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"Despite being a student in Harvard’s Master’s in Data Science program, I've struggled to understand the concepts that make LLMs so impressive. This class gave me the answers." - Tony "Ishan takes a black box, rips it apart to understandable compartments, and clearly communicates what is going on. Highly recommend." - Joe, CFO ______________________________________________________________________ The current cohort completed recording on January 17th, 2025 but you can still enroll to participate asynchronously: •&nbsp;Get lifetime access to all recorded sessions, including interactive Q&amp;A segments•&nbsp;Connect with peers in our dedicated private Discord community•&nbsp;Master the material through comprehensive quizzes and training resources•&nbsp;Receive direct instructor support via email or Discord whenever you need help•&nbsp;The option to attend a future live cohort for free______________________________________________________________________ Why This Course Stands Out: You already know how vital AI is to your career—it's in every conversation, project, and strategy session. But diving into AI feels daunting with limited time for self-study or complex programming. That’s where this course comes in. Skip the endless prep work and gain an intuitive, hands-on understanding of AI and transformers in just a few hours—without needing an advanced degree. No other course offers such an interactive, fast, and in-depth technical understanding of AI using an actual GPT-2 model, all using an easy-to-learn spreadsheet interface. ______________________________________________________________________ Perfect for Busy STEM Professionals:Whether you're a developer, technical manager, or executive, this course demystifies AI and teaches you exactly how Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT-2 work, with no prerequisites beyond a STEM background. It’s ideal for: • Software/Web Developers seeking an easy introduction to machine learning. • Science &amp; Tech Professionals navigating AI transformations in their fields. • Technical Sales/Marketing crafting messaging for AI products. • Product/Project Managers overseeing LLM-powered solutions. • Executives/Leaders guiding AI strategy in their organizations. ______________________________________________________________________ What You’ll Learn:Using a unique spreadsheet implementation of GPT-2 (the predecessor to ChatGPT), we’ll break down each model component with crystal-clear explanations. In just a few sessions, you’ll be able to: • Understand how LLMs work—as quickly as possible. • Explain every key component—tokenization, embeddings, attention, and more. • Gain AI literacy—so you can confidently lead and manage AI-driven teams. • Build a foundation for further AI projects—and even more advanced learning. ______________________________________________________________________ Why Spreadsheets?You don’t need to be a coder or a calculus expert to understand AI—just the right approach. This course uses an innovative, no-code, spreadsheet-based method to teach LLMs. It's fast, interactive, and designed for busy professionals like you. By breaking down complex AI principles into easy-to-follow spreadsheet exercises, you’ll gain a lasting, foundational understanding of how large language models work. This is knowledge you can carry across into any model, any programming language, and any project. ______________________________________________________________________ Hands-On Learning, No Programming Required: By the end of the course, you’ll have a working, detailed understanding of how transformers power LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, and Llama. Plus, you'll have a spreadsheet tool you can explore and tweak to deepen your understanding further. ______________________________________________________________________ See it for Yourself: Still unsure? Watch the FREE lightning lesson:"Inside the Brain of an LLM: How it Works in 30 Minutes" to see how accessible AI learning can be: https://maven.com/p/eeea6f/inside-the-brain-of-an-llm-how-it-works-in-30-minutes ______________________________________________________________________ Join the Community of Learners: • “I could’ve read 20 papers on this and not gotten nearly the understanding I got from this hands-on course.”— Class Participant from Adobe • “Highly recommend this course for anyone wanting to build a foundation in LLMs. Ishan’s interactive approach makes complex concepts incredibly clear.”— Matt, Business Intelligence Analyst ______________________________________________________________________ Practical Details: • Course Access: All sessions are recorded and available to stream after the course concludes, so you’ll never miss a thing.• Reimbursement: Your company may cover this course if you're building or transitioning into AI at work. ______________________________________________________________________ New for this cohort! We've dropped the requirement for Excel. We have a browser based alternative. Some exercises may use Google Sheets and/or Python.

Skip the mountains of prep work and learn how AI works in just a few hours

Course syllabus

If your events are recurring and at the same time, it might be easiest to use a single line item to communicate your course schedule to students

Tuesdays & Thursdays

Feel free to type out dates as your title as a way to communicate information about specific live sessions or other events.

May 7, 2022

Schedule items can also be used to convey commitments outside of specific time slots (like weekly projects or daily office hours).

Weekly projects

Course schedule

Executives, engineering managers, and product managers leading and coordinating technical AI teams leveraging LLMs

Developers without formal training in machine learning that want to quickly understand the LLM technology in their projects

A gentle introduction to LLMs for professionals pivoting their career to AI from traditional software engineering or other STEM fields

Anyone who can read a spreadsheet that is motivated and deeply interested in how the next wave of computing works

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

This course breaks down complex AI concepts into easy-to-follow steps using Excel, making it accessible for anyone with a STEM background.

