AI Builders: Mastering AI Through Hands-On Projects and Frontier Insights

4.9 (45)

·

3 Weeks

·

Cohort-based Course

Leapfrog the AI curve by joining 5,000+ fellows, mastering the only skill that never expires: building.

This course is popular

4 people enrolled last week.

Previously at

Meta
Amazon
Microsoft
Pinterest
Tencent

Course overview

How we taught eight cohorts to get ahead and stay ahead in AI:

The pace of GenAI is relentless. Are you finding it challenging to:

- Move beyond basic prompts to engineer reliable AI solutions?

- Effectively integrate GenAI into your complex workflows?

- Stay ahead of the curve with the constant stream of new research and tools?

- Cut through the hype and identify genuine opportunities?


Feeling overwhelmed is normal. GenAI isn't just another tool; it's a paradigm shift. Simply using it isn't enough to secure your future.


There are no textbooks to read, no buttons to click, no "best practices" or even "the best model". Everything is changing. To truly thrive, you need to become a builder.


This Course Transforms You From User to Builder

We believe the key to mastering GenAI lies in learning through creating. This course is built from the ground up to do more than just teach you techniques – it's designed to fundamentally shift your mindset and empower you to build.


We combine hands-on projects with deep dives into the underlying research. Why? Because practical skills without research knowledge become quickly outdated, and research knowledge without practical application remains theoretical. You need both to innovate.


"This course not only teaches me many best practices and techniques of Generative AI but also, more importantly, conveys mindsets that can be leveraged in both work and life." – Software Engineer at Zuora, Cohort 1

"What I love this course, is that it does not only teaches you practical skills, but also training your mind and establish a builder's mindset... learn how to learn, learn how to unlearn, will be surely one of those skills." – Sr. Principal Technical Program Manager at Oracle, Cohort 8


What You Will Achieve:

- Master Practical GenAI Building: Go from idea to prototype. Learn advanced prompt crafting, robust GenAI integration, and essential tooling through hands-on projects relevant to your work. Get personalized feedback to ensure success.

- Gain Deep Research Intuition: Develop a solid foundation in LLMs. Understand the 'why' behind the techniques, navigate new developments confidently, and identify valuable opportunities others miss.

- Revolutionize Your Daily Workflow: Learn to automate complex tasks, significantly enhance your efficiency, and maintain your competitive edge by strategically applying GenAI. Overcome hurdles with our "guided mistakes" approach.

- Develop Critical AI Thinking: Learn to see beyond the clickbait. Put GenAI into the context of technological history, challenge assumptions, and predict future impacts with clarity.

- Unlock the Builder's Mindset: Move beyond passive consumption. Cultivate the confidence, framework, and iterative approach needed to continuously learn and create valuable AI applications.


"I was looking for guidance in integrating GenAI into my day-to-day job and this course provided exactly that... I highly appreciate the instructor's focus on the technical best practices and the intuitive explanation of the 'why' behind them. I feel prepared." – Senior Research Scientist at SLB, Cohort 2

"The course is well designed with very insightful high level contents on mindset... and very specific and tangible practical examples... Highly recommend for people who are a bit hesitant to start building... or people who want to see how they can build better genAI applications but lack a framework to do so." – Principal Data Scientist at DIRECTV, Cohort 4


How You'll Learn:

Our curriculum centers around building practical prototypes. After each build, we dive into the relevant research, connecting theory directly to application. You'll learn prompt engineering, debugging strategies, and how to optimize GenAI solutions for your specific needs, culminating in a class project tailored to you.


"I really appreciated how Yan presented the demo and technical details with clear examples, while Yuzheng provided valuable insights into LLMs and practical guidance on their usage." – Software Engineer at Google, Cohort 7

"Despite I was working on AI tools day-to-day, I find myself learning something new and in a deeper level, and be able to more effectively leverage AI to build solutions..." – UX Manager at Google, Cohort 7


We Created A LIfelong Community with over 5,000 AI Builders

Your enrollment includes lifetime access to our exclusive community: https://www.superlinear.academy/c/share-your-work/

Connect with fellow innovators, share cutting-edge developments, find inspiration, and get support on your GenAI journey and career advancement.


Ready to Build?

We highly recommend the immersive experience of our cohort-based course. However, we also offer a self-paced version if your schedule requires flexibility: https://www.superlinear.academy/c/ai/

All cohort students receive complimentary lifetime access to the self-paced course materials and community.

Who is this course for

01

You know basic Python.

02

You want to apply AI to your daily work and boost productivity

03

You seek to understand AI.

04

You want to capture the opportunties in AI

What you’ll get out of this course

Master Practical AI Building

Acquire hands-on skills by building useful GenAI prototypes. Master prompt crafting, AI integration, and essential tools for immediate application in your daily tasks. Receive personalized feedback to ensure your project's relevance and success.

Gain Deep Research Intuition

Build a solid foundation in LLMs to confidently navigate GenAI developments. Learn to spot and seize opportunities by understanding the evolving landscape of AI technology from the inside out.

Transform Your Daily Workflow

Learn to automate complex tasks, significantly enhance efficiency, and maintain your competitive edge by strategically integrating GenAI. Overcome common challenges effectively through our unique "guided mistakes" approach.

