Beyond the Prompt: Developing Advanced AI Skills

If you can already get solid results out of ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini, this course is your next move. Beyond the Prompt is an intermediate-level AI class that shifts your thinking from 'how do I write a better prompt?' to 'how do I build a smarter system?' You'll dig into the real architecture behind advanced AI workflows — Retrieval-Augmented Generation, embeddings, tool use, and logic chaining — and learn how to connect language models to external knowledge, specific domains, and live APIs. This isn't theory for its own sake: every concept is grounded in structured demos, real-world use cases, and hands-on experimentation. By the end, you won't just be a power user — you'll be the kind of person who designs AI systems that actually do things. For students who are serious about technology, entrepreneurship, or just staying ahead of the curve, this course is the leap from user to builder.

From Prompts to Systems Shift from asking how to write a better prompt to how to build a smarter system, exploring the architecture behind advanced AI workflows through structured demos and real-world use cases.

RAG and Embeddings Design Retrieval-Augmented Generation pipelines that extend LLMs with up-to-date knowledge sources, and use embeddings to retrieve information so responses become more context-aware and accurate.

Logic Chains and Tool Use Build logic chains that link reasoning steps into multi-stage workflows, connect language models to external tools and APIs so they take real actions, and tailor systems to specialized domains.

Design Trade-Offs and Scale Weigh trade-offs in AI system design, including when a lightweight workflow beats a complex one, and architect reusable workflows that act as dynamic collaborators rather than one-off answer machines.