PDI Spotlight Series

About

The PDI Spotlight Series a dynamic new event series that shines a light on the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute (PDI), its innovative course offerings, and its exceptional instructors.

More than just an information session, each Spotlight event offers an immersive, hands-on experience that brings PDI’s curriculum to life. Attendees will explore timely, relevant topics, engage directly with leading subject-matter experts, and walk away with meaningful insights and practical tools they can apply right away.

Whether you're looking to deepen your expertise, explore a new area of professional growth, or simply get a taste of the PDI learning experience, the Spotlight Series is designed to inform, inspire, and connect.

Join us to see what makes PDI’s learning environment unique—and why so many professionals choose us to advance their careers.

11

August 2026 

The Resilient Leader: Skills and Strategies for Leading Through Uncertainty

Join us for a dynamic, interactive session designed to help professionals strengthen cognitive flexibility and develop practical strategies for navigating change with confidence.

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10

September 2026 

AI for Marketing Strategy & Communications

Join this free, hands-on webinar to discover how today's leading AI tools can help you create professional marketing and communication materials faster, improve the quality of your work, and save hours every week.

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15

October 2026 

When AI Does the Thinking: Preserving Human Judgment at Work

This interactive webinar explores an emerging leadership question: How can organizations embrace AI without unintentionally weakening the human capabilities that drive sound judgment, creativity, accountability, and engagement?

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9

June 2026 

Strategic Thinking (Session in French)

This webinar offers a structured approach to strategic thinking and planning, built around four key phases: strategic diagnosis (where are we today?), defining strategic objectives (where do we want to go?), strategy formulation (how do we get there?), and strategy implementation (what concrete actions should we take?).

This session will be offered in French.

Past Event

20

May 2026 

Making it Work for Everyone: Human Rights in Action

This engaging session invites you to uncover the profound connection that links between personal priorities and fundamental human rights and to explore the often overlooked disconnect between what matters to individuals and what drives public institutions and organizations. Grounded in global data, it reveals how aligning with human rights can lead to stronger outcomes, from greater prosperity and security to improved well-being.

Past Event

28

April 2026 

Optimize your workflow: How simple tools improve your results (Session in French)

Does your workday seem more complicated than it should be? The problem often comes from processes, not people. In this free one-hour online session, you’ll see how small adjustments can quickly bring more clarity, reduce errors and speed up your work. With a hands-on tool and everyday examples, you’ll end up with at least one idea for an improvement you can put into practice right away.

The session will also provide an overview of the accelerated certificate in organizational process improvement for anyone wishing to go even further in optimizing their work.

This session will be offered in French.

Past Event

24

March 2026  

Improve Your Slide Presentation with Canva

Transform your presentations into clear, engaging, and visually polished experiences. In this session, you will learn how to use Canva, a free and design tool, to create slides that balance strong visuals, purposeful animation, and concise messaging.

Past Event

4

February 2026

Maximizing Productivity: Strategies for Individuals and Teams

Productivity isn’t one-size-fits-all — it’s personal. In this interactive one-hour session, you’ll uncover your personal productivity style, explore its strengths and challenges, and learn practical strategies to manage your work more effectively. You’ll also gain quick, actionable tips for collaborating with teammates whose styles differ from yours—helping your team work smarter, not harder.

Past Event

15

January 2026

Chairing with Confidence: Leading Effective Meetings

Join Daniel Wong for a one-hour interactive online session exploring chairperson skills to conduct your meetings more effectively and efficiently.

Past Event

3

December 2025

The Perfect Prompt – Storytelling with AI

Join Arthur Thuot for a one-hour interactive online session exploring prompt engineering, and common pitfalls in storytelling with AI.

Past Event

1

October 2025

Practical AI for Business Management

Join Dominic Lam and Stephen Perelgut for a one-hour interactive online session exploring how generative AI can enhance business performance and address strategic business goals.

Past Event

4

September 2025

Harnessing AI for Smarter Knowledge Management

Join Badou Bousso for a dynamic online session exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping knowledge management.

Past Event