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Learning path · Aimed at an engineer who can use AI on everyday work

AI foundations for engineers

For engineers and students with no coding background who want to use AI tools sensibly.

You start with the first course. The next one is added when you are halfway through the one you are on.

See the courses in order
4 courses · 50 modules · 47h 16m of video · free, no card

What you can do at the end

Finish the path and you can do this

  • Write Python to read and tidy engineering data.
  • Explain how a large language model works and where it goes wrong.
  • Write prompts for engineering documents, and build a small workflow in n8n.

A path teaches skills. It does not promise a job, an interview or a salary.

Why these courses together

Each course builds on the last

  • 1Python first: every later course reads or changes data with it.
  • 2Understanding how language models work makes prompting a skill, not guesswork.
  • 3n8n comes last, because you need prompts and data before you can automate anything with them.

A planned order also saves the time you would spend choosing what to learn next, and you finish with one story to tell: what you learnt, in order.

The roadmap

4 courses, in this order

  1. Step 1: Python for AI and Engineering Data

    Adds: Python from zero, taught on the data an engineer actually has: tag lists, 4–20 mA readings, meter logs and motor currents. Variables to Pandas time series in twelve modules, all in a free Google Colab notebook, ending with a real year of plant energy data cleaned and reported.

    • Beginner
    • 13 modules
    • 11h 46m of video

  2. Step 2: Generative AI and LLM Foundations

    Adds: What a language model is actually doing when it answers, why it is confidently wrong sometimes, how to call one from Python on a free route, how to run one privately on your own laptop, and how to test one before you trust it with a datasheet. The concept course under the whole AI track.

    • Beginner
    • 13 modules
    • 10h 6m of video

  3. Step 3: Prompt Engineering for Engineers

    Adds: A course for engineers on writing AI prompts with checkable output and testing them on a golden set. Free to learn; the certificate is optional and paid.

    • Beginner
    • 12 modules
    • 6h 5m of video

  4. Step 4: AI Agents and Workflow Automation with n8n

    Adds: No-code automation with a language model in the loop, for the jobs an engineering office does by hand: triage maintenance tickets, send the 07:00 plant report, log a phone form into a register, watch a mailbox. n8n runs free on a laptop; the AI node points at a free model or a local Ollama. Every write goes through a human approval step.

    • Beginner
    • 12 modules
    • 19h 18m of video

4

courses

50

modules

47h 16m

of video in total

Example: at 5 hours a week, the video alone takes about 10 weeks. Practice tasks and the finals come on top, and you set the pace.

Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab

Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.

See the 3D lab

What you get

What joining gives you

  • Every course is free, with lifetime access and no card.
  • Video lessons by credited independent creators, with our written notes and worked examples.
  • A practice task per module, and one final assessment per course.
  • Ask-an-engineer support.
  • Optional verifiable certificate for each course you pass, US$23.99 for a beginner course. There is no single certificate for the whole path.
  • One course at a time: you start with the first, and the next is added when you are halfway through it.
  • Each course keeps its own progress. You can open any course on its own at any time.

Put it into practice

Then try it in an internship

Hands typing on a laptop at a wooden desk with a notebook, glasses and coffee.

Generative AI and Prompt Engineering Internship

Eight short weeks of how language models work, prompting that gets better answers, and the risks to manage: notes, diagrams, a few videos and worked exercises.

The Generative AI internship gives you short weekly tasks to apply the prompting and workflow skills.

The Free internship is 4 weeks with a free certificate. It is training, not employment, and the Engineer-verified internship is optional.

See the Generative AI and Prompt Engineering internship

Questions

Questions about this path

Is the AI foundations for engineers free?

Yes. Every course in the path is free in full: lessons, notes, practice tasks and the final assessment. The only paid item is the optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion for each course.

What happens when I join the path?

You are enrolled on the first course straight away. The next course is added to your account when you are about halfway through the one you are on, so you never face a pile of unstarted courses. Each course keeps its own progress, notes and final.

In what order should I take the courses?

In the order listed: each course is placed after the ones it builds on. Every course also stands alone, so you can open any of them from the list.

Do I get one certificate for the whole path?

No. Certificates are per course, issued when you pass that course's final assessment, and you only buy one if you want it. Finishing every course gives you one optional, verifiable certificate for each.

How long will it take?

The video alone is about 47h 16m. Notes, practice tasks and the finals take extra time, and you go at your own pace.

Do I have to do the internship?

No. It is a separate, optional step. The Generative AI and Prompt Engineering Internship is training, not employment: the Free internship is 4 weeks with a free certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship is optional.

Ready to start AI foundations for engineers?

You start with the first course. The next one is added when you are halfway through the one you are on.

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