The UA Week Innovation Lab transforms attendees from conference participants into active collaborators.

Select one of ten Innovation Challenge Zones focused on today's most significant utility analytics, AI, data, technology, operations, and business challenges. Working alongside utility professionals and industry experts, you'll exchange ideas, share lessons learned, identify practical solutions, and help develop an Innovation Action Blueprint that captures your group's collective recommendations.

Each Innovation Challenge Zone is led by an Innovation Facilitator, Subject Matter Captain, and Innovation Scribe who guide the discussion and document the ideas generated by the group.

Potential Innovation Challenge Zones include:

• Operationalizing AI
• Building an AI-Ready Data Foundation
• AI Governance
• Organizing Analytics for the Enterprise
• Reliability & Asset Management
• Planning the Utility of Tomorrow
• Creating Greater Value from Utility Data
• Workforce Readiness & Knowledge Transfer
• Business Value & ROI
• Innovating Beyond Today

(Final Challenge Zone titles and descriptions will be announced prior to UA Week.)

To help us prepare for the best possible participant experience, attendees are encouraged to pre-select a Challenge Zone during registration. Your selection helps us plan room layouts and discussion groups, and you'll still have the flexibility to change your Challenge Zone when you arrive onsite if another topic better matches your interests.

The collaboration doesn't end when the discussion concludes. Each Challenge Zone will develop an Innovation Action Blueprint that becomes part of the UA Week Innovation Priorities Report, helping shape future UAI Community Conversations, educational programming, white papers, webinars, and industry initiatives throughout the coming year.

The Innovation Lab culminates in the Challenge Arena Finals, where each Innovation Challenge Zone shares its recommendations with the full UA Week audience.

Then, during the Closing General Session on Thursday, October 22, we'll celebrate the collective work of the Innovation Lab by announcing the Innovation Recognition Awards, including:

• 🏆 Most Innovative Idea
• 🏆 Most Actionable Recommendation
• 🏆 Greatest Potential Industry Impact
• 🏆 People's Choice Innovation Award

Plan to stay through the conclusion of UA Week to celebrate the ideas, collaboration, and innovations that will help shape the future of utility analytics.