Despite the countdown to paid time off on your calendar, August isn’t the time to start slacking on your AI knowledge, especially as AI companies continue to develop their tools at speed.
Not only should users be expanding their knowledge of AI, but they should also see how AI can enhance existing workplace skills, such as leadership and project management.
Recent studies have suggested leaders need more training to leverage AI’s full capabilities. Free courses like the ones below are a sure way to keep knowledge fresh and relevant, so you can make the most out of your AI investments.
Managing AI Projects with Microsoft
Summary:
- Learn how to manage and coordinate projects with the Microsoft Azure AI ecosystem
- 4 courses, taking approximately 12 weeks to complete (4 hours per week)
- Intermediate level recommended
- Shareable certificate available on completion
- Available through Coursera
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Microsoft’s Copilot has become a business favorite because of its connection to the wider Microsoft ecosystem, especially as more businesses opt for AI solutions that integrate into daily workflows. With this course, you’ll learn practical use cases for the entire Microsoft Azure AI ecosystem, allowing Microsoft users to fully leverage AI within their existing tools.
Furthermore, at the end of this course you’ll be able to manage cross-functional AI initiatives using structured planning and risk coordination, and coordinate AI system delivery across data, model, deployment, and monitoring stages. Plus, it will show you how to apply responsible AI, governance, and business value frameworks within projects.
This course is targeted at leaders, and the description boasts skills such as cross-functional team leadership, business and organizational leadership, decision intelligence, and more. Some studies have suggested the managerial role is set to change as a result of AI, therefore learning to lead with AI will set you up for a future supporting yourself and your team.
Leadership knowledge is a prerequisite here, including experience leading projects or cross-functional initiatives. You won’t need to know how to code, as the program focuses more on managing AI initiatives, rather than building.
Build Anything With AI with Vanderbilt University
Summary:
- Turn any idea into working software using AI
- 4 courses, taking approximately 4 weeks to complete (10 hours a week)
- Beginner level
- Shareable certificate available on completion
- Available through Coursera
A big part of mastering AI is learning how to apply it in the right way. We’ve all been there, trying to use AI for AI’s sake, and it doesn’t work nearly as well as when you enhance or reimagine your existing processes with AI in mind.
This course teaches you to do exactly that. Taught by top instructor Dr. Jules White, Director of Vanderbilt’s Initiative on the Future of Learning & Generative AI, by the end you’ll be be able to compute, analyze, and visualize anything with AI, including new projects and ideas.
Similarly, users will gain new skills including AI product strategy, decision intelligence, prompt patterns, large language modeling, and AI and agentic workflows. You’ll also get to work with highly popular tools such as Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, keeping you firmly in the loop on the tools making the biggest impact.
Google AI Professional Certificate
Summary:
- Upgrade AI from a task completion engine to a professional collaborator
- 7 courses taking approximately 8 hours to complete
- Beginner level
- Employer-recognized Google certificate available on completion
- Available through Google
Those wanting to use AI to its full capabilities should be going beyond asking questions to a chatbot. According to the description of this course from Google, it was built “by mapping AI capabilities to the skills the job market demands, and validated by employers.”
This course will help you use AI in the ways that are making an impact in the workplace, in particular, across communication, data analysis, and research. It’s highly customizable and meets users where they are, encouraging them to complete practical, hands-on time using AI to complete tasks that trouble them the most at work. If this means skipping a course section or two, so be it.
Users will gain skills including project management, content creation, data visualization, and responsible AI use. You’ll also get to learn how to vibe code, allowing you to create custom apps that solve your workplace challenges.
How Smart People Use AI to Think, Lead, and Grow with ChatGPT
Summary:
- Learn to use AI in a way that betters you
- 7 sections with 7 lectures
- 33 mins of on-demand video and 1 article
- Beginner level
- Available through Udemy
This course encourages users to look beyond the surface with AI, and consider it a partner to improve your thinking, rather than replace it. “Whether you’re managing a team, making decisions, or trying to develop new habits, you’ll discover how a simple daily conversation with AI can help you gain clarity, solve challenges, and grow faster,” the course description says.
In the wake of today’s AI layoffs, this course is a breath of fresh air for professionals, creators, entrepreneurs, and learners. Mostly, you’ll learn to use ChatGPT as a thinking partner for daily tasks, allowing you to create a personal AI habit that encourages growth, reflection, clarity, and confidence. You’ll also get access to real-world examples and prompts you can use right away.
Overall, the course emphasizes AI use “in a meaningful, human-centered way, beyond just writing blog posts or summaries,” making it a vital learning opportunity for leaders wanting to adopt AI in a way that uplifts and empowers employees.
Why You Should Keep Up with AI Courses
Several studies indicate businesses are already seeing massive productivity and ROI gains with AI, suggesting it’s already making an impact on today’s workplaces.
However, there are still risks that businesses need to be aware of, especially as the technology continues to advance and integrate itself as a rapid speed. Not paying attention at this stage will not only cost you your AI investments, but your business’s profit and reputation.
That’s why leaders should stay aware of how AI is developing and continue their learning no matter what stage they’re at. Things can change quickly, and the tool you learned about last week could be out of date a week later.
