Training course · Generative AI · Engineering

Generative AI for Engineers

Vendor-neutral, hands-on day: how language models work, where they go wrong and how to roll out AI successfully in your team.

Duration
1 day (7 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

“Generative AI for Engineers” is a hands-on course for roles such as Design and development engineers, Project engineers in plant and machine building and Test and validation engineers. Rather than learning Generative AI in the abstract, you work on tasks from your daily routine – with examples, exercises and templates from Engineering.

Generative AI has reached most organisations, yet teams often lack a shared understanding of what language models can actually do and where their limits lie. In this vendor-neutral course you will learn how large language models generate text, why they hallucinate and how careful prompting, context and source checking lead to reliable results. Rather than relying on any provider's marketing claims, you will work with transparent criteria that help you compare tools and judge their fit for your own tasks.

The second focus is everyday implementation. You will identify concrete use cases in your area of work, weigh benefit, risk and effort, and draft a realistic roll-out plan for your team. This covers ground rules for handling confidential data, a practical prompt library and ways to build acceptance and make results measurable. Throughout the day you work with examples from your own field, so you leave with an actionable roadmap rather than a set of abstract ideas.

Engineers in design, development, plant engineering and technical planning spend much of their time on research, documentation, coordination and calculations. Generative AI can reduce that share considerably: AI assistants summarise standards and technical literature, structure requirement and design specifications, support requirements analysis, generate calculation scripts in Python or spreadsheets and produce technical documentation and reports. Automation helps with change management, comparing document revisions and analysing test and measurement data. Creative problem-solving, plausibility checks and responsibility for technical safety remain with the experts. Using AI for routine work and as a sparring partner frees time for real engineering: developing concepts, evaluating variants and delivering robust solutions.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Design and development engineers
  • Project engineers in plant and machine building
  • Test and validation engineers
  • Technical writers
  • Engineers in planning and engineering consultancies

Typical challenges we address

  • Evaluating extensive standards, guidelines and requirements efficiently
  • Producing technical documentation and reports alongside development work
  • Analysing and interpreting test and measurement data quickly
  • Managing changes traceably across many documents and stakeholders

What you will be able to do

  • You can explain clearly how language models generate text and why hallucinations occur.
  • You can write prompts that consistently deliver useful, verifiable results.
  • You can compare AI tools against transparent criteria covering data protection, features and cost.
  • You can identify and prioritise concrete use cases for your area of work.
  • Use AI for requirements analysis, standards research and technical documentation.
  • Have AI create calculation and analysis scripts and validate them systematically.
  • Protect engineering know-how and observe product safety and liability requirements when using AI.

Course outline

Module 1 How large language models work
  • Tokens, context windows and probabilities: what happens when a model generates text
  • Training knowledge versus web search versus your own documents (RAG)
  • Text, images, audio and code: what multimodal models can do today
  • Realistically assessing typical strengths and weaknesses in office work
Module 2 Spotting hallucinations and getting reliable output
  • Why models produce plausible-sounding errors and when the risk increases
  • Prompting techniques: role, context, examples, output format and step-by-step instructions
  • Requesting sources, cross-checking facts and introducing a four-eyes principle
  • Scoping tasks so that AI assists rather than decides
Module 3 Choosing tools without vendor bias
  • Overview of chat assistants, AI built into office suites and specialist tools
  • Criteria: data processing, hosting location, admin features, integrations and pricing model
  • Enterprise licences, API access and locally hosted open-source models compared
  • Building a simple scoring matrix for your own tool selection
Module 4 Identifying use cases in your field
  • Systematically capturing recurring writing, research and analysis tasks
  • Rating benefit, risk and implementation effort for each use case
  • Distinguishing quick wins from strategic initiatives
  • Creating a prioritised use-case backlog for your team
Module 5 Rolling out generative AI in your team
  • Usage rules: which data may go into which tool and who signs off results
  • Building and maintaining a shared prompt library and templates
  • AI champions, training formats and peer exchanges to embed new habits
  • Measuring success: documenting time saved, quality and user satisfaction
Module 6 Practice lab: Engineering
  • Structuring requirements
  • Standards and literature review
  • Calculation scripts
  • Test data analysis
  • Technical documentation
  • Change management support
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Design data, drawings and development results are trade secrets and may be subject to export control; they belong only in approved AI environments. Product safety and liability law apply unchanged to safety-related designs, so AI output must be verified and documented traceably.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Structuring requirements

An AI assistant analyses customer requirements and specifications, spots contradictions, gaps and vague wording and turns them into a structured, verifiable requirements list for the design specification.

Standards and literature review

AI summarises relevant sections of standards, guidelines and technical papers, creates comparison tables and checklists and references the passages, which engineers check in the original.

Calculation scripts

Instead of coding formulas by hand, describe the calculation and receive a commented Python script or spreadsheet, for example for sizing, tolerance stack-ups or unit conversions, ready for testing and validation.

Test data analysis

Test bench data is cleaned, statistically analysed and visualised using AI-generated analysis code, anomalies are flagged and a draft test report is created.

Technical documentation

Design data, notes and previous documents are turned into drafts of operating manuals, maintenance handbooks, specifications and project reports with consistent terminology.

Change management support

AI compares document revisions, summarises technical changes clearly, identifies affected documents and interfaces and prepares change requests for the change board.

Prerequisites

No technical background is required. It helps to bring along typical tasks from your day-to-day work that you would like to support with AI. You have an engineering or technical background and work in development, design, planning or testing.

Technical requirements

You will need a laptop with an up-to-date browser and internet access. A free account with a common AI assistant is sufficient; company licences are welcome.

Data protection & compliance

Design data, drawings and development results are trade secrets and may be subject to export control; they belong only in approved AI environments. Product safety and liability law apply unchanged to safety-related designs, so AI output must be verified and documented traceably.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Fri, 27 November 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 2 December 2026 Munich Request
  • Thu, 10 December 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 11 January 2027 Hanover Request
  • Fri, 22 January 2027 Online Request
  • Wed, 3 February 2027 Berlin Request

Frequently asked questions

Is the course tied to a specific AI tool?

No. The training is deliberately vendor-neutral. You work with widely used chat assistants and learn principles that apply to all major language models. That way you can transfer your skills to whichever tool your organisation has approved and evaluate new offerings yourself using clear criteria instead of relying on marketing statements.

How is confidential company data handled during the course?

For the exercises you use anonymised or fictitious examples from your area of work. At the same time you learn which categories of data may be entered into which tools, what to look for regarding data processing agreements and use of inputs for training, and how to set out these rules clearly for your team.

Will we leave with something concrete to implement?

Yes. You leave with a prioritised use-case backlog, a scoring matrix for tool selection, tested prompt templates and a draft set of team usage rules. These materials are designed so you can take them straight into internal discussions with management, IT and your data protection officer.

Can I use AI calculations for safety-related designs?

Only as support with full verification. Language models can get formulas, units or standard values wrong. Have calculation steps output as traceable code or formulas, check them against standards, hand calculations or validated software and document the check. Responsibility remains with you.

How do we protect design data?

Use only approved enterprise environments where inputs are not used for training. Also observe export control rules, for example for dual-use technologies, and agree with IT and export control which information may go into which tools. We discuss practical rules in the course.

How much does “Generative AI for Engineers” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 1 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

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