generative-ai-for-beginners: 21-Lesson Microsoft Course
/generative-ai-for-beginners
generative-ai-for-beginners is a 21-lesson curriculum by Microsoft Cloud Advocates covering LLMs through production AI applications. Written lessons, videos, and Python/TypeScript code walk you through prompt engineering, RAG, AI agents, and LLMOps. Azure and Foundry are first-class; OpenAI API and Foundry Local serve non-Microsoft shops. Reach for this if you want structured coursework; skip it if you need faster onboarding.
About the Generative AI for Beginners Course
A 21-lesson course by Microsoft Cloud Advocates teaching how to build generative AI applications. Each lesson pairs a written explanation with a video introduction and working Python or TypeScript code samples, alternating between conceptual lessons and hands-on builds from fundamentals through RAG, AI agents, and fine-tuning.
Who Can Benefit from This Course
Software developers with basic Python or TypeScript skills seeking a structured path into building generative AI applications. Technical leads and product managers needing to understand the full development lifecycle of LLM-powered products will benefit from the breadth of topics. Developers in the Azure ecosystem get the most direct integration experience, though OpenAI API and offline options make it workable for others.
Course Structure and Learning Features
- ✓21 lessons split into 'Learn' (conceptual) and 'Build' (hands-on coding) sessions
- ✓Python and TypeScript code examples for every build lesson
- ✓Video introductions for most lessons paired with written walkthroughs
- ✓Over 50 language translations maintained via automated GitHub Actions
- ✓Supports Azure OpenAI, OpenAI API, Microsoft Foundry Models, and Foundry Local for fully offline execution
- ✓Covers production concerns like AI security, UX design, and LLMOps lifecycle
- ✓MIT licensed with active community via Discord and Microsoft Foundry Developer Forum
- ✓Companion courses available for .NET, Java, and JavaScript developers
What You Will Learn to Build
- •Build text generation and chat applications using LLMs
- •Create semantic search apps with embeddings and vector databases
- •Implement Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) with external data sources
- •Develop image generation applications using DALL-E
- •Design AI agent workflows with function calling
- •Fine-tune smaller language models for domain-specific tasks
Strengths
- ✓Structured 21-lesson progression builds intuition without requiring you to jump between scattered tutorials
- ✓Python and TypeScript examples mean both communities get working code, not afterthought ports
- ✓Foundry Local option lets you work entirely offline without cloud API calls or billing
- ✓50+ language translations maintained via GitHub Actions stay current automatically
- ✓Production topics like AI security, UX design, and LLMOps lifecycle covered alongside API tutorials
Prerequisites and Supported Platforms
- △Azure OpenAI and Microsoft Foundry are first-class targets; adapting lessons for other cloud ecosystems requires extra effort
- △Absolute beginners in programming are redirected to separate Python/TypeScript courses rather than being accommodated within this one
- △A 21-lesson course demands more time than a quick-start guide, which may frustrate developers wanting immediate answers
Related Generative AI Courses from Microsoft
Frequently Asked Questions
Code examples are provided in both Python and TypeScript for most lessons, letting you follow along in whichever language you're more comfortable with.
Lessons work with Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Foundry Models, OpenAI API, and Foundry Local for fully offline execution with no cloud subscription required.
Yes—translations are maintained for over 50 languages via automated GitHub Actions, including Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, French, German, and many others.
Basic Python or TypeScript knowledge is expected. The course links to separate beginner Python and TypeScript courses if you need to fill those gaps first.
Yes, through Foundry Local—models run fully offline on your own device without any cloud API calls or subscription costs.
All course content is released under the MIT license, so you're free to use, modify, and distribute the materials for personal or commercial projects.
Related repositories
Curious whether generative-ai-for-beginners is right for you?
Let ChatGPT, Claude, or Perplexity look into it — click below and see what AI actually says about generative-ai-for-beginners.