Introductory workshop

An exploratory workshop on enterprise AI engineering and delivery. Not just learning about AI, but learning how to make AI actually solve problems.

2 days3 hours of online teaching per day
4–7 peopleSmall interactive class
ChineseTeaching language
€349Per person

From Business Problems to Real AI Solutions.

As AI moves from a conversational tool into enterprise business systems, companies need more than people who can use AI. They need people who can understand the business, spot problems, design solutions and drive technology into real use. This is the new engineering practice that FDEs (Forward Deployed Engineers) represent.

The FDE Discovery Workshop is SHEPHARD Academy's introductory workshop on enterprise AI engineering. Through two days of immersive learning, real business case analysis and hands-on practice, you will learn how FDEs work, how to identify valuable AI opportunities, and how to turn a business need into an AI solution prototype that can be tested.

Whether you are a developer looking to move into AI, a professional seeking a technical career change, or an entrepreneur exploring intelligent enterprise, you can start here.

Course information

Duration: 2 days · 3 hours per day, 6 hours of online teaching in total
Format: Small interactive class + case discussions + hands-on workshop
Class size: 4–7 people
Technical requirements: No AI development experience needed; basic computer skills are enough
Language: Chinese
Course fee: €349 / person

Why learn FDE?

The value of AI lies not in how many questions it can answer, but in how many real problems it can solve.

Traditional software development often starts from clear requirements. But in real companies, business problems are rarely clear: data is scattered across systems, processes cut across several departments, and there is a gap between technology tools and business goals.

FDE work is about connecting these pieces. An FDE needs not only technical skill but also an understanding of the client's business context, the ability to talk with different roles, to design and test solutions quickly, and ultimately to make technology truly serve the business.

In the AI era, this means being able to:

01
Understand the business
Identify inefficiencies, information breaks and real needs in company processes.
02
Spot opportunities
Judge which problems are suited to AI, software development or workflow automation.
03
Design the solution
Turn business needs into clear, actionable technical solutions.
04
Build prototypes
Use AI models, development tools and automation platforms to test ideas quickly.
05
Deliver value
Assess a solution's real effect, cost, risk and potential for further rollout.

FDE is not simply software development, nor is it technical consulting in the traditional sense. It is a way of working that closely combines business understanding, engineering practice and results delivery.

What you will learn

Starting from a business problem, you go through a complete AI solution discovery process. The course is built around six core skills.

01Get to know FDE and enterprise AI engineering
Understand the FDE's role, way of working and core skills, and see how AI moves from a standalone tool into enterprise systems and business processes.
02Find the problems truly worth solving
Analyze company workflows through real cases, identify repetitive work, data silos, information delays and human error, and prioritize solutions.
03Understand enterprise AI solution architecture
Learn how large language models, AI agents, knowledge bases, APIs, MCP and business systems relate to each other, and how AI connects to a company's existing software and data.
04From idea to working prototype
With mentor guidance, use visual development and AI tools to turn a business need into a simple, demonstrable AI application prototype.
05Judge whether an AI project truly works
Evaluate a solution on accuracy, efficiency, cost, security and business value, not just on how the demo looks.
06Understand the full delivery process
Learn the basic process from requirements communication, solution design and prototype validation to testing, deployment and continuous optimization, and build a mindset for real projects.

Workshop syllabus

Two Days. Six Hours. One Complete Experience.

MODULE 01Getting to know forward deployed engineeringIntroduction to FDE30 min
- The FDE concept, its background and career role
- How FDEs differ from software engineers and solutions consultants
- The typical enterprise AI project flow from requirements to delivery
- The technical and non-technical skills an FDE needs
MODULE 02Finding business problems and analyzing requirementsBusiness Discovery60 min
- How to understand a company's real business processes
- How to identify valuable AI use cases
- How to tell surface requests from actual problems
- Business process analysis and requirements prioritization
- Hands-on exercise: analyze an enterprise operations problem
MODULE 03AI solutions and system architectureAI Solution Architecture60 min
- Basic concepts of LLMs, RAG, agents and workflows
- How AI connects to company databases and business systems
- The role of APIs, MCP and tool calling
- Where automation and AI agents each fit
- Case study: how an ERP-connected AI assistant works
MODULE 04Building your first AI solutionBuild Your First AI Solution90 min
- Turning business requirements into functional design
- Using AI development tools to build a prototype quickly
- Designing inputs, processing logic and outputs
- Building a simple AI workflow
- Debugging and improving the prototype
- Presenting your AI solution
MODULE 05Performance evaluation and business valueEvaluation & Business Value60 min
- How to judge whether an AI solution is effective
- The limits, errors and risks of AI
- Human review and enterprise data security
- How to estimate implementation costs and potential returns
- How to explain project value to clients or business leaders
MODULE 06From prototype to real deliveryFrom Prototype to Delivery60 min
- The basic delivery process for AI projects
- Client communication, technical design and project management
- How a prototype differs from a production system
- How to plan further development and deployment
- FDE career paths and how to build your skills
- Project presentations, discussion and mentor feedback

Hands-on workshop

Build Something Real.

More than watching demos. The course uses simulated cases that mirror real business environments, so you think and solve problems from an FDE's perspective and design an AI solution prototype yourself.

Case A
Business operations assistant
A company collects sales, order and inventory information from several systems every day. Managers spend a great deal of time compiling data, writing reports and checking anomalies with each department.
Your taskDesign an AI assistant that lets managers retrieve business information in natural language and identifies and summarises anomalies according to predefined rules.
Case B
Automated handling of customer requests
A service company has staff read large volumes of customer messages by hand and then enter the information into its business systems.
Your taskUse AI to extract the key details from customer requests, classify them and generate structured records, reducing manual work.
Case C
Company knowledge and process assistant
A company's internal procedures are scattered across different documents, and new employees keep asking colleagues the same questions.
Your taskBuild an AI assistant, based on the company's knowledge materials, that answers process questions and cites its sources.

