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Microsoft Copilot for Executive and Administrative Staff

Copilot for Executive & Administrative Staff
Workshop overview and outline

Microsoft Copilot for Executive and Administrative Staff

Communicate, coordinate and act with less friction

One-day practical workshop for administrative staff and educators with coordination responsibilities

View the Programme →How to prepare →
01

Workshop Overview

This practical workshop helps participants use Microsoft Copilot to reduce friction in recurring administrative work. Participants follow one realistic process from information intake to communication, decisions and follow-up. They practise with email threads, meeting notes, documents and spreadsheet data, then build a small workflow they can reuse in their own role.

OUTCOME

Each participant leaves with one reusable administrative workflow, a small connected action pack and a dated next-use plan.

Audience and positioning

  • School executive and administrative staff, operations teams, programme coordinators, executive assistants, middle leaders and teachers with administrative responsibilities.
  • Suitable for mixed roles and levels of Copilot experience.
  • This is not a generic feature tour and it does not attempt to automate every office process. It focuses on a small number of high-frequency actions performed well.

Access and licence assumptions

The workshop uses a licence-aware design. The core route works through Microsoft Copilot Chat with a work or school account and supplied sample content. Enhanced activities use whichever capabilities the host has enabled in Outlook, Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Feature availability, data permissions and meeting-transcript access must be confirmed before delivery.

NAMING NOTE

Microsoft is transitioning product naming from Microsoft 365 Copilot to Microsoft Copilot. Some licences, interfaces and support materials may continue to use the earlier name during the transition.

02

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the day, participants will be able to:

01

Select an appropriate Copilot experience for a recurring administrative task.

02

Give Copilot a clear brief containing the task, audience, source material and expected output.

03

Summarise email threads or meeting records and identify decisions, actions, owners and open questions.

04

Draft and refine clear communications, documents and concise decision briefs.

05

Use Copilot to question spreadsheet data, identify patterns and communicate one decision-relevant insight.

06

Review Copilot-assisted work for accuracy, permissions, privacy, tone, ownership and readiness to act.

03

Workshop Design

ONE RECURRING PROCESS

Participants work on an authentic administrative process rather than completing disconnected feature exercises.

DEMONSTRATE, BUILD, REVIEW

Short demonstrations show the full action. Participants then practise with protected time and clear completion criteria.

SHARED CORE, ROLE CHOICE

Everyone learns the same method. The final workflow reflects each participant’s responsibilities.

HUMAN ACCOUNTABILITY

Copilot supports synthesis and drafting. People retain responsibility for decisions, permissions and communication.

04

Programme

TimeWorkshop blockWhat participants do and produce
09:00 to 09:30Start with the work that consumes timeIdentify one recurring administrative process. Confirm access, safe-use boundaries and the working rhythm for the day.
09:30 to 10:30Give Copilot a useful briefUse four plain-language questions: What should it do? Who is it for? What should it use? What should the output look like? Compare and improve an initial response.
10:30 to 10:45Morning breakStep away from the screen.
10:45 to 12:00Communications and meetingsSummarise a supplied email thread or meeting transcript, extract actions and draft a clear follow-up communication.
12:00 to 13:00LunchNetworking and informal tool discussion.
13:00 to 14:10Reports and decision briefsTurn a long document or mixed notes into a concise brief with decisions, risks, actions and open questions.
14:10 to 15:00Data to useful insightUse Copilot with a supplied spreadsheet to identify patterns, ask better questions and communicate one decision-relevant insight.
15:00 to 15:15Afternoon breakTea or coffee.
15:15 to 16:10Connected workflow studioChoose one workflow: event or programme coordination, policy or procedure update, staff communication, reporting, or meeting follow-up. Build a small connected action pack.
16:10 to 16:40Review before actingCheck facts, permissions, tone, privacy, ownership and deadlines. Make one important improvement.
16:40 to 17:00Share and plan the next useShow selected workflows and commit to one repeatable administrative use within 30 days.
05

Demonstration and Activity Spine

1

Brief the work clearly

The facilitator begins with a vague administrative request and turns it into a usable brief by clarifying the task, audience, source material and expected output. Participants apply the same four questions to one recurring process.

2

Move from messages and meetings to action

Participants work with a supplied email thread or meeting transcript. They create a summary, identify decisions and actions, assign owners where stated, surface open questions and draft a follow-up communication.

3

Move from documents to decisions

Participants use a report, proposal or policy extract to create a concise brief. They check whether the summary distinguishes evidence, interpretation, recommendations and unresolved issues.

4

Move from data to a useful question

Using a supplied spreadsheet, participants ask Copilot to identify patterns and anomalies, then inspect the data and formula logic before communicating one useful insight.

