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AI Prompting & Prompt Engineering

Learn to communicate effectively with AI systems: write clear instructions, add useful context, specify output formats, test different prompt approaches and improve results through iteration.

22 days
About 1 h per day
11 modules
22 lessons

Overview

A free, practical program on writing, testing, improving and evaluating prompts for AI systems. Over 11 modules you learn how models interpret instructions, how to write clear tasks with the right context, structure prompts and define roles, goals and formats, use zero-shot and few-shot techniques, break complex work into steps, evaluate outputs and iterate systematically, prompt for writing, research, coding and data, design structured outputs, templates and workflows, and use AI responsibly. You finish by building and documenting a reusable prompt toolkit for a real task. The course is shorter than Yumeora's 30-day programs: about 22 days at roughly one hour a day.

What you will be able to do

Explain how AI language models interpret prompts and why their output must be checked
Write clear, specific prompts with relevant context, constraints and output formats
Use roles, goals, success criteria, zero-shot and few-shot prompting and task decomposition
Evaluate outputs against criteria and improve prompts through controlled iteration
Design structured outputs, reusable templates and multi-step workflows with human review
Verify AI-generated claims and protect personal, confidential and copyrighted material

Before you start

Start Free Course Register free to save progress

No payment details needed. Read every lesson without an account; a free account saves your progress and unlocks the assessments, the AI tutor and the certificate.

Basic computer and web-browser skills
Access to any AI assistant is helpful (free tiers are fine) but not required

Workload: About 5–7 hours per week (roughly one hour a day), at your own pace.

The 22-day roadmap

Every lesson, in order — all free to read. Register free to save your progress.

The course at a glance. The 11 modules grouped into six parts, from how prompts work to using AI responsibly and building your own toolkit.

Text description

The course's 11 modules grouped into six branches. Foundations (module 1): what prompts can and cannot do; how models interpret instructions. Clear instructions and structure (modules 2–3): specific, unambiguous tasks; relevant context; the instruction, context, input and output structure; audience, constraints and format. Roles, goals and techniques (modules 4–5): roles, goals and success criteria; tone, length and structure; zero-shot and few-shot examples; breaking tasks into steps. Iteration (module 6): evaluating outputs; revising and keeping versions. Applied prompting (modules 7–9): writing and research; fact-checking AI claims; coding and data tasks; workflows, templates and rubrics. Responsible use and your toolkit (modules 10–11): hallucinations and review; privacy, copyright and policies; the capstone prompt toolkit.

Module 1 · Days 1–2Introduction to AI promptingWhat a prompt is, how AI systems turn your words into an answer, what prompting can and cannot fix, and the mistakes almost everyone makes at first.
- Day 1What prompts are — and what prompting can and cannot do~1 h Read
- Day 2How AI systems interpret instructions — and common prompting mistakes~1 h Read
Module 2 · Days 3–4Writing clear instructionsDefine exactly what you want, remove ambiguity, and supply the context a model needs to give a relevant answer.
- Day 3Specificity: defining the task and removing ambiguity~1 h Read

Sample daily task

Day 3: Make two vague requests specific

~30 min

Rewrite "Help me with my CV" and "Make a study plan" by naming the action, deliverable, scope and success criteria, then compare the outputs.

Start with lesson 1: What prompts are — and what prompting can and cannot do

Try sample questions

Ungraded examples written for this preview. Real assessments draw from a separate question bank.

Sample question 1
Q1.An assistant gives you a statistic with a citation. What should you do before using it?
Nothing — citations are always accurateOpen the source and confirm it exists and contains the statisticAsk the assistant whether it is sure
Sample question 2
Q2.Your classification prompt uses your own four labels and results are inconsistent. What is the best next step?
Add a role such as 'You are an expert'Define each label and add a few varied, correct examplesAsk for a longer answer
Sample question 3
Q3.Which length instruction is a model most likely to follow reliably?
Exactly 137 wordsThree bullet pointsNot too long

Example final project

A documented prompt toolkit

Pick a real task you repeat — for example turning meeting notes into action lists — then test an initial prompt on fixed inputs, improve it step by step, compare results with a rubric and document a reusable template.

Deliverables

Task statement and success criteria
Initial and final prompts with outputs on the same inputs
Comparison table with rubric scores
Explanation of what improved and why
Template with usage notes, review checklist and limitations

Assessments and certificate

Stage 1 assessment: Foundations of prompting (Modules 1–3)
Pass mark 70% · Required for certificate
Stage 2 assessment: Techniques and iteration (Modules 4–6)
Pass mark 70% · Required for certificate
Stage 3 assessment: Applied and responsible prompting (Modules 7–10)
Pass mark 70% · Required for certificate
Final project: Your prompt toolkit
Pass mark 70% · Required for certificate

The completion certificate is issued automatically when you complete every lesson and pass every required assessment. It is not an accredited qualification.