Understand how LLMs work as quickly as possible

Precisely understand in detail the architecture and function of the GPT2 model, including tokenization, embeddings, attention, multi-layer perceptron, and layernorm.

Recognize and explain every component of an LLM

You'll gain a solid understanding of how LLMs function, enabling you to confidently engage with engineers and technical stakeholders.

AI Literacy for managing technical teams

Build a foundation that equips you with the essential knowledge to explore advanced AI topics, undertake AI projects, or pursue further coursework.

Prepare yourself for further exploration, projects, or coursework in artificial intelligence

Master AI Concepts with a Real LLM Implemented Entirely in a Spreadsheet. No Complex Math. Just Clarity. 

Jan 8—17, 2025 (On-demand)

Ishan Anand

Unlock a personalized learning experience.  Dates and times will be customized to the participant.

1-on-1 Premium Version 

Learn to use AI to write, analyze, and engage smarter—building faster, more strategic, and more trusted communications skills.

Trusted AI Communications Consultant

Kathryn Kolaczek

Kathryn Kolaczek is a communications strategist and AI trainer.

Cohort 1

Public trust is harder to earn than ever, and communications teams are under pressure to move faster, respond better, and engage more meaningfully with their communities. AI is already changing how organizations write, analyze feedback, prepare materials, monitor issues, and support decision-making. But most people are being asked to use these tools without clear guidance on where they help, where they create risk, and how to use them responsibly. This course closes that gap. It gives communications and engagement professionals a practical understanding of how AI can improve efficiency, strengthen public engagement, and support better work—without losing trust, accuracy, or human judgment. Participants will learn how to use AI for drafting, research, message development, and analyzing public input, while also understanding the risks of bias, hallucinations, privacy concerns, and overreliance. Rather than treating AI as hype or fear, this course shows how to apply it with confidence, ethics, and strategy.

The Human Side of AI: Better Communications Without Losing Trust

AI can help municipalities listen at scale.

Speed is useful, but trust is everything.

 Bias is not a technical glitch — it is a public trust issue.

 AI should support human judgment, not replace it.

 Important guardrails and policies matter.

<ul><li>Municipal communications leaders wanting practical AI skills to improve engagement, speed, and public trust.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Public engagement professionals who need better ways to analyze input, draft materials, and reduce risk.</li></ul>

<ul><li>Public sector managers and advisors building team guardrails, policies, and responsible AI practices</li></ul>

Turn information overload into a Knowledge Engine that talks back. Go from drowning in unread PDFs to shipping high-fidelity AI artifacts.

Solutions Architect & AI Educator

Thoughts Brewing

HubSpot

United Way

MANTECH

Damien Griffin

Solutions Architect & Co-Founder at Thoughts Brewing, LLC

Cohort 2

This course is for AI-curious professionals who are tired of LLMs hallucinating about their own business data. You’ve used the big bots, but you’re ready for a tool that stays grounded in your specific files, not the entire internet.You should pull up a chair if you are:<ul><li>An overwhelmed researcher or lead sitting on a pile of unread PDFs and half-baked notes.</li><li>A solutions-oriented builder who needs to turn raw data into interactive podcasts, briefing docs, and infographics without the usual tech headache.</li><li>A busy professional who has played with NotebookLM but wants a structured way to master the non-intuitive interface and see what else it can actually do.</li></ul>We are looking for active builders who already have a basic handle on how to talk to a bot. We won’t be covering "Prompting 101" here, we are diving straight into building a Knowledge Engine that actually talks back.This is not for the AI absolute beginner or anyone looking for a tool to browse the web for generic answers. This is for the person who wants to tame information chaos and turn their personal library into a competitive advantage.

Master NotebookLM: Turn Data Chaos Into Precise AI Artifacts in a Weekend

Build a grounded Knowledge Engine

Transform raw data into executive-level artifacts

Generate custom Audio Overviews for hands-free learning

Visualize complex info with Mind Maps and Infographics

Navigate the 3-panel interface like a systems pro

Pressure-test your mastery with AI-generated Quizzes

You should have experience using tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude to ensure we can focus on NotebookLM-specific workflows.

Proficiency in AI Prompting

A personal or Google Workspace account is required to access the NotebookLM platform during the live sessions.

Active Google Account

Access to a desktop computer (preferred) and a stable Zoom connection for the live interactive portions of the weekend.

Standard Tech Setup

Leaders &amp; Project Managers needing reliable AI. Build a grounded system that uses your data to automate workflows.

Founders synthesizing research fast. Turn private notes and transcripts into professional audio and text reports.

Operators &amp; Researchers managing massive document libraries. Extract precise insights and summarize complex data without manual effort.

Working with LLMs

Cohort-based courses

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