AI tools are everywhere, but most people haven't found a way to make them useful for their actual work. TRAIL bridges that gap: not with lectures or demos, but by putting you to work on your own problems while we work right alongside you.

A Gap Worth Closing

There's a real distance between hearing about AI and knowing how to use it at work. Most training talks about what's possible. This series helps you actually do it, with your own work, in real time.

We Work Alongside You

You bring a real task: a stuck report, messy data, a plan that needs sharpening. We don't present from the front of the room. We sit down with you and help you make progress on it.

Leave With Something Done

Every session is designed so you walk out with a finished deliverable and a process you can repeat on your own. The goal is confidence and capability, not dependency on any one tool.

This series is for you if...

"I keep meaning to try AI but haven't started."

"I have a report that's been sitting half-finished for weeks."

"I have data but no time to dig into it."

"I run a small business and need help with marketing, ops, or comms."

"I have an idea I want to pressure-test before I pitch it."

2026 Sessions

Five Workshops.
Five Real
Challenges.

Each session targets a different type of work problem. Attend one or all five. They stand alone. Click any session for full details.

When

Second Tuesday · 1:00 PM

Where

Missoula College River Campus, Room 122

1205 E Broadway St, Missoula, MT 59802

Series

May – October 2026

Cost

Free & Open

May

101 · FoundationsCompleted

Bring Your Curiosity

"I've been meaning to try AI tools but haven't started."

Jun

ProductivityCompleted

Bring Your Stuck Work Task

"I have a report that's been sitting half-finished for weeks."

Jul

AnalysisCompleted

Bring Your Data

"I have spreadsheets and reports but no time to dig into them."

Aug

Small BusinessCompleted

Bring Your Small Business Problem

"I need help with marketing, operations, or customer comms."

Oct

Final Session

Strategy

Bring Your Next Big Idea

"I have an initiative I want to develop and pressure-test."

Series Finale

5 of 5Last in the series

Oct 13Moved from Sep 8

Sept 1–3 · Missoula

Montana
AI Summit

"Not to sell it. Not to fear it. To understand it together."

Two days of real conversation, live demonstrations, and Montana-specific use cases at UM's University Center Ballroom — data centers, cybersecurity, AI and Montana jobs, AI fluency, and what government and education are actually doing with it. Free and open to every Montanan. No technical background required.

Sept 3 · Day Three

TRAIL Workshop Day

The summit closes with a full hands-on TRAIL day in the TODD Building — six tracks across three skill levels, from AI foundations for anyone starting cold through data, research, and HPC work. Bring a laptop and a problem worth solving.

Included with free summit registration

How It Works

Show Up.
Do the Work.
Leave With
Something.

Every session follows the same structure. You work on your own material, not a practice exercise. Facilitators model their process so you can replicate it.

10min

Framing & Tools Overview

Topic introduction and AI tool orientation. Enough context to get started. No lectures.

45min

Hands-On Working Session

The core of the hour. You work on your problem. Facilitators work alongside you. This is where AI skills become muscle memory.

5min

Debrief & Q&A

What worked, what surprised people, what to try next. Five minutes, no fluff.

Sponsors & Partners