Saturday, October 10, 2026
School of Journalism and Mass Communications
800 Sumter Street, Columbia, S.C. 29208
8:30 – 9 a.m. - Registration, Breakfast & Networking
- Continental breakfast
- Participant check-in
9 – 9:15 a.m. - Welcome
- Dean Tom Reichert
- Overview of the day
9:15 – 9:35 a.m. -Meet the Client - Client Brief
The client presents its real-world communications challenge and answers a few clarifying
questions from participants.
9:35 – 9:50 a.m. - Meet Your AI Coaches
A quick overview of the tools available throughout the day.
- Google – Getting the most from Gemini
- Vurvey – AI-powered research and strategic insights
9:50 – 10 a.m. - Team Formation
- Teams assigned using a random name generator
- Approximately 10 students per team
- Teams move to breakout rooms throughout the journalism school
- Coaches introduced
10 a.m. – 1 p.m. - Team Strategy Sessions
(Working lunch provided)
Teams collaborate with coaches to develop their recommendations.
Activities may include:
- Research
- Brainstorming
- Prompt engineering
- Audience analysis
- Strategy development
- Creative ideation
- Presentation preparation
1 – 1:45 p.m. - Final Preparation
- Refine recommendations
- Presentation coaching
- Final slide preparation
- Rehearse presentations
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. - Team Presentations
Each team presents its recommendations to a panel of industry judges.
2:45 – 3 p.m. - Judges' Deliberation
Networking and refreshments
3 – 3:30 p.m. - Awards Celebration
- Announcement of winning teams
- Presentation of cash prizes
- Group photos
- Closing remarks