New Syllabus! Applied AI (XD131)
We’re excited to share that Exchange Design has partnered with TechChange to create a facilitated online course for Applied AI (XD131), starting on June 2, 2025.
This course is designed as a guided entry point into the AI ecosystem for participants who are interested in applying these new technologies to their work. Participants will practice with no-code tools in hands-on workshops, explore timely curated readings, and discuss the implications with a wide range of AI experts and practitioners.
Greg Maly and I will be co-facilitating the course, with a focus on technology application and digital transformation respectively. We’ve taught dozens of workshops on AI, data, and technology, including in-person at universities, hybrid for our partners, and even online for past TechChange courses.
While the syllabus is still a work in progress as speakers are confirming their times and topics, we wanted to share the initial structure of the four weeks for feedback and comment:
Pre-Class Meetups and Webinar
Leading up to the course start, facilitators will host an introductory webinar and online meetup for students to introduce themselves and ask questions about the course.
Activity: Introduce Yourself with AI
Week 1: Applied AI Fundamentals - Data, Models, and Tools
Introduce participants available AI solutions, core concepts in applied AI, and one another for collaborative activities. Participants will use AI for research projects (Perplexity / NotebookLM), developing a personal style (Claude), and quickly summarizing videos (Gemini). Speakers will focus on core themes of how application of AI is changing public-private relationships, lifelong careers, and organizational strategies.
Foundations of Applied AI - Bryan Pon + Christopher Neu
The Future of Public-Private AI - Dr. David Bray
Making a Career Pivot with AI - Wayan Vota
Improving Learning & Evaluation for Foundations - Jeff Krentel, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
Activity: Score and Rewrite a Policy using AI
Week 2: Creating Business Value with AI - Careers, Strategy, and Workflow
Participants explore business problems with application of AI solutions, including using instant voice cloning for a conversational agent (ElevenLabs), explore large document repositories (Azure Cognitive Search), learn about indexing and Named Entity Recognition (PinPoint) and try multiple chatbot solutions to compare results (Boodlebox.ai). Speakers will focus on how organizations are rethinking value, building efficiency, and integrating ethical guidelines.
Guest Speakers:
Creating Structured Data by Tagging Conflict Events - Greg Maly
Accelerating AI Impact - Elisabeth Bradley, Forum One
Creating an Ethical AI Chatbot - Shadrock Roberts, Former Mercy Corps
Activity: Fake a Remote Interview with AI
Week 3: Prototyping AI Solutions - Chatbots and Agents
Participants will use AI for grounded chatbots (Streamlit), test agent workflows (n8n), and create their first enterprise agents in Copilot or Gemini. Speakers will focus on rapid prototyping of AI solutions for their work, including lessons learned and recommendations on approach.
Business Matchmaking Using AI - Elizabeth Brown, Building Markets
AI Prototyping and Implementation for Nonprofits - Michael Scholtens, The Carter Center
Activity: Create a Grounded Chatbot
Week 4: Deploying Agentic Solutions
Participants will move beyond chatbots and into agents, exploring specific use cases around CRMs, news research, and more.
AI-first Database in Airtable - Miranda Walls
Building a Salesforce Agent - Arden Winner
Activity: Build an AI Agent