The course provides teaching data and basic templates. With a mentor's guidance, you will build a prototype for one simplified scenario, without connecting to any real company's production systems.

What will you gain from the course?

01
A new way of solving problems
Think about technology starting from business operations and processes, not from a particular AI tool.
02
A complete hands-on project experience
Work through the key stages yourself: requirements analysis, solution design, prototyping, evaluation and project presentation.
03
An AI prototype of your own
Complete a demonstrable prototype in a teaching environment and understand what else it would take to develop it into a real business system.
04
A reusable methodology
Get basic templates for business requirements analysis, AI solution design, prototype validation and project evaluation.
05
A clear path for further learning
Understand the engineering, business knowledge and delivery skills an FDE needs, and prepare for your next step.

Participant benefits

Complete course materials
Core handouts, study notes and an index of related technical resources.
Project templates
Templates for business problem analysis, solution design and prototype evaluation.
Guided hands-on practice
Build a teaching AI prototype with a mentor's support.
Project discussion and feedback
Discuss solution design and improvements with mentors and other participants.
Digital certificate of participation
Receive a SHEPHARD Academy certificate of participation after completing the course and practical sessions.
Guidance for further learning
Get a recommended learning path into the FDE Professional Bootcamp.

Who is this course for?

Designed for Builders, Problem Solvers and Future FDEs.

Software developers and engineers
You want to move from traditional development into AI engineering and apply your technical skills to real business scenarios.
Computer science students and recent graduates
You want to see how real enterprise technology projects work and explore AI engineering and the FDE career path.
Product managers and technical consultants
You want to understand AI architecture and implementation so you can connect client needs and engineering teams more effectively.
ERP, CRM and enterprise system implementers
You want to explore how AI can work with existing business systems and offer clients new solutions.
Entrepreneurs and business managers
You want to understand the technical feasibility and business value of enterprise AI projects and find the right opportunities for your business.
AI enthusiasts and career changers
You want to understand AI development and engineering delivery through real projects, going beyond prompts and everyday tools.

No prior AI development experience is needed. The course focuses on foundational understanding and guided practice; basic experience with digital tools will help you get more out of the exercises.

From exploration to expertise

Your Journey Starts Here.

If you want to be able to develop and deliver enterprise AI projects on your own, continue with the FDE Professional Bootcamp (8 weeks · 56 hours) and grow from understanding how AI solves problems to being an engineer who builds and delivers solutions yourself.

Explore the Professional Bootcamp

Python, APIs and enterprise database integration
LLM, RAG and AI agent development
MCP and AI tool calling
Integration with ERP, CRM and other enterprise systems
AI application deployment, testing and security
Project requirements analysis, solution design and delivery
Capstone: a complete enterprise AI project

Fees and enrolment

Invest in Your Next Capability.

€349/ person

2 days · 3 hours of online teaching per day

Each class is limited to 4–7 participants to ensure plenty of interaction and hands-on practice.

Dates, venue and enrolment details are confirmed in the announcement for each session.

Before the course, we recommend the free Anthropic Academy developer courses (API, MCP, Claude Code) and Odoo's official eLearning. Links are in Digital Business Resources.

Enrol now

Includes

Six core teaching modules
Business case analysis
Hands-on AI prototyping
Course materials and project templates
Mentor guidance and interactive Q&A
Digital certificate of participation

Explore FDE. Build with AI. Solve Real Problems.

FAQ

I have no programming experience at all. Can I join?
Yes. No AI development experience is required. The focus is on understanding how an FDE works, learning the basics of thinking in AI solutions, and completing introductory practice with visual tools and teaching templates. Some technical concepts may need further study after the course.
Is this a course on ChatGPT tips?
No. The course is not about everyday prompting tricks. It shows how to combine AI with business processes, data and software systems to design applications that solve real problems.
Does the course involve actual development?
Yes. The course includes a 90-minute mentor-led prototyping session. Given the limited time, practice centres on entry-level prototypes and does not cover full production deployment of complex systems.
Will I be an FDE after the two-day course?
No. Becoming an FDE takes sustained experience in software engineering, system architecture, business communication and project delivery. This workshop helps you understand the field, learn initial methods and decide where to take your learning next.
How does it differ from the FDE Professional Bootcamp?
The introductory workshop focuses on building awareness, understanding the methodology and experiencing project work. The Professional Bootcamp is for those who want to systematically master AI development, business system integration and project delivery, with deeper engineering content and project assessment.
Is there a certificate?
Participants who complete the course and practical sessions receive a digital SHEPHARD Academy certificate of participation. It records your learning and is not a government-recognised professional qualification or third-party certification.
Is it suitable for companies sending employees?
Yes. Companies can send employees from technology, product, operations, management and other roles to build a shared understanding of AI projects. For in-depth training on specific business systems, ask us about custom in-house training.

About SHEPHARD Academy

Technology. Business. Real Impact.

SHEPHARD is a technology company focused on intelligent operations for businesses. Starting from real business needs, we use enterprise system integration, software engineering, process automation and AI to help companies connect information, understand their operations, spot problems and drive action and resolution.

SHEPHARD Academy carries this approach forward, bringing the engineering practice, business understanding and delivery methods of real projects into technical education. We believe the value of learning technology lies not just in mastering new tools, but in gaining the ability to solve complex problems.

Learn to Build. Learn to Deliver.SHEPHARD Academy — developing technical talent that solves real problems.

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