
Choosing a Generative AI course is not just about learning to work with AI tools. It is about understanding how these technologies are built, how machine learning models process information and how applications such as chatbots, language models and image generators work. For professionals looking to move into AI-focused roles or apply these technologies in their current work, a grounding in programming, mathematics and machine learning is an important starting point.
The Professional Certificate Programme in Generative AI and Machine Learning by IIT Bhubaneswar, offered through PW Online Degree, takes learners from Python and mathematical foundations to advanced topics such as LLMs, prompt engineering, NLP and responsible AI. Over six months, the programme combines 72 hours of live online sessions with practical assignments, case studies and projects, giving learners opportunities to apply concepts as they progress through the curriculum.
The programme combines technical learning with academic support and career-oriented features to help you progress through the course.
Job-Ready Curriculum: Learn Python, machine learning, Generative AI, LLM applications, NLP and responsible AI through a career-focused curriculum.
Comprehensive Learning Content: Access subject modules, practical assignments, hands-on projects and additional learning material.
Career Assistance Workshops: Participate in career-focused workshops to support professional development.
Experienced Faculty: Learn through sessions led by faculty members from IIT Bhubaneswar.
Convenient Online Exams: Complete assessments through the programme's online examination format.
Live and Recorded Lectures: Attend live online sessions and revisit recorded lectures for revision.
24/7 Assistance: Access learner support when you need help during the programme.
The curriculum takes you through the essential concepts and techniques used in AI development. You begin with programming and mathematics before moving into Generative AI, machine learning, language processing and practical model development.
Start by understanding the programme's learning objectives, core concepts and the role of Generative AI and machine learning. This introductory module helps you prepare for the technical topics covered in the following sessions.
Python is widely used in AI development, from data processing to model building. This module introduces the programming concepts you need before working with machine learning frameworks.
Python and IDE installation
Working with Jupyter Notebook
Identifiers, indentation and comments
Python data types, operators and strings
Loops and list comprehension
Variable scope in functions
Machine learning models use mathematical concepts to process data, identify patterns and optimise their performance. This module covers the foundations required to understand these techniques.
Key areas include:
Linear algebra: Vector and matrix dot products, matrix-vector multiplication and singular value decomposition (SVD).
Probability theory: Random variables, Bayes' theorem and conditional probability.
Optimisation: Gradient descent, first- and second-order conditions, convex optimisation and KL divergence.
These concepts help you understand how machine learning algorithms represent information, estimate probabilities and improve model performance.
Learn what Generative AI can do and how to use it in different business applications. This module introduces prompt engineering and the practical use of ChatGPT.
You will explore:
Fundamentals of Generative AI
Prompt engineering principles
ChatGPT and its applications
Using GenAI tools for business tasks
Creating prompts to obtain relevant and useful outputs
The focus is on understanding how prompts influence AI responses and how to use GenAI tools more effectively.
Move beyond using AI applications to understanding how generative models work. This module introduces the architectures behind different types of generative systems.
Topics include:
Introduction to generative models
Large language model architecture
Variational autoencoders (VAEs)
Generative adversarial networks (GANs)
Attention mechanisms and transformers
Learn how to turn your understanding of large language models into functional applications. This module introduces frameworks and techniques for developing, customising and evaluating LLM-powered solutions.
You will cover:
LangChain and workflow design
Advanced prompt engineering
LLM application development
Fine-tuning and customisation of LLMs
Benchmarking and evaluating LLM capabilities
Develop an understanding of traditional machine learning methods and how they are used to solve prediction, classification and clustering problems.
The module covers:
Linear and logistic regression
Optimisation techniques
Support vector machines (SVM)
Decision trees and ensemble methods
Unsupervised learning and clustering
Dimensionality reduction using PCA, LDA and t-SNE
Artificial neural networks
Perceptrons, multilayer networks and backpropagation
Natural Language Processing (NLP) enables machines to process, interpret and generate human language. This module introduces techniques used in text analysis and language modelling.
Topics include:
Text processing with NLTK and spaCy
Morphology, stemming and edit distance
N-gram language modelling, smoothing and perplexity
Part-of-speech tagging
Hidden Markov Models and the Viterbi algorithm
Constituency and dependency parsing
Context-free and probabilistic context-free grammars
Text classification using Naive Bayes
Word embeddings, TF-IDF, Word2Vec and GloVe
Explore how generative models can create and process visual content. This module introduces techniques used in AI-based image generation and representation.
You will study:
Stable Diffusion
Denoising
Autoencoders in Generative AI
Contrastive learning techniques
Shared embedding spaces
Understand how language models have developed and how they generate text. This module explores neural language models, transformer architectures and techniques used to improve LLM performance.
Key topics include:
Neural language models: CNN, RNN, LSTM, GRU and Seq2Seq architectures.
Attention mechanisms: Self-attention and transformer architecture.
Pre-trained models: BERT, GPT and T5.
Fine-tuning strategies: Task-specific fine-tuning, instruction fine-tuning and preference tuning, including RLHF and PPO.
Prompting strategies: In-context learning, chain-of-thought prompting, knowledge probing and text generation.
Augmented LLMs: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) and tool-augmented LLMs.
Building AI systems also involves understanding the risks associated with their outputs and use. This module introduces important considerations for developing and using AI responsibly.
Topics include:
Misinformation
Bias and fairness
Toxicity
Security
Hallucinations
Strategies to improve the reliability of AI outputs
The programme includes practical work that allows you to apply concepts from machine learning, LLM development and Generative AI. Rather than limiting learning to theoretical explanations, you work through implementation tasks involving model training, evaluation and improvement.
