Course status. Module 1 is open for review and Modules 2 to 8 are in preparation. There are no accounts, no saved progress and no certificate issuing yet: everything you answer stays in your browser tab and is not stored.
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Course Passport
| Item | Entry |
|---|---|
| Course title | AI Strategy for Decision-Makers: Understand, Evaluate, Adopt |
| Track | Executive Track, one of four (Foundation, University, Professional and Executive) |
| Intended learner | Senior managers, directors, board members and public-sector leaders who must decide whether, where and how to adopt AI. No technical background is assumed. |
| Length | 8 modules, one per week, about 6 study hours each: about 48 hours in total |
| Format | Interactive visual lessons (animated infographics, tables, graphs). No video lectures or podcasts. |
| Prerequisites | Experience of managing budgets, teams or programmes. Comfort with simple arithmetic and percentages. No programming. |
| Language and tone | Executive English: concise, decision-oriented and free of jargon. Every term is defined at first use. |
| Assessment | Practice sets 10%, module checkpoints 40%, labs and cases 15%, capstone 35% |
| Pass rule | 70% overall, and the capstone rubric passed separately. Checkpoints unlock the next module at 80%, with unlimited retakes. |
| Credential | Certificate of Completion. It states that it is not an accredited qualification. |
Why this course exists
Leaders are asked to approve AI projects while hearing confident claims from vendors, staff and the press. This course gives decision-makers a structure for asking the right questions: which problem, which kind of AI, what data, what evidence, what risk and who is accountable. It uses short worked calculations with invented figures, so the logic can be checked by hand. For background, see the entries on artificial intelligence, machine learning and risk scoring, and What Is Artificial Intelligence, Really?
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, a learner can:
- O1. Distinguish the main families of AI and match them to business problems.
- O2. Build and test a simple value case, including the cost of errors.
- O3. Judge whether data and infrastructure are ready.
- O4. Evaluate a vendor claim or a model against a baseline and the cost of errors.
- O5. Describe the main risks, controls and lines of accountability.
- O6. Prepare a clear decision brief for a board or leadership team.
Course map
Eight modules move from what AI is and where it fits, through value, data and evaluation, to risk, regulation and change, and end with a decision brief for a leadership team.
| Module | Big idea | Hours | Outcomes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M1. What AI Can and Cannot Do for an Organisation | Tools should follow problems, and the main families of AI fit different problems. | 6 | O1, O2 | Open for review |
| M2. Value: Opportunities and Business Cases | A value case counts costs and the cost of errors. | 6 | O2 | In preparation |
| M3. Data and Infrastructure Readiness | AI is only as good as the data it learns from. | 6 | O3 | In preparation |
| M4. Evaluating AI Systems and Vendors | A claim means little without a baseline and the cost of errors. | 6 | O4 | In preparation |
| M5. Risk, Ethics and Governance | Risks are managed by design and by named owners. | 6 | O5 | In preparation |
| M6. Regulation, Accountability and Assurance | Know the rules that apply and who answers for the system. | 6 | O5 | In preparation |
| M7. People, Change and Operating Model | Adoption succeeds or fails on the people who use the tool. | 6 | O5, O6 | In preparation |
| M8. Your Decision Brief | A leadership decision is made on a short, honest brief. | 6 | O6 | In preparation |
Capstone thread (proposed). The capstone is a short decision brief for a leadership team on one AI proposal chosen by the learner: the problem and family are set in Module 1, the value case is built in Module 2, and risks, controls and a recommendation are reported in Module 8.
Limits of this course
The course supports decision-making and is not legal, technical or investment advice. Regulations and products change quickly, so decision-makers should take current advice from qualified professionals before committing resources. Figures in worked examples are invented for teaching.
Our standard
Numbers are checked and sources are named by title and publisher. Limits are stated. The course awards no degree and no academic credit. Completing it will earn a Certificate of Completion only, which states plainly that it is not an accredited qualification. Certificates are not issued yet.
More courses: see all Specialty Digest Online Courses or the Executive Track.