As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in workplaces, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is launching two new professional education programs this fall aimed at helping workers develop practical AI skills.
UTC’s Center for Professional Education will offer an introductory AI workshop and a more advanced cybersecurity certification course beginning in September. University officials say the programs were developed in response to growing demand from both employers and professionals seeking to better understand how AI is changing the workplace.
“These courses came from employees and students asking for them,” says John Freeze, director of the Center for Professional Education. “Part of UTC’s role is to educate and elevate the community – and that’s the driving force behind this.”
The center regularly works with employers through focus groups and industry roundtables to identify workforce needs, Freeze says, and artificial intelligence has emerged as a consistent topic.
“AI is certainly presenting opportunities as well as challenges,” he says.
The first offering, “AI Essentials with Prompting,” is a two-day online workshop scheduled for Sept. 15 and 17. Designed for professionals with little or no formal AI training, the course covers AI fundamentals, effective prompting techniques and responsible use of popular tools including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini.
Rather than focusing on a single platform, Freeze says the course is intended to help participants understand how to use AI effectively across a variety of applications.
“This course is built to meet people where they are,” he says. “It’s platform-agnostic, so it’s not about one tool. It’s about helping people understand how to think about AI, how to use it across different platforms and how to get better results from it in their everyday work.”
The workshop also emphasizes responsible AI use, including protecting sensitive information and recognizing that AI-generated content is not always accurate.
“People can find a lot on their own online, but there’s real value in learning from experienced professionals who can help them use these tools more effectively and more responsibly,” Freeze says.
The second program, “CompTIA Security AI+ Certification Prep,” is geared toward IT and cybersecurity professionals. The eight-week online course begins Sept. 19 and prepares participants for CompTIA’s Security AI+ certification exam while covering topics such as threat detection, secure network architecture, identity management and AI’s growing role in cybersecurity.
Freeze says AI has become both a powerful defensive tool and a potential weapon for cybercriminals.
“AI is really good at problem-solving,” he says. “That creates real opportunity, but it also creates real challenges. In cybersecurity, professionals need to be able to look at it from both angles.”
As organizations become increasingly reliant on digital systems, Freeze says, demand is growing for professionals who understand both the capabilities and risks of AI.
“For many professionals, the question is not whether AI will affect their jobs; it already has,” Freeze says. “The question is whether they’re going to understand it well enough to use it to their advantage.”
The AI Essentials workshop costs $699 and awards 1.6 continuing education units. The cybersecurity course costs $1,699 and includes course materials, access to the CompTIA learning platform and a voucher for the certification exam. Both courses will be taught live online.
Source: UTC