CIS Sandbox After Dark is a series of tutor-led skills workshops for CS 100 students. They are held on weekday evenings in the CIS Sandbox (Smith 234). CS 100 students sign up for one skills workshop or one Topics in Tech talk during the semester.
Sun Ma and Mikie Trahan
While many Bentley students are caught up in the broader “AI wave,” the use of AI to generate high-quality professional assets remains largely unexplored. AI-powered slide generation, in particular, sits at the forefront of applied artificial intelligence. This workshop explores AI beyond GPT’s in the realm of generating professional-ready slides.
📅 Sign up for one of these dates: 2/9, 2/16, 2/23, 3/2
🕑 6:00 to 7:30 pm
Gabe Ferrera and Lucas Fernandez de Assis
Keep your computer and your data safe from hackers! Learn how phishing scams work and how to spot them quickly using a simple checklist. Through live demos and short practice challenges, you will identify red flags in sender addresses, links, attachments, and “urgent” messaging. We’ll also show you how to verify, report, protect accounts and passwords.
📅 Sign up for one of these Mondays: 2/9, 2/16, 2/23, 3/2
🕑 8:00 pm to 9:30 pm
Colin Minarik and Odan Strock
This workshop introduces students to core Excel concepts while demonstrating how Microsoft Copilot can be used as a learning and productivity tool within Excel. Students will practice using AI to assist with creating formulas, analyzing data, and building visualizations, while also learning how to verify and refine AI-generated outputs. Emphasis is placed on prompt engineering, critical thinking, and understanding Excel logic so students can effectively collaborate with AI rather than rely on it. By the end of the session, students will apply Excel and Copilot together to solve a real-world data problem.
📅 Sign up for one of these dates: 2/10, 2/17, 2/24, 3/3
🕑 7:00 t0 8:30 pm
Vinnie Paratore and Luiz Bernardez
In this hands-on activity, you will gain practical experience using the Meta Quest 3 headset to explore immersive virtual environments. You will use the virtual design platform ShapesXR to create and manipulate objects in three-dimensional space. We will show you how to take physical objects and translate them into virtual models, as you learn about spatial design and object modeling in VR.
📅 Sign up for one of these dates: 2/11, 2/18, 2/25, 3/4
🕑 7:00 t0 8:30 pm
Eli Blouin and Chase Ryan
Learn advanced Excel shortcuts to streamline your workflow and work more efficiently. Apply these shortcuts, together with other Excel tools, to build powerful budgeting and planning workbooks for practical, real-world use.
📅 Sign up for one of these dates: 3/16, 3/23, 3/30, 4/6
🕑 7:30 to 9:00 pm (note the later start time than other workshops)
Bar Shalev Merin and Paxton Calareso
This beginner friendly workshop introduces students to IFTTT and how simple automations can save time and streamline everyday tasks. Participants will learn how triggers and actions work, see real world examples, and build their own applet step by step. By the end of the session, students will leave with a working automation that connects tools they already use. No prior coding experience is required.
📅 Sign up for one of these dates: 3/17, 3/24, 3/31, 4/7
🕑 7:00 t0 8:30 pm
