On July 5th, 2024, the esteemed members of Nazarbayev University management successfully completed the Introduction to AI course, which was developed and organized by the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI). Spanning an intensive three-week period, the course comprised a total of 14 intensive modules designed to share foundational knowledge and key principles of AI.
Through the past three weeks, course participants delved into topics critical to understanding AI. The course’s agenda covered essential areas such as AI infrastructure, providing a robust framework for understanding the technological component of AI systems. Participants also explored large language models, gaining insights into how these models are trained and utilized to process and generate text. In addition, the course included an introduction to the fundamentals of prompt engineering, which is crucial for AI responses and interactions. The lectures also extended to the realms of generative media, encompassing the creation of both videos and images using AI technologies. Such modules were included in the course program with an aim to share knowledge to appreciate the creative potential of AI in various multimedia formats.
The content of this course was crafted and delivered by the ISSAI team, including the director Prof. Atakan Varol and data scientists Askat Kuzdeuov, Saida Mussakhojayeva, Alina Polonskaya, Madina Abdrakhmanova, Zhanat Makhataeva, and Aigerim Abdenbayeva. ISSAI members shared their expertise, ensuring that participants received a high quality learning experience.
By the end of the course, members of the NU management team had not only gained a solid understanding of the basics of AI, but also developed a strategic perspective on how these technologies can be integrated and leveraged within their work.