AI and Machine Learning Essentials

Professionals, across industries who want to gain an understanding of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Generative AI.

Managers, team leaders, business analysts or consultants who want to build confidence in navigating the AI landscape, understanding its capabilities and obstacles, and engaging effectively in AI-related discussions and decisions. No prior technical background is required, just curiosity and a desire to learn.

In today’s rapidly evolving landscape, AI and Machine Learning (ML) are reshaping industries, creating new possibilities for professionals in every field. Even if your role is not directly in AI or data science, you can gain an understanding of how these technologies work and might be leveraged. 

How can AI tools help you increase productivity, enhance decision making or streamline processes? This course provides a clear, accessible introduction to core AI concepts and tools, empowering you to evaluate opportunities, ask better questions, and contribute meaningfully to AI-driven projects.

• Gain an overview of the ML, AI and Generative AI landscapes
• Understand how models are built, aligned and benchmarked
• Clarify key ML concepts to inform decisions in your organization
• Explore and practice prompting Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Strengthen your ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with technical professionals in the AI community

A certificate of attendance will be delivered at the end of the course.

DAY 1 – Morning
Introduction to Artificial Intelligence
Frontal lesson with conceptual exercises

• AI Terminology and its building blocks
• Examples of real-world applications of AI
• Different types of learning (supervised, self-supervised, unsupervised, multimodal)

DAY 1 – Afternoon
Decision Making Along the Pipeline
Frontal lesson and workgroups

• Data science pipeline essentials
• Exploring and analysing AI use cases

DAY 2 – Morning
Large Language Models (LLMs) and Generative AI
Frontal lesson and conceptual exercises

• Generative AI: a peek behind the curtain
• Applications, limitations and  guardrails of Generative AI models
• Model alignment and benchmarks for model selection

DAY 2 – Afternoon
Prompting, Infrastructure and Tools
Frontal lesson and workgroups

• Prompt engineering, from concepts to interactive exercises
• Compute power in the realm of AI
• Tools and framework for building Generative AI applications
• Conclusion: Insights and key takeaways

This workshop focuses on foundational AI concepts; topics such as governance, ethics, security and deployment are not a primary focus and may not be explored. For further details about the program, feel free to contact us at extension.school@epfl.ch.

Programme Director

• Prof. Negar Kiyavash, Full Professor, Chair of Business Analytics, EPFL

Instructors

• Christian Lübbe, Machine Learning Course Instructor, EPFL
• Amir Khalilzadeh, Machine Learning Course Instructor, EPFL

Dates and schedule

Next course dates:

• May 23-24, 2025: registration closed
• November 25-26, 2025: registration open
  • Tuesday, 25 November, 2025
    9:00 am to 5:00 pm
  • Wednesday, 26 November, 2025
    9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Course venue

EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland

Material

Participants should bring their own laptop (for hands-on experience).

Course fee

CHF 1’500.–*

*10% special discount for contributing members of EPFL Alumni , EPFL partners and for Alumni of the EDS, FDS, TCC, ADSCV and ADSML programs.

Registration deadline

August 31, 2025