Core Pathway · 10–12 Weeks · ~90–100 Hours · Free

A sequenced path from curious
to capable.

Every step is curated from strong free or free-to-audit content, sequenced so each week builds on the last. The aim is not mastery of machine learning, but practical fluency and evidence of applied use.

Jump to Week 1 → View Domain Tracks

Core Pathway · 12 Weeks · ~90–100 Hours

Follow the sequence.
Build as you go.

Every course links directly to the provider. Most are free to access or free to audit. Work at your own pace — there's no cohort required to start.

01
Weeks 1–2 · Foundations
What AI Actually Is
Cut through the hype. Understand how AI works, what it can and cannot do, and where it is heading — without a single line of code.
Elements of AI — Helsinki AI For Everyone — Andrew Ng
02
Week 3 · Core Skill
Prompting — Talking to AI Effectively
Learn practical prompting frameworks and iteration techniques that help you get better outputs, ask better follow-up questions, and work more efficiently with AI tools.
Google Prompting Essentials Anthropic Academy — AI Fluency · Free
03
Week 4 · Critical Skill
AI Judgment — When to Use It, When to Question It
Recognise hallucinations. Verify outputs before using them professionally. Know what must never go into a public AI model. The skill employers most notice — and most courses ignore.
Trustworthy GenAI — Vanderbilt
04
Week 5 · Workplace Tools
Microsoft 365 Copilot in Everyday Work
Learn how AI assistants can support drafting, summarising, meeting recap, email management, and first-pass analysis in familiar workplace tools. Adapt the examples to the tools your organisation actually uses.
M365 Copilot — Coursera Copilot Prompting — Microsoft Learn
05
Week 6 · Applied Skill
AI for Data Analysis and Reporting
Turn messy data into structured insights and clear visualisations using natural language and spreadsheet tools. A useful cross-sector skill, especially for reporting and decision support.
AI for Data Analysis — Google
06
Week 7 · Governance
AI Ethics, Privacy and the EU AI Act
Understand key issues in governance, privacy, copyright, and responsible use. This section should help learners ask better compliance questions, not replace formal legal advice.
Ethical AI — Cambridge Data Privacy Specialization
07
Week 8 · Applied Skill
Mapping and Decomposing Business Processes
Before you automate anything, you need to map how work actually flows today. Learn to document processes using BPMN diagrams and swim lanes, decompose complex workflows, identify bottlenecks, and produce a Process Definition Document — the foundation every automation project needs. Pick 1–2 of the courses below based on your context.
Automation for Business — Starweaver Process Mapping — SkillUp Automation Business Analysis — UiPath
08
Weeks 9–10 · Automation
Building Low-Code AI Agents
Apply your process maps to prototype low-code automations and assistants for selected workflows. Tools like Microsoft Copilot Studio, n8n, and custom GPTs can help learners explore what is possible without needing deep software engineering.
Agentic AI — Vanderbilt Copilot Studio n8n Agent Building
09
Weeks 10–11 · Domain
Domain Track — AI in Your Field
Apply everything to your sector. Healthcare, Financial Services, Legal, Project Management, or Engineering. Each track provides field-specific case studies and a domain-relevant capstone brief.
Healthcare: Glasgow + Stanford PM: IBM + Vanderbilt Financial Services: Coming Soon Legal: AI for Legal Engineering: Univ. of Michigan
10
Week 12 · Capstone
Portfolio Project — Prove You Can Use AI in Real Work
Build and publish a real AI-assisted workflow improvement in your chosen domain. Show the before-and-after, tools used, decision-making process, and measurable impact. This becomes your proof of capability — something you can share in applications, interviews, and on LinkedIn. This is often more valuable to employers than a stack of certificates.
Year14 Portfolio Builder Guide LinkedIn Publishing Template
Example Capstone Projects
AI-powered reporting workflow — reduce a weekly report from hours to minutes using AI-generated analysis and summaries
Email and task automation — build a system that categorises, drafts, and prioritises incoming work using AI tools

Domain Tracks

AI skills built for your field,
not for engineers.

