Fairfield University’s School of Engineering and Computing, in collaboration with the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, has received a two-part artificial intelligence grant totaling $51,600 through the New England Business Board of Higher Education Forum’s Tech Talent Accelerator Program to strengthen healthcare workforce development initiatives across Connecticut.
Advancing Nursing Through AI
Led by a collaborative team of Fairfield University engineering, nursing, and public health faculty members, the grant's pilot project, "Embedding Artificial Intelligence (AI) Competencies into Nursing Education and Practice," will integrate AI skills into health professions education and clinical practice—an area where such training is currently underrepresented. Centered on patient-focused care, the project will introduce students across health disciplines to AI tools that improve documentation, support clinical decision-making, and streamline daily workflows.
Through a partnership with Stamford Health, the Fairfield team, will extract practical AI skills from clinical workflows and embed them into curricula. By identifying gaps between clinical needs and software capabilities, the collaboration will teach students theoretical AI concepts as well as practical and responsible applications within a real healthcare setting.
The AI grant's supplemental project is a work-based learning initiative through which computer science students will apply concepts from machine learning, natural language processing, and software engineering to build an AI model informed by the pilot project. During an eight-week workshop, they will collaborate with nursing students, who will provide essential domain knowledge to develop a functional prototype that will be integrated into the simulation lab workflow.
The projects align with the Connecticut Tech Accelerator Program’s mission to strengthen partnerships between higher education and industry and build talent pathways in high-demand technology fields.
According to the principal investigator for the pilot project, Mirco Speretta, PhD, associate dean of graduate studies and research in the School of Engineering and Computing, the projects will begin with a comprehensive survey to assess whether AI systems are already in use within clinical settings and to identify their limitations.
“Based on that [process], we are going to select the most suitable AI tools and help both nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner students learn how to use them and, more generally, how to integrate AI competencies into their daily tasks,” Dr. Speretta said.
In its proposal, the Fairfield University team emphasized the broader impact of the initiatives on Connecticut’s healthcare workforce and economy: “By embedding AI into nursing education, the state strengthens its healthcare workforce pipeline.”
AI Project Team
The Fairfield University team includes the following principal and co-principal investigators:
School of Engineering and Computing
- Mirco Speretta, PhD, associate dean of graduate studies and research (principal investigator of the pilot project)
- Collin Beaudoin, PhD, assistant professor of computer science (principal investigator of supplemental project)
- Sidike Paheding, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Computer Science Department
- Zahra Shahbazi, PhD, associate dean
Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies
- Audrey Beauvais, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN, professor of nursing
- Danielle Conklin, DNP, NP, NP-P, PMHNP-BC, CHSE, assistant professor of nursing
- Gina Petersen, MSN, RN, simulation lab coordinator
- Jennifer Schindler-Ruwisch, DrPH, CPH, associate professor of public health
Digital Badge Certification
Participants who complete the eight-week workshop will earn a digital badge certifying their AI competency in healthcare documentation. The badge will serve as a portable credential, signaling to employers that certified graduates possess industry-relevant, technology-driven skills critical to modern healthcare delivery.
