Level up – STart
Big conversations, together
TRU horaizon Circles are small, recurring, conversation-first spaces to help our community work through ideas and grow our understanding of AI together. They are a space to think out loud with others who are also interested in the same topic.
This draws directly on the Circle of Trust approach developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage and Renewal: deep listening, no pressure to perform, and an open invitation to explore.
Current Circles
New to AI
Led by: Eva Lu & Michael Purcell
Support by: Tania Gottschalk
Open to Faculty and Staff Members
Join colleagues in a welcoming circle designed for TRU faculty, staff and students who are beginning their AI journey. Explore practical tools, share questions, discuss opportunities and challenges, and build confidence through collaborative learning, experimentation, and peer support.
AI & EDI
Led by: Keisha Morong (She/her) & Amie McLean (She/her)
Open to all
Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how we learn, work, make decisions, and interact with one another. While AI offers new opportunities, it also raises important questions about equity, inclusion, anti-racism, social justice, accessibility, privacy, and human rights. This circle invites everyone to explore these intersections and share perspectives, experiences, concerns, and hopes about the role of AI in higher education and in our communities.
Student Assessment in the Age of AI
Led by: Dr. Liesel Knaack
Open to Faculty Members
This circle provides space for faculty members to discuss student assessment across disciplines and credentials – what’s working, what’s not and what’s needing to be changed given successes, concerns and challenges with generative AI, and agentic AI?
AI & Research
Led by: Dr. Anita Sharma
Open to all
This Circle creates a recurring community space for researchers and those who support research to explore how AI is transforming the research landscape. Through shared experiences, emerging practices, and collaborative discussion, members explore how AI can strengthen research quality, competitiveness, collaboration, and responsible research practices while navigating emerging opportunities, risks, and guardrails.
Agentic AI practice
Led by: Matt Norton
Open to TRU’s leaders
The Agentic AI Circle is a learning community for TRU’s leaders to explore how autonomous and semi-autonomous AI agents are changing the way work gets done. Across five one-hour sessions over the 2026–27 academic year, participants will build a shared vocabulary for agentic AI, examine real use cases and risks relevant to higher education, and discuss how to lead their teams through adoption – balancing innovation with governance, privacy, and responsible use.
AI Tinkerers
Led by: Brian Lamb
Open to all
A space for TRU staff, faculty, and students experimenting with generative AI to actually make things: vibe-coding a small app, automating a chore, or just seeing what these tools can and can’t do. Bring a half-finished experiment, a surprising failure, or a question you can’t shake. Sceptics are as welcome as enthusiasts. No technical background needed, curiosity is the only requirement.
Human Judgment in Human+AI Co-creation
Led by: Dr. Peter Zakrzewski
Open to Fall CMNS 2200 Students (Course-integrated) · Limited community seats
This Circle explores why human discernment remains essential as generative AI becomes part of everyday learning, professional practice, and creative work.
Join a TRU horaizon Circle Session
Browse upcoming sessions below and register for the conversations that interest you.
Hover over a session to preview the topic. A few more may be added as the term unfolds.
Click on an event to view full details and register.