Imperial to launch 40-hour professional certificate in AI for staff and students
T he College will launch a new AI in the Workplace Professional Certificate on 26 October, designed to help staff and students apply AI tools in professional settings. The AI Strategy Committee announced the launch at the In Conversation with the President event on Wednesday. The flexible, stackable 40-hour certificate will comprise of four courses, the first of which launching this month and the following scheduled to be rolled out during the first quarter of 2027.
Course one, “AI Foundations for Professional Contexts”, aims to explain key AI concepts, define appropriate uses and recognise AI’s limitations and risks. The second course, Responsible AI for Professional Practice, is scheduled for January 2027, followed by Applied AI & Agentic Workflows in February and AI in Practice Project in April.
Sustainability is said to form an “essential” part of the second course, addressing environmental implications of AI use.
Imperial is developing a feature for its dAIsy AI platform that will allow users to compare the environmental impact of different large language models (LLMs) through a impact-measuring leaf icon.
The announcement comes alongside efforts to expand the AI tools available across the university. The College is working on incorporating a Gemini model into dAIsy and is reviewing Google NotebookLM for its use with Canvas course materials, with a Business School pilot scheduled for the start of term. Microsoft Copilot remains the fully managed, default option, while Claude models remain in case-by-case use, awaiting due diligence.
During the discussion, Imperial addressed concerns about dependence on large commercial AI providers, as audience members expressed risks that these models could become prohibitively expensive or unavailable. The university responded its investment in its HX3 data centre in Woking forms part of its strategy to develop greater in-house AI capability, including its own core large language models.
