Implementation-Focused Education from AI Online Schools


Zen van Riel - Senior AI Engineer

Zen van Riel - Senior AI Engineer

Senior AI Engineer & Teacher

As an expert in Artificial Intelligence, specializing in LLMs, I love to teach others AI engineering best practices. With real experience in the field working at big tech, I aim to teach you how to be successful with AI from concept to production. My blog posts are generated from my own video content which is referenced at the end of the post.

Traditional AI education focuses heavily on theory while neglecting the practical skills employers actually demand. This disconnect explains why many course graduates struggle to land jobs despite completing multiple certifications and tutorials.

The Problem With Traditional AI Education

Conventional online AI courses typically offer:

  • Mathematical foundations without implementation context
  • Simplified examples that don’t scale to real problems
  • Model architecture details without deployment strategies
  • Theory-heavy content created by academics rather than practitioners

These approaches leave students unable to build complete, production-ready solutions.

Implementation-Focused Learning

Effective AI online schools center their curriculum on implementation skills:

  • Building end-to-end solutions from proof-of-concept to production
  • Addressing real-world constraints like cost, performance, and maintenance
  • Creating reliable, tested systems rather than demo-quality code
  • Integration with existing business systems and data sources

This approach directly addresses the skills gap employers repeatedly highlight in job interviews.

Practitioner-Led Education

The most valuable AI education comes from instructors who actively implement AI systems in production environments. They understand:

  • Common pitfalls that theoretical approaches miss
  • Practical trade-offs that determine project success
  • Real business requirements beyond technical curiosities
  • How to communicate AI capabilities to non-technical stakeholders

This perspective transforms how skills are taught and which topics receive priority.

Looking for AI education that focuses on implementation skills rather than just theory? Join the AI Engineering community for a structured learning experience led by practitioners who build production AI systems daily, with curriculum designed for real career advancement.