Example

Certificate of achievement

This certifies that

Your name

has successfully completed

AI Prompting & Prompt Engineering

Awarded for completing the AI Prompting & Prompt Engineering 22-day program on Yumeora: all required lessons, three stage assessments and a final project assessed against a published rubric. This is a platform-issued completion certificate, not an accredited qualification or professional license.

Completed

Completion date

Program version

v1

Certificate ID

XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Verify at /certificates/verify/XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Issued by Yumeora

A platform-issued achievement certificate. It is not an accredited qualification or a professional license.

Sample Skill Passport entry

Example

AI Prompting & Prompt Engineering — completion certificate (verifiable). Project: a tested prompt toolkit for summarising supplier reports.

Price

What's included

22 daily lessons over 22 days (about 60 minutes a day)
9 practical exercises with your own work saved
4 graded assessments with feedback and retakes
The Yumeora AI Prompting Tutor in every lesson, within daily limits
A verifiable certificate when every published requirement is met
Free with an account — no payment details needed

Free

FREE

Free

The complete course — every lesson, exercise and download
Register free to save progress and take the assessments
The course's AI tutor in every lesson, within daily limits (account required)
Certificate when criteria are met

No payment details needed. Create a free account to save progress and earn the certificate. See the Refund and Cancellation Policy.

Start Free Course

Day 4Providing relevant context~1 h Read

Module 3 · Days 5–6Prompt structure and contextOrganise prompts into instructions, context, input and output; define the audience; set constraints; and specify the exact response format.

Day 5The anatomy of a prompt: instruction, context, input and output~1 h Read
Day 6Audience, constraints and response format~1 h 15 min Read

Module 4 · Days 7–8Role, goal and output definitionGive a model a useful role, state goals and success criteria, control tone, length and structure, and cut instructions that add nothing.

Day 7Useful roles, clear goals and success criteria~1 h Read
Day 8Tone, length and structure — and avoiding unnecessary instructions~1 h Read

Module 5 · Days 9–10Prompting techniquesZero-shot and few-shot prompting, using examples well, breaking complex tasks into steps, and asking a model to compare alternatives.

Day 9Zero-shot and few-shot prompting: using examples effectively~1 h Read
Day 10Breaking complex tasks into steps and comparing alternatives~1 h Read

Module 6 · Days 11–12Iterative prompt improvementEvaluate an output against criteria, diagnose what is wrong, change one thing at a time, compare versions and keep the prompts that work.

Day 11Evaluating the initial output and identifying weaknesses~1 h Read
Day 12Revising systematically, comparing results and keeping prompt versions~1 h 15 min Read

Module 7 · Days 13–14Prompting for writing and researchBrainstorming, outlining and summarising with AI, using it as a research assistant, and fact-checking the claims it produces.

Day 13Brainstorming, outlining and summarising~1 h Read
Day 14Research assistance and fact-checking AI-generated claims~1 h Read

Module 8 · Days 15–16Prompting for coding and data tasksDescribe programming tasks precisely, supply errors and context, ask for explanations, specify input and output formats, and check generated solutions.

Day 15Describing programming tasks, errors and context~1 h Read
Day 16Specifying input and output formats, and checking generated solutions~1 h Read

Module 9 · Days 17–18Advanced prompt designMulti-step workflows, structured outputs, reusable templates, evaluation rubrics, and handling uncertainty and incomplete information.

Day 17Structured outputs and multi-step workflows~1 h Read
Day 18Reusable templates, evaluation rubrics and managing uncertainty~1 h Read

Module 10 · Days 19–20Responsible and effective AI useRecognise hallucinations and unsupported claims, review AI-assisted work, protect personal and confidential information, understand model limits and respect copyright and policies.

Day 19Recognising hallucinations and reviewing AI-generated work~1 h Read
Day 20Privacy, confidentiality, copyright, policies and model limitations~1 h 15 min Read

Module 11 · Days 21–22Final practical project: your prompt toolkitChoose a real, appropriate task; design, test and improve prompts for it; compare initial and final results; and submit a documented prompt toolkit.

Day 21Capstone part 1: choose a task, design and test your initial prompt~1 h 30 min Read
Day 22Capstone part 2: improve, compare and submit your prompt toolkit~2 h Read