AI foundations
Understand what AI can do, where it falls short, and how to use it thoughtfully.
YOUR STARTING POINT. YOUR PATH. YOUR PACE.
Start where you are. Find a learning path that fits your goals, build useful AI skills, and take your next step when you’re ready.
TWO QUICK CHOICES · NO ACCOUNT NEEDED
Tell us what brings you here. We’ll suggest a useful first step.
Choose your goal and coding comfort to see a suggested pathway.
Or browse all learning pathways01 / LEARN SOMETHING USEFUL
Choose a skill to see your learning pathway.
Understand what AI can do, where it falls short, and how to use it thoughtfully.
Give useful context, set clear expectations, and assess the answers you receive.
Connect the tools you already use and build a workflow with human review where it matters.
Build a coding foundation, explore datasets, and learn how models make predictions.
Move from prompts to useful applications, then explore agents that use tools to complete tasks.
Learn to question outputs, recognise potential harms, and decide when a person should stay in control.
Use AI to explore questions, compare sources and build a research brief you can verify.
Turn a clear brief into useful writing and visual concepts, then edit for accuracy, accessibility and your own voice.
Identify a useful workplace task, use an approved AI tool and measure whether it improves the result.
Recognise data exposure, prompt injection and unsafe tool access, then choose practical safeguards.
Our free workshops include five lessons, worked examples, practice materials and a portfolio workbook. Automatic assessments recognise knowledge and applied scenario decisions; certificates are non-accredited. External providers set their own access and fees.
A QUICK BEGINNER’S GUIDE
Plain-English meanings and examples. Open a term to learn more.
Software that performs tasks such as recognising patterns, understanding language or making predictions.
What it can do: Spot unusual transactions or help answer a question.
A way of building AI by learning patterns from examples rather than writing a rule for every situation.
What it can do: Predict demand from past sales or filter spam.
AI that creates new text, images, audio, video or code from patterns learned during training.
What it can do: Draft an email, create an illustration or suggest code.
A model trained on large amounts of text to process and generate language. Many chat assistants use LLMs.
What it can do: Summarise a report, explain a topic or translate text.
Methods that help computers work with human language, including text and speech.
What it can do: Classify customer feedback or extract names from documents.
An approach that retrieves relevant information and gives it to a model to help produce an answer.
What it can do: Answer questions using a company handbook; accuracy still needs checking.
A defined way for software systems to request data or actions from each other. It is used across software, including AI.
What it can do: Let an AI app request a weather forecast from another service.
A shared protocol for connecting AI applications to tools and data sources.
What it can do: Give an assistant access to a document search tool with the permissions you allow.
These are terms, rather than acronyms. People sometimes use them interchangeably; here is a useful distinction.
Creates a response to your request.
Example: Drafts a weekly project update from notes you provide.
A system that uses AI to choose steps and use available tools to work towards a goal, within its permissions.
Example: Finds project updates in connected tools, prepares a summary and asks you to approve sending it.
An approach where AI plans, takes actions and adapts based on results. It can involve one agent or several working together.
Example: Coordinates research, checks findings and revises a report when information is missing.
What an agent can actually do depends on its tools, access and setup. AI can make mistakes: check important outputs and keep human approval for consequential actions.
Further reading: IBM’s guide to AI agents · RAG explained · MCP introduction
02 / GET TO KNOW THE TOOLKIT
Explore by what you want to accomplish.
Brainstorm, draft, explain concepts and explore questions in conversation.
Explore ChatGPTWork through documents, ideas and writing tasks with an AI assistant.
Explore ClaudeExplore questions with source-linked answers; check the original sources.
Explore PerplexityGet assistance writing, understanding and reviewing code in a development workflow.
Explore GitHub CopilotAn AI coding environment for working on projects and understanding a codebase.
Explore CursorConnect applications and create visual workflows, including AI-powered steps.
Explore MakeBuild connected workflows with integrations, custom logic and AI capabilities.
Explore n8nExplore AI-assisted design and content creation within Canva.
Explore Canva AIExplore models, datasets and demonstrations from the open-source AI ecosystem.
Explore Hugging FaceFind datasets, notebooks and challenges for practising data and machine learning skills.
Explore KaggleStart with one tool. Check its pricing and privacy settings, and review AI outputs before using them.
03 / TURN LEARNING INTO OPPORTUNITY
Explore career directions and the skills behind them.
Concerned about AI changing your job? Start with one useful skill and build evidence of what you can do. Career switchers can bring writing, business, customer or subject knowledge into AI-related work. Entry-level opportunities exist, but availability and requirements vary; no course guarantees a job.
These are example job titles to search for, not current vacancies. Titles differ between employers.
Review model answers against a rubric. Writing, language or subject expertise can be useful. Some openings are freelance or task-based; check pay, terms and experience requirements.
Skills to build: Clear writing · Fact-checking · Rubrics · Bias awareness · Subject expertise
Label text, images or other data and check quality. Suitable for building experience, though specialist projects may require domain knowledge and work can be temporary.
Skills to build: Attention to detail · Annotation guidelines · Spreadsheets · Data privacy · Quality checks
Turn business problems into requirements for AI solutions. Operations, customer service and process improvement experience can transfer; junior availability varies.
Skills to build: Process mapping · Requirements · AI literacy · Stakeholder communication · Success metrics
Build and maintain workflows with AI and connected tools. Start with low-code projects, then learn APIs and error handling. Search related automation and implementation titles too.
Skills to build: Make or n8n · APIs · Workflow logic · Testing · Human review · Documentation
Analyse data and explain findings while using AI to assist with code or reporting. This is often an adjacent route into AI rather than a dedicated AI job.
Skills to build: Excel · SQL · Data cleaning · Charts · Statistics basics · Python · Output verification
Choose useful problems, prioritise features and evaluate AI products. Usually builds on existing product or delivery experience; consider associate product roles as a starting point.
Skills to build: Discovery · Prioritisation · AI limitations · Evaluation · Product metrics · Responsible AI
Build software around AI models and APIs. A practical next step for software developers; beginners first need programming and application delivery foundations.
Skills to build: Python or TypeScript · APIs · Retrieval · Testing · Security · Deployment · Model evaluation
Train, evaluate and deploy predictive models. Requires stronger programming, maths and data skills; short introductions alone will not prepare you for this role.
Skills to build: Python · Statistics · Linear algebra · ML frameworks · Data pipelines · MLOps
READY TO EXPLORE?
Browse live listings on external job boards. Requirements and availability vary.
04 / LEARN BEYOND YOUR SCREEN
Upcoming AI and technology events.
Dates checked 6 October 2026.
Confirm dates, ticket availability and accessibility with the organiser before booking. Past events are automatically hidden.
05 / FIND YOUR PEOPLE
Ask questions, share a project, and learn with others.
Ask a question, share a small win, or show what you are building. Posts are shared with everyone who has access to this hub.
YOUR LEARNER DASHBOARD
Your interests, saved progress and milestones.