SERC Student Project Takes Center Stage at Google Higher Ed Leader Series Conference

A groundbreaking experiential learning project (ELP) from master’s students and the Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium (SERC) at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business received national exposure at Google’s Higher Ed Leader Series Conference.

The conference, held in New York City on July 15, brought together provosts, presidents, and IT directors from universities across the United States, as well as leaders from various Google divisions, for keynotes and workshops discussing artificial intelligence and its applications in academia.

Krisha Chheda, ’25 MQF and SERC student intern, was the only student presenter at the event and showcased the Google-sponsored ELP, led by Professor of the Practice and SERC Director Clifford Rossi, with assistance from Google Analytics specialists, that leveraged the company’s AI tools to evaluate and predict credit risk management practices at 40 banks and 17 fintech companies.

Her presentation detailed the work of the team of Smith Master of Quantitative Finance (MQF) students in using Google’s suite of AI tools, including Gemini, AI Studio and Notebook LM, to analyze over 25,000 pages of public financial documents and develop ratings across banks of different sizes and fintech companies.

Chheda says that serving as the sole student presenter and being granted the opportunity to represent the Smith School in this capacity was “both an honor and a moment of validation.”

“It reaffirmed that students can and should have a seat at the table when it comes to shaping the future of education and technology,” she says.

The preparation and overall experience were both “intense and rewarding,” says Chheda. She most appreciated the opportunity to engage with educators and administrators who serve as decision-makers regarding the implementation of AI in academic and real-world problem solving, and are positioned to use it to reimagine learning.

“Incorporating AI in education isn’t just about teaching tools—it’s about teaching students the art of asking better questions and thinking critically about the answers they receive,” says Chheda. “That shift from information consumption to inquiry-driven thinking was a powerful theme throughout the event and something I deeply connected with.”

Chheda says the guidance of Rossi and Pedro Morales, a SERC Advisory Council member and Google Compliance and Risk Management Director, was instrumental in the project’s success, and whose “belief in this project made all the difference.”

“I’m incredibly grateful to the Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium for their support and to Google for fostering a platform that elevates student voices,” says Chheda. “I’d also like to thank my peers who worked with me on this project; it was very much a collaborative effort.”