CATLab Blog A New Season of Innovation, Learning, and Purpose

CATLab 2025

By
Westmont

Each May in downtown Santa Barbara, the glass doors to the CATLab office swing open to welcome a new cohort of student innovators. 

The first day excitement is tangible. As we gather together on the sunny patio, there’s the sense that anything could happen. It would be easy to get straight to work– that might seem like the obvious choice. At CATLab, we choose to start our days differently. Each day, a member of the team leads us through a breath exercise, stretches, or a mindfulness activity. Then we read a liturgical prayer, share community updates, and lay out the day’s plan. When we break for work, people seem relaxed. They walk a little lighter, stand a little taller than when they first got here. This integration of mind, body, and spirit is one of the things that sets CATLab apart.

Now in its eighth year, CATLab is launching its 2025 season with a fresh wave of energy and imagination. This year’s team brings together students from across disciplines—computer science, data analytics, economics, philosophy, and more—united by a shared mission: build better systems.

This year, the team is diving into some of its most exciting projects yet:

  • Agentic AI: We’re keeping up with industry trends by transitioning to agentic AI, an emerging form of artificial intelligence with greater autonomy and more adaptive task-solving skills.
  • Internships: CATLab students hold part-time internships with companies like Invoca, Gerent, and Webconnex to develop professional skills and industry experience. 
  • Second Location:  As the CATLab program continues to grow, we’ve expanded into a second building! The Santa Barbara Community Environmental Council has graciously accommodated us in their loft, putting us at an incredible location right on State Street across from the historic Granda Theatre.

CATLab’s theme for this year is Incarnation. At the heart of CATLab is the belief that technology is not just about code: it’s about the real, embodied people who make and use it. That belief guides every project, from streamlining admissions workflows to crafting AI-powered dashboards, and it's why we prioritize developing meaningful relationships inside the team and between our users.

Students will participate in daily Tech Talks, where guest speakers with industry experience guide us through important questions such as  how should we make use of AI tools? and how can we aim for impact in the tech world?

Later this month, we'll travel north to meet with representatives from companies like Salesforce, Intuit, and Pixar to learn more about how they foster innovation and develop creative solutions. In June, we’ll attend the annual Lead Where you Stand conference and hear from speakers like Charles Duhigg (Supercommunicators, The Power of Habit) about leading with excellence. In July, CATLab will host its annual Impact Conference, where senior technology leaders in higher education come together to connect, collaborate, and reflect on how we can shape our institutions for trust, engagement, and belonging.

As the summer begins, we’re reminded that this isn’t just a job. It’s a launchpad—for ideas, for careers, and for community. We can’t wait to share what’s ahead.

Follow along on the CATLab blog and get ready for another incredible summer!