AI in Practice - Leverage FREE AI tools
Your a-to-z practical guide on how AI works and how to leverage it effectively in your work
Build a complete, practical foundation in modern AI without spending a cent on software. Designed for zero-coding backgrounds, this hands-on course guides you through mastering top-tier free tools, like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Zapier, to build a personal portfolio site, launch custom AI agents, and run 24/7 background automations. Beyond daily workflows, you'll cut through the hype to master the real mechanics of LLMs, enterprise strategy, and compliance essentials like GDPR and the EU AI Act, walking away with functional projects and a clear roadmap for long-term implementation.
with Larno Visser
AI teacher, consultant and speaker
Course Overview
This course gives professionals of all levels a complete, practical foundation in generative AI, without ever requiring a paid subscription. Starting from first principles (how large language models actually work, and where they break down) the course moves quickly into hands-on practice: using AI for research, brainstorming, document analysis, and meeting transcription; writing high-quality prompts with proven frameworks; managing context and building reusable custom agents.
Then you build real, working things: a portfolio website, a QR code generator, an automated email-reply bot, a simple AI agent and much more, using only free platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Manus, GitHub Copilot, Zapier, and free-tier APIs. Every example and exercise is deliberately chosen so that any participant, regardless of budget, can follow along and keep using the skills afterward.
Along the way, the course covers what most AI training leaves out: how to decide where AI belongs in an organization and why so many projects fail, data privacy and GDPR basics, the EU AI Act, algorithmic bias, and an honest look at the limits of the technology and where the growth may slow. Students leave not just knowing what AI can do, but having actually built things with it, and with a personal strategy for staying current as the technology keeps changing.
What you'll learn
Use a wide range of AI tools effectively and know when to use what tool for research, learning, writing, brainstorming, analysis, transcriptions, automation and more
Write and iterate on effective prompts using established frameworks and apply context engineering and meta-prompting techniques
Build reusable custom agents
Build your own websites, digital tools and even AI tools with free AI and free tier APIs
Understand and explain, in plain language, how large language models work (pretraining, tokens, attention, context window and RLHF) and recognize the 6 levels of AI 'agency' across today's tools
Apply AI safely: understand bias, hallucinations, privacy concerns, EU AI Act limitations and how to navigate around these obstacles
Meet the instructors
Larno Visser is a teacher, entrepreneur and consultant in AI from the Netherlands. Through his company he provides company trainings and consultancy in AI for companies from Philips to BDO to municipalities and schools. Furthermore, he teaches the course 'AI in Practice' in Antwerp, where he teaches students not only how they can use AI tools effectively themselves, but also how AI can be implemented in businesses to add real value. Larno's approach is rooted in true understanding and practical value, always looking beyond the hype and never using AI for the sake of AI. Larno is also a speaker on the ethics and human implications of artificial intelligence.
Who this course is for
Students Anyone who wants a broad, practical understanding of generative AI and wants to build it entirely on free tools, without needing a budget for paid subscriptions
Young Professionals People starting out in their careers who want to use AI effectively at work — research, writing, analysis, automation — and understand how it actually works
Beginner to Intermediate AI Users No prior AI experience needed; also suitable if you're already familiar with basic AI tools and want to go deeper into prompting, agents, and building
Anyone Asked to "Do Something With AI" Team leads, teachers, and anyone handed AI as a responsibility. Learn where AI actually belongs in an organization, why so many projects fail, what the GDPR and the EU AI Act require, and how to write a policy people will follow.
What's included
6 Modules, 18 lessons, 11+ hours of on-demand video content
Async assignments after every session, from podcasts to portfolio sites to AI agents
Capstone: a portfolio website (HTML) presenting the End-Result from all assignments
Hands-on builds: QR code generator, email-reply bot, Zapier form automation, appointment-booking agent
Every tool used is free or free-tier: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Manus, GitHub Copilot, Zapier
Coverage of GDPR basics, the EU AI Act, bias and responsible AI use
Course syllabus
7 lessons
AI & LLM foundations: machine learning, generative vs predictive AI, tokens, RLHF, Limits of LLMs and the 6 levels of AI agency
Working effectively and responsibly with AI: business, work and study use cases; research, learning and transcription; prompt engineering basics; data safety and AI policy
Context engineering: context windows, custom instructions, Projects, Memory, context management, connectors and token management
Advanced prompt engineering: meta-prompting, perspective and style prompts, template prompts, structured outputs and reusable GPTs/Gems/Agents
AI-assisted coding and building AI tools: Coding fundamentals; prompt engineering for coding; coding your own digital tools, APIs
$80
One-time payment
plus tax, calculated at checkout
- 6 Modules, 18 lessons, 11+ hours of on-demand video content
- Async assignments after every session, from podcasts to portfolio sites to AI agents
- Capstone: a portfolio website (HTML) presenting the End-Result from all assignments
- Hands-on builds: QR code generator, email-reply bot, Zapier form automation, appointment-booking agent
- Every tool used is free or free-tier: ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Manus, GitHub Copilot, Zapier
- Coverage of GDPR basics, the EU AI Act, bias and responsible AI use
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