Develop Critical AI Foresight

Cut through the clickbait. Get challenged to think critically, place GenAI developments in historical perspective, and predict future impacts with clarity.

Join a Lifelong Community of Builders (over 5,000 members)

Get lifetime access to an exclusive, member-only community that we specially built. Connect with fellow builders for inspiration, sharing cutting-edge developments, and ongoing support in AI and career advancement.

This course includes

3 interactive live sessions

Lifetime access to course materials

53 in-depth lessons

Direct access to instructor

6 projects to apply learnings

Guided feedback & reflection

Private community of peers

Course certificate upon completion

Maven Satisfaction Guarantee

This course is backed by Maven’s guarantee. You can receive a full refund within 14 days after the course ends, provided you meet the completion criteria in our refund policy.

Course syllabus

Week 1

Jun 2—Jun 8

    Jun

    7

    Live Sessions - Week 1

    Sat 6/711:00 PM—1:00 AM (UTC)

    Automate Your Work with GenAI

    4 items

    GenAI Internals and Best Practices

    8 items

    Lightweight Projects: Bridging GUIs and APIs

    7 items

Week 2

Jun 9—Jun 15

    Jun

    14

    [Optional] Office Hour

    Sat 6/1411:00 PM—12:30 AM (UTC)
    Optional

    Jun

    15

    Live Session - Week 2

    Sun 6/1511:00 PM—1:00 AM (UTC)

    Effective Management of GenAI

    10 items

    Become Future Proof

    7 items

    [Optional] Final Project

    1 item

Week 3

Jun 16
    Nothing scheduled for this week

Bonus

    Research: How LLMs are Trained

    7 items

    Open Source LLMs and Tool Chain

    7 items

    Mastering Cursor: From Comments to Agents

    8 items

4.9 (45 ratings)

What students are saying

Meet your instructor

Yuzheng Sun, PhD

Yuzheng Sun, PhD

Statsig.com Data Scientist | Ex Tencent Director | Ex Meta/Amazon/BCG | Tech channel with 200k+ subscribers and 5k+ paid members

In Feb. 2023, I've published one of the most influencial articles about LLMs -- The Five Critical Questions about ChatGPT (Eng) -- a year later, most of the predictions in the article has become or is becoming reality.


Even with the fundamental understanding, I still experience the struggle of applying AI, of being reluctant to get hands-on, and of being unaware of the best practices. Until I get to learn from Dr. Yan Wang, who is truely a 10x engineer. His experience in applying GenAI is evident in his blog.


This course is my year long learning journey, distilled and designed for you, to avoid all the mistakes and get results as efficiently as possible.


Follow me on Linkedin or Youtube (Chinese/English)

Yan Wang, PhD

Yan Wang, PhD

Applied Scientist @ Samsara | Olympic Torchbearer | Ex Pinterest/Microsoft | Ex Tech blogger with 100k+ subscribers

Yan Wang has devoted his passion into building working solutions to complicated engineering problems since he got his PhD degree in Columbia University. With emphasis on tailored mechanism, continuous innovation, and specialized tools, Yan consistently delivered algorithms and systems to Photoshop, Bing, and Pinterest, which have benefited millions of people and got widely reported by global media. Yan also contributed to pushing the boundary of science by publishing 20+ papers on top conferences/journals and inventing 10+ US patents. Since the initial appearance of Large Language Models (LLMs, often referred as AI), Yan has been exploring its potential and gradually built a belief that, we are at an intersection of technology revolution similar to steam engines, and people who know how to properly use AI may build a decisive advantage over those who don’t. 

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

AI Builders: Mastering AI Through Hands-On Projects and Frontier Insights

Cohort 9

$1,199

Dates

June 2—16, 2025

Payment Deadline

June 1, 2025
Get reimbursed

Course schedule

4-6 hours per week

  • Live Sessions

    3:00pm - 5:00pm PST. May 12 & 19

    Walkthrough building prototypes together. Learn their implications through LLM research and our technical insights.

  • Offline/Async Courses

    2 hours per week

    Content similar to the live sessions without the need for interactions. Fit your busy schedule and learn on your own pace.

  • Weekly projects

    2 hours per week

    Build your own GenAI solution for your particular use case. Apply the tools and mindsets learned in class

  • Office hours

    2 hours

    Get feedback and coaching on your class project. Learn what other students have built.

Learning is better with cohorts

Learning is better with cohorts

Active hands-on learning

This course builds on live workshops and hands-on projects

Interactive and project-based

You’ll be interacting with other learners through breakout rooms and project teams

Learn with a cohort of peers

Join a community of like-minded people who want to learn and grow alongside you

Frequently Asked Questions

Stay in the loop

Sign up to be the first to know about course updates.

A pattern of wavy dots

Join an upcoming cohort

AI Builders: Mastering AI Through Hands-On Projects and Frontier Insights

Cohort 9

$1,199

Dates

June 2—16, 2025

Payment Deadline

June 1, 2025
Get reimbursed

$1,199

4.9 (45)

·

3 Weeks