5

Build and test one workflow

Event or programme coordination:brief, stakeholder communication and action tracker.
Policy or procedure update:comparison, revised draft and change summary.
Staff communication:source-backed message, questions and follow-up.
Reporting:data summary, management brief and presentation outline.
Meeting follow-up:decisions, actions, open questions and owner-ready email.
06

Participant outputs

  1. 01A reusable four-question Copilot brief.
  2. 02A communication and action record created from an email thread or meeting record.
  3. 03A concise decision brief or data insight.
  4. 04One role-relevant administrative workflow card.
  5. 05A 30-day workplace-use commitment.
07

Copilot capabilities used

Core capability: Microsoft Copilot Chat. Microsoft 365 application extensions are selected according to the host tenant, data permissions and participant licences.

Outlooksummarise threads, identify actions and draft replies, where licensed.
Teamssummarise meeting records, decisions and follow-up actions, where transcripts and licensing permit.
Worddraft, restructure, compare, rewrite and summarise documents, where licensed.
Excelexplore data, identify patterns and support visual explanation, where licensed and appropriate.
PowerPointturn a brief or document into an initial presentation structure, where licensed.
08

Responsible-use boundaries

  • Use supplied or appropriately classified information during the workshop.
  • Copilot respects existing permissions, but it does not correct poor access governance or oversharing.
  • Verify names, dates, figures, decisions, owners and deadlines before sending or acting.
  • Do not delegate consequential personnel, financial, disciplinary or safeguarding decisions to Copilot.
  • Make final communication choices based on organisational context and human relationships.
09

Participant Preparation

  • Bring a laptop and sign in to the institutional Microsoft account before arrival.
  • Choose one recurring administrative process that consumes time or creates avoidable rework.
  • Confirm access to Copilot Chat and any enabled Microsoft 365 application features.
  • Use supplied sample content if organisational information cannot be used in training.

About the Presenter: 

Dr Jim Wagstaff

Dr Jim Wagstaff is a Senior Consultant at Principals Academy and has called Singapore home for nearly 20 years. He is an educator and entrepreneur whose practical experience, teaching practice, and research expertise centre on digital pedagogy–specifically, the application of AI in teaching and learning. In 2018, Jim co-founded Noodle Factory, an AI-powered teaching and learning platform designed to support differentiated instruction.

Jim earned his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Liverpool (UK). His ongoing research focuses on how educators can reliably and safely harness the power of digital capabilities to support teaching and learning.  Jim has also earned his post-doctoral diploma in academic practice in coordination with the Fellowship for Higher Education in the UK, where his current work includes action research related to the impact of generative AI in teaching and learning.

Through his work with Noodle Factory, Jim has the opportunity to work with teachers and instructors at all levels of education across many disciplines and faculties. Jim has advised and assisted dozens of secondary and tertiary educational institutions and educators in applying generative and conversational AI to teaching and learning. These include institutions and educators in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. Jim is also currently involved in supporting the work of action researchers studying the impact of generative AI in teaching and learning at the University of London, Lusófona University (Portugal), and the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in Singapore.

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AI in Education Professional Development Series

Empowering Educators to Teach, Learn, and Lead inthe Age of Artificial Intelligence

Overview

This AI in Education Professional Learning Series is a cohesive set of one-day professional development workshops created in partnership between the Principals Academy and Dr Jim Wagstaff, co-founder of Noodle Factory and author of AI-Assisted Teaching and Learning: A Generative AI Field Guide for Educators. Each workshop focuses on a different dimension of AI’s role in teaching and learning — from foundational understanding to advanced integration and future readiness.

Designed for teachers across subject areas, these workshops balance academic rigour with classroom practicality. Participants will explore hands-on applications of AI, learn to evaluate and adapt digital tools responsibly, and build confidence in aligning AI use with sound pedagogical frameworks such as R.A.T., KAT, and Constructive Alignment. Every session blends demonstration, discussion, and design-based activities to ensure that teachers leave with actionable strategies ready for immediate classroom application.

The series supports the MOE’s broader vision for ethical, effective, and future-ready use of technology in schools — equipping educators to lead innovation, enhance inclusivity, and improve learning outcomes through thoughtful use of AI.

Registration Details

Course Code: JW17327

Topic: Microsoft Copilot for Executive and Administrative Staff

Presenter(s): Dr Jim Wagstaff

Date: 17 March 2027, Wednesday

Time: 9.00 am to 5.00 pm

Venue: Orchard Hotel or as otherwise advised

Closing Date: 15 January 2027, Friday

Workshop Fee: S$350.00 per participant, subject to GST.

Please get in touch with Joseph Loy by email at joseph@pai.sg or tel:6363 0330 if you require further information.

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