I do know you have heard of gamification, however have you ever ever heard of festification? That is what Microsoft did final month and is continuous till Might 28, with the Microsoft AI Expertise Fest. It is slightly odd, but it surely additionally seems prefer it could be a heck of plenty of enjoyable. And you continue to three full weeks to take part.
Free AI coaching for everybody
Microsoft’s AI Expertise Fest affords programs which are open for all talent ranges. You may be taught early levels of the teachings for those who’re new to AI, or work on deeper matters for those who’re extra acquainted with AI ideas. Though there are tiers of studying, it is packaged as a single expertise. You may work via any or the entire classes as a part of one unified course.
Classes can be found in Albanian, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese language, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, World, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Mandarin Chinese language, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Simplified Chinese language, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Sadly, conversational Klingon will not be on supply.
However there’s much more, together with hackathons, self-paced studying, challenges, group boards and meetups, and even (is that this actually a shock?) a chance for Microsoft’s companions to pitch their AI-related coaching and associated wares.
For these getting began with AI, there are classes like Utilizing AI for on a regular basis duties. This lesson will show you how to “Perceive generative AI and determine methods to make use of AI at residence and at work. Write efficient prompts and discover useful assets.”
For example of the extra superior matters, you possibly can take a course in Microsoft Cloth, Microsoft’s information analytics platform. The problem helps you put together for the DP-700 certification. Throughout Expertise Fest, the course is free, however for those who do need to develop into licensed, that is one thing you will must pay for outdoor the Expertise Fest atmosphere, and it is roughly $165.
Register now
Register on the Microsoft AI Expertise Fest registration web page. It is free coaching on a scorching matter from a well-respected firm, so it is undoubtedly price testing.
Prizes and reductions
In case you do not need to pay for certifications, it’s possible you’ll be in luck. In case you enter the Microsoft AI Expertise Fest Problem Sweepstakes (one other identify I could not make up), you would win certainly one of 50,000 free certification vouchers awarded throughout weekly drawings.
GitHub is providing a 50% low cost code for GitHub’s latest certification examination, GitHub Copilot. When you end the GitHub Study module, you will be given a reduction code, which can be legitimate till Might 28, 2025. To be sure to do not dilly or dally, you will need to full the examination by June 30, 2025.
My experiences with Expertise Fest
I dug into a number of of the courses. Once you register, you will get an extended record of courses and trainings. I checked out three of them. I began with Minecraft Training – AI Adventurers as a result of my mates say I’ve the maturity of a 12-year-old. It was a brief sequence of movies. All of them had been charming and really effectively suited to youngsters. When you have a baby and also you need to clarify AI, this can be a good spot to start out.
Subsequent up was Constructing purposes with GitHub Copilot agent mode. This one is a 45-minute YouTube video that takes you thru the complete stack improvement course of of making a health tracker app utilizing GitHub Copilot’s new agent mode.
The Microsoft presenter, Chris Noring, confirmed off Agent mode and demonstrated constructing the app utilizing VS Code in GitHub Codespaces. I actually preferred how he walked via extra than simply the AI course of and built-in it in with React, Django, and a MongoDB database. Very informative, all in about 45 minutes.
The third class I took was AI for Organizational Leaders, produced by LinkedIn Studying. You could not have the ability to get entry to this until you are available in both by way of your LinkedIn account or the Expertise Fest.
It is a fast 57-minute class on the main points of AI expertise, the enterprise implications of generative AI, the place AI suits into your online business technique, and an important part on pitfalls, considerations, and limits of AI expertise. Every of the 5 fundamental chapters is punctuated by a brief quiz, and there is a 10-question last examination. The result’s a pleasant certificates, appropriate for framing. I paid no price to get the certificates, which can also be cool.
An fascinating observe is that lots of the courses and trainings listed in Expertise Fest aren’t gated, so you are able to do them even after the Expertise Fest ended. The Minecraft sequence, for instance, is reachable by anybody with the hyperlink, as is the GitHub YouTube video.
A Guinness World Document
Microsoft started the Expertise Fest occasion in April with a giant objective: to win a world file. And so they did it, too. The earlier holder for the title of “most customers to take a web-based multi-level synthetic intelligence lesson in 24 hours” was GUVI Geek Community Personal Restricted in collaboration with the Authorities of Uttar Pradesh, India, who pulled in 46,045 on-line members.
Microsoft and all of the Expertise Fest members beat that with a complete of 126,151 members. Jeana Jorgensen, Company Vice President, Microsoft Studying mentioned, “The file is a tribute to each one who is investing their time and power to be taught a brand new AI talent or assist others construct their AI experience.”
Are you planning on registering for the AI Expertise Fest? Are there some AI abilities you need to enhance? Tell us within the feedback beneath.
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