The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad (IIT Hyderabad) has launched an Applied AI Professional Certification Programme aimed at working professionals who want to develop practical expertise in designing, building and deploying artificial intelligence applications. The programme is designed to move beyond basic AI tool usage and provide hands-on experience in developing reliable, production-ready AI systems.
The September 2026 cohort will run for four weeks, from September 19 to October 17, in a hybrid format. Instructor-led sessions will be conducted on Saturdays, with participants given the option to attend sessions at the IIT Hyderabad campus or join them online. The programme will combine classroom instruction with guided online learning, assignments, mentoring and continuous project development.
A key feature of the programme is its “learn, apply and build” approach. Instead of learning concepts in isolation, participants will work on a single production-style AI agent application throughout the programme, applying the concepts introduced during each stage and progressively developing their project.
The curriculum covers several areas of modern AI engineering, including Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), tool use, memory, orchestration, multi-agent systems, evaluation, observability, guardrails and deployment. Participants will learn how to design, build, evaluate and operate AI agent systems for real-world applications. The programme will conclude with project demonstrations and presentations, followed by feedback.
The sessions will be delivered by faculty members from IIT Hyderabad’s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, along with an AI Solution Architect. Participants who complete the prescribed assignments, assessments and programme requirements will receive an IIT Hyderabad Professional Certificate.
The initiative comes as AI adoption continues to expand across industries, increasing demand for professionals who can not only use AI tools but also engineer and deploy practical AI solutions. IIT Hyderabad said the programme is intended to help working professionals build industry-relevant AI engineering capabilities through hands-on learning and real-world project development.
