For higher education

Most universities are reacting to AI. Help yours lead it.

Alex works with presidents, provosts, CIOs, and academic leadership committees to cut through AI confusion, build governance frameworks, and lead their campuses with clarity — including the California State University system, on AI, governance, and the future of learning.

22 CSU campuses 460,000 students 14 countries of university-anchored centers

Frequently featured in

Why universities choose Alex

AI clarity for academic leadership.

From governance frameworks to faculty town halls and AI literacy programs, Alex delivers what academic leadership needs to move from uncertainty to decisive action.

Alex Goryachev speaking to academic and business leaders
$17MChatGPT Edu rollout Alex advises on at CSU
  1. 01

    Independent advisory, zero conflicts

    No AI platform to sell. No vendor relationship. No consulting firm behind the advice. Just independent, data-backed guidance from someone inside the largest AI deployment in academia — with no agenda other than getting it right.

  2. 02

    Partnering with leading university systems

    As an AI Working Group member at one of the world's largest public university systems, Alex works on the questions your campus is facing right now — policy, governance, faculty adoption, and student readiness.

  3. 03

    Global innovation centers, built inside universities

    As Cisco's Managing Director of Innovation Strategy, Alex built innovation centers and programs inside universities and research institutions across 14 countries — including innovation tracks for three Olympic Games. He brings that builder's playbook to your campus.

  4. 04

    Practitioner first, speaker second

    Innovator-in-Residence at Tulane University. WSJ bestselling author. Led innovation programs for Cisco, Dell, IBM, and Pfizer. The practitioner academic senate committees and provost councils hire when they need more than a keynote.

Inside the largest AI deployment in academia

Licenses are easy. Sequencing is the hard part.

The clearest example of AI at system scale is the California State University system's ChatGPT Edu deployment. What makes it work is the pairing: licenses went out alongside system-wide governance and faculty enablement rather than on their own. Alex takes the sequencing lessons from that rollout into keynotes and leadership sessions elsewhere.

Innovator-in-Residence, Tulane Lectured at Cornell & Wharton IEEE Future of Education
22CSU campuses reached
460,000students in the system
$17MChatGPT Edu rollout
14countries with university-anchored innovation centers
Keynotes for campuses

Data-backed talks, not vendor demos.

Tailored for faculty senates, academic convocations, provost and dean retreats, and national higher education conferences. Alex speaks to what faculty, students, and administrators are actually experiencing.

Alex Goryachev speaking about AI in education to university leaders
Higher education45–75 min

Educating for the Unknown: Preparing Students for a Future That Doesn't Exist Yet

Students adopted AI faster than any technology in campus history. Alex gives presidents, provosts, and faculty a pragmatic AI strategy: governance, teaching, and student outcomes, drawn from advising the California State University system's $17M ChatGPT Edu rollout.

You'll leave with

  • A governance model for campus AI
  • Faculty adoption and teaching
  • Student readiness and outcomes
Ask about this talk
Alex Goryachev speaking about agentic AI at a leadership event
Keynote45–75 min

Leadership in the Age of AI: The Practical Playbook

Leaders are approving AI budgets, vendors, and roadmaps they cannot evaluate themselves, in front of teams that are anxious about all of it. Alex hands your audience the decisions only a leader can make, and the words to bring their people with them.

You'll leave with

  • What to fund this quarter
  • What to ask a vendor before signing
  • How to talk to teams who think AI is coming for their jobs
Ask about this talk
Alex Goryachev speaking on AI at Google's Think AI event
Fully customExtended Q&A

The AI Opportunity for You, Your Industry & Your Organization

Most keynotes are scripted. This one is built from your questions. After a detailed intake, Alex writes the session for your industry and your organization: research, industry benchmarks, expert answers, and an extended live Q&A that runs until the questions do.

You'll leave with

  • A session built from your intake
  • Research and benchmarks for your industry
  • Live Q&A that runs until the questions do
Ask about this talk
Formats

Formats built for higher education.

Designed around your institution's culture, community, and strategic moment. Built for presidents' cabinets, faculty senates, and system offices.

01
TransformationLeadership

University AI Transformation

For institutions ready to move beyond ad hoc AI adoption. Alex works with presidents, provosts, deans, and CIOs to define the vision, align shared governance bodies, and build the capacity to sustain AI-driven change — assessments, alignment workshops, and multi-year roadmaps.

Ask about this format
02
KeynoteFaculty senate

AI Keynotes & Conference Programs

Data-backed talks built on real institutional experience. Tailored for faculty senates, convocations, provost and dean retreats, curriculum committees, and national higher education conferences.

Ask about this format
03
MeasurementROI

Measuring AI Impact in Higher Education

Most institutions are implementing AI; very few are measuring whether it's working. Alex helps CIOs and institutional research offices define metrics for learning outcomes, faculty adoption, equity gaps, and institutional ROI.

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04
Town hallFaculty

Faculty Dialogue & AI Town Halls

Structured listening and facilitation for polarized campus communities, where unmoderated conversation produces conflict rather than consensus. Findings become action-ready recommendations for leadership.

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05
GovernancePolicy

AI Governance & Strategy Sprints

For institutions managing AI adoption without a governance framework: decision rights, acceptable use policies, academic integrity standards, and an institutional AI roadmap — delivered as rapid-cycle sprints with committee-ready drafts.

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06
OngoingPresidential

Strategic AI Advisory

The ongoing relationship for presidents, provosts, chancellors, and CIOs. Quarterly intelligence briefings, readiness assessments, and on-call guidance. No platform to push. No vendor relationship.

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In their own words

What leaders say after the applause.

98% would recommend · 582+ verified audience responses
FAQ

Higher education questions.

If you don't see what you need, message Alex directly.

Contact Alex

Credibility on AI in education comes from operating experience inside a live deployment at institutional scale. Alex advises the California State University system — 22 campuses and 460,000 students — on its $17M ChatGPT Edu rollout, and he is Innovator-in-Residence at Tulane University's A.B. Freeman School. Add 310+ keynotes on 6 continents and a 98% would-recommend rating from 582+ verified responses.

Agentic AI — software that takes actions rather than just answering questions — will change university operations before it changes the classroom. Enrollment, advising, financial aid, and research administration are the first workflows where it runs end to end. Alex tells university leaders to pilot in operations first, where the savings are countable, and to write governance rules before the first agent goes live.

The future of education is personalized, lifelong, and AI-assisted, and human mentorship becomes the scarcest thing a campus sells. Within a decade most students will study alongside an AI tutor and most campuses will run administrative work through AI agents. The institutions that treat AI as infrastructure will pull away from the ones treating it as a threat.

The clearest example is the California State University system's $17M ChatGPT Edu deployment, reaching 22 campuses and 460,000 students. Licenses went out alongside system-wide governance and faculty enablement rather than on their own. Alex advises CSU on AI and governance as a member of its AI Working Group.

Book Alex

Move your campus from uncertainty to decisive action.

From mainstage convocations to closed-door governance sprints. Tell us about your institution and your moment, and Alex will suggest the right format.

  • A reply within one business day with availability and a fee range.
  • A program shaped around your theme, not an off-the-shelf talk.
  • In person worldwide, virtual, or hybrid. From Silicon Valley to Singapore.

Fees run five figures depending on format — virtual sessions often under $10,000. Exact quote within one business day.

Check Alex's availability

Replies within one business day

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Alex will reply within one business day with availability and a fee range.