After completing the core pathway, every learner chooses a domain track that applies their AI skills to real examples from their sector.

🏥
Healthcare & Bioscience
Learn how AI is applied across clinical workflows, medical research, and healthcare systems — from real-world use cases to building your own AI-assisted processes.
Start here
Generative AI for Healthcare — Glasgow
Apply in practice
Microsoft Azure AI in Healthcare — build real workflows
Go deeper · Context and perspective
Stanford AI in Healthcare Video Series
📋
Project Management
AI across the full project lifecycle — planning, scheduling, risk, meetings, and reporting.
Generative AI for PMs — IBM ChatGPT for PM — Vanderbilt
AI-generated Charter and WBS outputs
⚖️
Legal & Professional Services
Learn how AI is being used across legal research, drafting, due diligence, compliance, and professional services workflows — from practical legal use cases to governance, ethics, and regulation.
Start here
AI for Legal Professionals
Apply in practice
Generative AI for the Legal Profession
Go deeper · Ethics, regulation and impact
AI and the Rule of Law
Coming Soon 🏦
Financial Services
AI in financial reporting, risk assessment, regulatory compliance, and intelligent automation.
Generative AI in Financial Services
Further courses in development
⚙️
Engineering
Learn how AI is transforming engineering workflows — from design optimisation and simulation to predictive maintenance and structural analysis. Built for Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineers applying AI in practice.
Start here
AI for Mechanical Engineers — University of Michigan
More courses coming soon

The Outcome

A portfolio, not just a list of courses.

Every week of Year14 should produce something tangible. By the end, a learner should have documented, domain-relevant examples of how they used AI to improve a task, process, or piece of work.

✓
7+ recognised certificatesFrom Google, Cambridge, Anthropic, Vanderbilt, IBM, Glasgow, and Microsoft
✓
Weekly mini-project artefactsPrompt sequences, workflow diagrams, data outputs, and process improvement documentation
✓
A domain-specific capstone projectA documented, published AI-assisted workflow improvement in your sector
✓
Stronger interview evidenceClearer answers to AI-related interview questions, supported by examples rather than vague claims
👤
Your Year14 Portfolio
AI-Assisted Workflow Improvement · Healthcare
NHS Triage Prompt Sequence
Prompt engineering · Week 3
Complete
M365 Copilot Workflow
Teams + Outlook automation · Week 5
Complete
Clinical Data Analysis
Google AI for Data · Week 6
Complete
AI Workflow Improvement — Capstone
Published · LinkedIn article
Published

What learners should realistically be able to do

Useful capability — not inflated promises.

By the end of the core pathway, a motivated learner should have practical working knowledge rather than deep technical expertise. That is still valuable. It means being able to use AI with judgment, improve common workflows, and explain where the tools help — and where they do not.

✓
Use AI more effectively at workDraft, summarise, analyse, brainstorm, and structure first-pass outputs more efficiently.
✓
Spot weak or risky outputsQuestion hallucinations, check sources, and recognise when sensitive information should not be entered into a model.
✓
Prototype a low-code workflowMap a process, identify a sensible use case, and build or sketch a basic automation or assistant.
✓
Show evidence to employersPresent a small portfolio of outputs and reflections that demonstrate applied skill, not just course completion.
Important distinction
This programme is for
Non-technical learners who want applied AI fluency, stronger judgement, and portfolio evidence they can use in study or work.
It is not a substitute for
A computer science degree, a deep machine learning curriculum, or a premium executive programme with live faculty, peers, and accreditation.
Why that still matters
Most people do not need to build foundation models. They need to use AI responsibly to improve the quality and speed of everyday work.

Get Started

Ready to begin?

Every course on this pathway is free or free to audit and available today. Start with Week 1 — no account, no waitlist, no cost.

Start Week 1 — Elements of AI → Join the Cohort Waitlist

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