Recently, HERA launched its first-ever microcredential course: AI Literacy: Building Understanding, Ethics, and Responsible Practice. Dr. Matthew Green, an instructor and program lead at Waukesha County Technical College, was part of a team of experts from across HERA institutions who collaborated to build the course. In this interview, he discusses that effort – and what’s coming next.
HERA: Tell us a little bit about the AI Literacy Badge microcredential course. What should people know?
Dr. Matthew Green: About a year and a half ago, the Milwaukee Tech Hub hosted a meeting with business and higher education leaders, and it became clear that there was a need for more awareness around AI.
To respond to this need, we put together a team that included experts from Waukesha County Technical College, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee School of Engineering and the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute. We wanted to build something that was focused on our business community — and profoundly local. So our team conducted more than 30 video interviews with business leaders, professors, school leaders and data scientists. We talked to experts from Rockwell, Direct Supply, MillerCoors and many more. Joining me on the project team were Dr. Gabe Wright from MSOE and Collins Westnedge from UWM and Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute. Joining me on the production team were Patrick Gerber, motion graphics artist at WCTC; Anna Wolfe, videographer at Wolfe Media; and Nicki Kowalchuk, subject matter expert at WCTC.
The resulting microcredential course is largely based on those interviews, which present tangible, real-world examples of how is AI being used in this region across a wide variety of industries.
As just one example of many, we did an interview with a representative from Direct Supply, which as you may know is a company that provides solutions for senior living and healthcare. Theirs is a very practical example that is easy to understand for anyone who is new to the topic: They use AI to help ensure they have the right food ingredients available at their senior living cafeterias. As another example, the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute representative we interviewed used an example involving M&Ms. We’re trying to make this as tangible and understandable as we can for people who take the course.
HERA: Can people take the course now?
MG: Yes! The course is available now for anyone to take as a pilot, although we are still in the process of enhancing a few of the videos. We expect to have more than 30 people complete the course before the end of 2025, and more people after that, which we see as a successful pilot project.
We will introduce a Spanish-language translation of the course in early 2026, along with launching a second module that will provide more detailed examples of our companies in our region are using AI.
HERA: What challenges did you run into along the way?
MG: This technology is evolving so quickly that we need to move fast to ensure our content is relevant. One example: When we did our first round of interviews nine months ago, nobody was really talking about agentic AI. Now, discussions about AI agents are very much front and center – so we had to go back and re-shoot some of our interviews to ensure we can talk about this, especially when the second module launches. (And if you don’t know what I mean by “agentic AI,” you are great candidate to take these courses!)
HERA: This was a collaborative effort, which is very much within the spirit of HERA. Why was that important to you?
MG: This process has formed connections that will be valuable well beyond the reach of these microcredential courses. This brought together people from a wide variety of institutions and fields of study – business, economic, computer science, engineering and more — all working together toward shared goals. A couple of professors who work at the same institution even met for the first time!
We ended up having a very substantial faculty summit last year. We brought everybody together and we had more than 150 professors and professionals from across the region all talking about AI. This has never happened before, and it’s only possible through a collaborative organization like HERA.
The courses and badges we are providing are great, and hopefully very helpful for students who take them. But there’s so much more that came out of this effort.
HERA: Who do you see as the main audience for this course?
MG: We aimed for decisionmakers at companies in our region, which could be anyone from frontline managers to CIOs. But it’s open to everyone – and we think it would be especially helpful for educators and politicians. I think this course will ground anyone who takes this course more than anything I’ve seen available on YouTube. This will be very grounded because it provides use cases which are tangible and not “pie in the sky.”
HERA: What will people get in the second module when it rolls out next year?
MG: It will be a layer deeper, with more real-world examples. And we’ll weave in content about agentic AI that I mentioned. It is still not overly technical.
HERA: Given your experience in this, what do you see as sort of the future of micro-credential courses and how they fit in with the broader higher education landscape?
MG: In today’s environment, there are a lot of people out there just leaning things on YouTube. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course – anything that makes you curious and want to learn more is great.
But a microcredential course is a level beyond that, and can be more meaningful in the working world. You may impress someone in a job interview by saying that you learned something on YouTube because it demonstrates your curiosity, but it might be even more impressive that you went through a more formal process and earned a badge. I also think you can get the same content in a microcredential course as you can in one of those technical “boot camps” that can actually be somewhat expensive.
The world is evolving quickly. It’s not just AI – it’s CRISPR gene splicing, 3D printing, interconnected sensors and so much more. Some people are calling this confluence Industry 4.0. Whatever you call it, there will be a need to understand it, and a constant race to keep up with the latest knowledge without going back to get a full degree – although these courses can be an onramp for that as well. We’re excited to help people along on that journey, whatever it may look like for them.
