Event Details
Event Title Foundations of AI Series: May 2026
Location Zoom
Sponsor RENCI
Date 05/14/2026 - 05/28/2026
Event Price
For more information, contact the event administrator: Amanda Miller acamanda@email.unc.edu
Event Presenters
Name Title  
Amy Hemmeter Instructor Amy Hemmeter has over 6 years of experience in industry in NLP as a Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer, Manager and Lecturer. She has worked on projects ranging from Conversational AI to Information Retrieval to Generative AI. She received her MSA from the Institute for Advanced Analytics at North Carolina State University in 2018, where she has also taught an annual workshop on Natural Language Processing since 2020. As someone who transitioned into data science and NLP from a linguistics background (an MA she also earned at NCSU in 2016), she cares deeply about translating complex topics in data science into information that students from all backgrounds can understand, as well as making that information relevant and practical to students who wish to make a career in industry.
Session Status Session Session Date Start Time End Time Cutoff Session Price
Registering BULK DISCOUNT: All three courses (May 14, May 21 and May 28) 05/14/2026 - 05/28/2026 none $350.00
Registering Intro to Generative AI for Coders, Accelerated 05/14/2026 3:00 PM 5:00 PM none $100.00
Registering Advanced Generative AI for Coders 05/21/2026 1:00 PM 5:00 PM none $300.00
Registering Deep Dive into Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) 05/28/2026 3:00 PM 5:00 PM none $100.00
 

BULK DISCOUNT $350 - We're offering attendees who commit to attending all three sessions a bulk discount. Even if you plan to attend just two of the three courses, this is an excellent value. 

3 PM - 5 PM on Thursday, May 14 - Intro to Generative AI for Coders - Accelerated $100
This will be an accelerated version of our popular “Intro to Generative AI” course, intended to give an overview of what Generative AI is, how it works from a high level, and how to use basic technical tools to leverage Generative AI. Those who take this course will have the basic knowledge needed to use LLMs to create useful tools, and will have the understanding behind the technology to improve their prompt engineering skills as well. This course is ideal for people who are interested in the Advanced Generative AI for Coders and Deep Dive into Retrieval Augmented Generation courses but have not taken classes in the technical basics of generative AI. 
Prerequisites: Intermediate Python, some familiarity with AI/Machine Learning is helpful but not required.


1 PM - 5 PM on Thursday, May 21 - Advanced Generative AI for Coders $300
This workshop focuses on extending your ability to build and customize generative systems. We’ll explore a range of modern model-building techniques, tools for shaping model behavior, and practical patterns for integrating generative components into larger applications. Participants will work through examples that highlight how to adapt existing models, manage performance trade-offs, and structure AI systems that can scale or generalize to new tasks. By the end, you’ll have a working sense of how to design and iterate on more sophisticated generative workflows.
Prerequisites: Intermediate Python skills and a basic understanding of generative AI - if you do not have any background in generative AI, you are encouraged to register for the accelerated Intro to Generative AI class offered before this course in order to get up to speed on the basics.


3 PM - 5 PM on Thursday, May 28 - Deep Dive into Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) $100
This class provides a focused exploration of how retrieval-based techniques can enhance the reliability and usefulness of generative models. We’ll examine the core building blocks of RAG systems, how different retrieval strategies shape downstream behavior, and how to structure a pipeline that supports high-quality, context-aware outputs. Participants will experiment with indexing methods, retrieval configurations, and evaluation approaches that are specific to retrieval-enhanced generation. By the end of the workshop, you should understand the main design choices behind RAG systems and how to adapt them for a variety of real-world information tasks.
Prerequisites: Intermediate Python skills, knowledge of generative AI may be useful but is not required.