I do know you’ve got heard of gamification, however have you ever ever heard of festification? That is what Microsoft did final month and is constant till Might 28, with the Microsoft AI Abilities Fest. It is slightly odd, however it additionally appears prefer it may be a heck of lots of enjoyable. And you continue to three full weeks to take part.
Free AI coaching for everybody
Microsoft’s AI Abilities Fest affords programs which are open for all ability ranges. You’ll be able to be taught early phases of the teachings if you happen to’re new to AI, or work on deeper matters if you happen to’re extra aware of AI ideas. Though there are tiers of studying, it is packaged as a single expertise. You’ll be able to work by means of 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 shouldn’t be on provide.
However there’s much more, together with hackathons, self-paced studying, challenges, neighborhood boards and meetups, and even (is that this actually a shock?) a possibility 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 assist you to “Perceive generative AI and establish methods to make use of AI at dwelling and at work. Write efficient prompts and discover useful sources.”
For instance of the extra superior matters, you may take a course in Microsoft Cloth, Microsoft’s information analytics platform. The problem helps you put together for the DP-700 certification. Throughout Abilities Fest, the course is free, however if you happen to do need to grow to be licensed, that is one thing you will must pay for outdoor the Abilities Fest setting, and it is roughly $165.
Register now
Register on the Microsoft AI Abilities Fest registration web page. It is free coaching on a scorching subject from a well-respected firm, so it is positively value trying out.
Prizes and reductions
In the event you do not need to pay for certifications, it’s possible you’ll be in luck. In the event you enter the Microsoft AI Abilities Fest Problem Sweepstakes (one other identify I could not make up), you could possibly win one in all 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 Be taught module, you will be given a reduction code, which will probably be legitimate till Might 28, 2025. To be sure you do not dilly or dally, you should full the examination by June 30, 2025.
My experiences with Abilities Fest
I dug into a couple of of the courses. Once you register, you will get an extended listing of courses and trainings. I checked out three of them. I began with Minecraft Training – AI Adventurers as a result of my buddies 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 nicely suited to youngsters. You probably have a baby and also you need to clarify AI, it is a good spot to start out.
Subsequent up was Constructing functions with GitHub Copilot agent mode. This one is a 45-minute YouTube video that takes you thru the total stack growth 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 favored how he walked by means of 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. Chances are you’ll not be capable to get entry to this until you are available in both by way of your LinkedIn account or the Abilities Fest.
It is a fast 57-minute class on the small print of AI expertise, the enterprise implications of generative AI, the place AI matches into your small business technique, and an important part on pitfalls, considerations, and limits of AI expertise. Every of the 5 most important chapters is punctuated by a brief quiz, and there is a 10-question ultimate examination. The result’s a pleasant certificates, appropriate for framing. I paid no payment to get the certificates, which can also be cool.
An attention-grabbing be aware is that lots of the courses and trainings listed in Abilities Fest aren’t gated, so you are able to do them even after the Abilities 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 Abilities Fest occasion in April with an enormous objective: to win a world document. They usually 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 Abilities Fest members beat that with a complete of 126,151 members. Jeana Jorgensen, Company Vice President, Microsoft Studying stated, “The document is a tribute to each one who is investing their time and power to be taught a brand new AI ability or assist others construct their AI experience.”
Are you planning on registering for the AI Abilities Fest? Are there some AI expertise you need to enhance? Tell us within the feedback under.
Need extra tales about AI? Join Innovation, our weekly publication.
You’ll be able to comply with my day-to-day mission updates on social media. Make sure you subscribe to my weekly replace publication, and comply with me on Twitter/X at @DavidGewirtz, on Fb at Fb.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, on Bluesky at @DavidGewirtz.com, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
