I do know you've heard of gamification, however have you ever ever heard of festification? That's what Microsoft did final month and is constant till Might 28, with the Microsoft AI Expertise Fest. It's just a little odd, nevertheless it additionally seems to be prefer it could be a heck of numerous 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’ll be able to study early levels of the teachings should you're new to AI, or work on deeper matters should you're extra accustomed to AI ideas. Though there are tiers of studying, it's packaged as a single expertise. You’ll be able to work by any or the entire classes as a part of one unified course.
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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 isn’t 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 chance for Microsoft's companions to pitch their AI-related coaching and associated wares.
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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 house 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 knowledge analytics platform. The problem helps you put together for the DP-700 certification. Throughout Expertise Fest, the course is free, however should you do wish to grow to be licensed, that's one thing you'll must pay for outdoor the Expertise Fest atmosphere, and it's roughly $165.
Register now
Register on the Microsoft AI Expertise Fest registration web page. It's free coaching on a sizzling matter from a well-respected firm, so it's positively value testing.
Prizes and reductions
Should you don't wish to pay for certifications, chances are you’ll be in luck. Should you enter the Microsoft AI Expertise Fest Problem Sweepstakes (one other identify I couldn't make up), you can win one among 50,000 free certification vouchers awarded throughout weekly drawings.
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GitHub is providing a 50% low cost code for GitHub's latest certification examination, GitHub Copilot. When you end the GitHub Study module, you'll be given a reduction code, which can be legitimate till Might 28, 2025. To ensure you don't dilly or dally, you will need to full the examination by June 30, 2025.
My experiences with Expertise Fest
I dug into a couple of of the lessons. While you register, you'll get a protracted record of lessons and trainings. I checked out three of them. I began with Minecraft Training – AI Adventurers as a result of my pals 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 children. You probably have a baby and also you wish to clarify AI, this can be a good spot to begin.
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Subsequent up was Constructing purposes 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 preferred how he walked by 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 might not have the ability to get entry to this until you are available both by way of your LinkedIn account or the Expertise Fest.
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It's a fast 57-minute class on the main points of AI expertise, the enterprise implications of generative AI, the place AI suits into your enterprise technique, and an important part on pitfalls, issues, and limits of AI expertise. Every of the 5 fundamental chapters is punctuated by a brief quiz, and there's a 10-question remaining examination. The result’s a pleasant certificates, appropriate for framing. I paid no price to get the certificates, which can be cool.
An attention-grabbing be aware is that most of the lessons 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 an enormous objective: to win a world report. They usually did it, too. The earlier holder for the title of "most customers to take an internet multi-level synthetic intelligence lesson in 24 hours" was GUVI Geek Community Non-public Restricted in collaboration with the Authorities of Uttar Pradesh, India, who pulled in 46,045 on-line individuals.
Microsoft and all of the Expertise Fest individuals beat that with a complete of 126,151 individuals. Jeana Jorgensen, Company Vice President, Microsoft Studying stated, "The report is a tribute to each one who is investing their time and power to study a brand new AI talent or assist others construct their AI experience."
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