Some of the project activities include:
|
Practical Assignment |
What You Work On |
|
Neural Network Implementation |
Build a fully connected neural network using PyTorch or TensorFlow, train it and visualise accuracy and loss across epochs. |
|
Transformer Fine-Tuning |
Fine-tune a pre-trained transformer for text classification and evaluate its accuracy, precision and recall. |
|
Transformer Architecture |
Implement a simplified transformer with self-attention and positional encoding, then compare its performance with a pre-trained model. |
|
Parameter-Efficient Fine-Tuning |
Apply PEFT to a large language model and compare training time and resource usage with standard fine-tuning. |
|
Reward Model Development |
Create a reward model using human-labelled data and use a reinforcement learning loop to improve text-generation responses. |
|
LLM Reasoning Evaluation |
Compare open-source LLMs on reasoning tasks using zero-shot, few-shot, chain-of-thought and self-consistency prompting. |
These exercises help you practise different stages of AI development, including model implementation, fine-tuning, performance evaluation and prompt optimisation.
Alongside the main programme, participants receive access to additional bridge courses of approximately 100 hours. These courses cover related technical and professional skills that can complement your AI learning.
The additional courses include:
Mastering Data Visualisation with Power BI and MS Excel
Business Intelligence with Power BI: Advanced Techniques
Mastering Cloud Technology for Website
Python Preparatory Course
Personality Development Programme
Career Excellence Program
Professional Course on Communication and Behaviour Skills
Generative AI Tools Masterclasses
These additional learning opportunities can help you work on skills related to data visualisation, cloud technology, communication and career development alongside the core AI curriculum.
The programme introduces different tools and technology areas used in AI development. These cover programming, LLM applications, machine learning, NLP, computer vision and deployment.
|
Technology Area |
What You Explore |
|
Generative AI Platforms |
Building and integrating AI applications for text, images and intelligent automation |
|
LLM and AI Application Frameworks |
Developing LLM-powered applications, AI pipelines and interactive interfaces |
|
Programming for AI Development |
Using Python to build AI models, data pipelines and machine learning applications |
|
Machine Learning and Deep Learning Frameworks |
Designing, training and deploying ML and deep learning models |
|
Natural Language Processing |
Text analysis, language modelling and NLP-based applications |
|
Computer Vision |
Image recognition, object detection and visual AI systems |
|
Data Science and Numerical Computing |
Numerical computation, arrays and mathematical operations for ML models |
|
Data Visualisation and Model Insights |
Visualising data, model performance and analytical results |
|
Web Development for AI Deployment |
Deploying AI applications and backend systems |
The programme is intended for graduates and working professionals who want to build knowledge of Generative AI and machine learning. It may be relevant whether you work in technology, analytics, product development or digital transformation.
Applicants should meet the following requirements:
A bachelor's degree with an overall average of 40% or higher.
A fundamental understanding of mathematics.
At least one year of work experience is preferred.
Freshers may also apply.
Final selection is subject to approval by IIT Bhubaneswar.
If you want to move towards AI-related work, strengthen your technical understanding or explore how GenAI can be applied to business problems, the programme offers an opportunity to study these areas together.
Participants who meet the applicable attendance and evaluation criteria receive a Certificate of Completion issued by IIT Bhubaneswar.
The certificate is awarded subject to the institute's requirements. Meeting the programme's learning and assessment conditions is therefore important for participants who intend to receive the completion certificate.
Knowledge of machine learning and Generative AI can be applied across several technical and business functions. The programme introduces concepts relevant to model development, LLM applications, data analysis, NLP and AI product development.
|
Role |
Area of Work |
|
Machine Learning Engineer |
Developing, training and evaluating machine learning models |
|
Generative AI Specialist |
Building applications using generative models and LLMs |
|
Data Scientist / AI Researcher |
Analysing data, developing models and exploring AI methods |
|
Prompt Engineer |
Designing and evaluating prompts for AI applications |
|
AI Product Manager |
Connecting AI capabilities with product requirements and business needs |
|
AI Engineer |
Developing and deploying AI-powered systems |
The skills covered may also be useful in areas such as intelligent automation, predictive analytics, computer vision, language processing and AI application deployment. Career outcomes will depend on your existing qualifications, practical experience, portfolio and the requirements of employers.
Through PW Online Degree, you can explore professional certificate programmes offered in collaboration with reputed institutions such as IIT Bhubaneswar. PW also provides support beyond course discovery through features such as:
Course Selection Guidance: Get help understanding programme options and finding a course that matches your interests.
University and Institute Comparisons: Compare available programmes to make a more informed choice.
Flexible Payment Support: Explore EMI and financing guidance for eligible programmes.
Academic Mentoring: Access guidance to support your learning journey.
Live Doubt-Solving: Get assistance with academic queries through doubt-solving sessions.
Career Guidance: Access resume-building support, interview preparation, and career mentoring, with placement assistance where applicable.
Building expertise in Generative AI involves understanding the technology behind intelligent systems and learning how to apply it to practical problems. The IIT Bhubaneswar Generative AI and Machine Learning Course brings together Python, machine learning, LLMs, NLP, image generation and responsible AI through live online sessions, assignments and projects. With additional bridge courses and a Certificate of Completion issued by IIT Bhubaneswar for eligible participants, the programme offers learners an opportunity to develop skills across several areas of AI. Through its collaborations with leading institutions, PW Online Degree connects you with specialised programmes that can help you explore emerging technology fields and prepare for evolving career opportunities.
