Mini course
Agentic AI Essentials
Agents that do real work, reliably.
Design, build and evaluate AI agents: planning, tool use, memory and multi-agent patterns.
43 topics9 h hands-on16 h in depthLifetime access
What's inside
Agentic AI43 topics · 9 h
Module 1 · Introduction to AI Agents8 topics · 1.3 h
1.1 What is an AI agent2 topics · 0.3 h
- Chatbot vs workflow vs agent10 min
- The agent loop and ReAct10 min
1.2 Types and parts of an agent2 topics · 0.3 h
- Types of agents10 min
- The 5 parts: model, tools, memory, planning, guardrails10 min
1.3 Design patterns1 topics · 0.2 h
- Workflow patterns and agent patterns10 min
1.4 Control and safety1 topics · 0.2 h
- Autonomy levels and human-in-the-loop10 min
1.5 Frameworks1 topics · 0.2 h
- The framework landscape and how to choose10 min
1.6 Mini exercise1 topics · 0.2 h
- A ReAct agent from scratch10 min
Module 2 · Project 1: Business Operations Agent — Finance and Inventory (single agent with LangGraph)10 topics · 2 h
2.1 Understand the problem1 topics · 0.2 h
- Define the product and how we will judge it10 min
2.2 Data and test tasks2 topics · 0.3 h
- Create synthetic business data10 min
- Write the test task set10 min
2.3 Tools1 topics · 0.2 h
- Design and build the tools10 min
2.4 Build the agent2 topics · 0.3 h
- LangGraph basics: state, nodes and edges10 min
- System prompt and planning10 min
2.5 Memory1 topics · 0.3 h
- Conversation memory and long-term facts15 min
2.6 Human-in-the-loop1 topics · 0.3 h
- Approval before actions15 min
2.7 Evaluate1 topics · 0.3 h
- Task success, tool use, steps, cost — and traces15 min
2.8 Deploy1 topics · 0.3 h
- Streamlit chat app with approvals15 min
Module 3 · Project 2: Company Tools as an MCP Server (Model Context Protocol)8 topics · 1.8 h
3.1 Understand the problem1 topics · 0.2 h
- Why MCP and how we will judge it10 min
3.2 MCP concepts1 topics · 0.2 h
- Host, client, server; tools, resources, prompts10 min
3.3 Build the server1 topics · 0.3 h
- An MCP server in Python15 min
3.4 Test and use1 topics · 0.3 h
- Test with the Inspector and a desktop host15 min
3.5 Connect to your agent1 topics · 0.3 h
- Use MCP tools in LangGraph15 min
3.6 Remote server1 topics · 0.3 h
- Local vs remote servers and authentication15 min
3.7 Security1 topics · 0.3 h
- Tool poisoning, least privilege and approvals15 min
3.8 Ship1 topics · 0.2 h
Module 4 · Project 3: Agentic RAG Helpdesk7 topics · 1.5 h
4.1 Understand the problem1 topics · 0.2 h
- Where plain RAG fails and how we will judge10 min
4.2 Retrieval as a tool1 topics · 0.3 h
- Give the agent its search tools15 min
4.3 Corrective loop1 topics · 0.3 h
- Grade, rewrite and search again15 min
4.4 Self-check1 topics · 0.2 h
- Is the answer supported?10 min
4.5 Single vs multi-agent1 topics · 0.3 h
- When to split into several agents15 min
4.6 Glimpse1 topics · 0.2 h
- GraphRAG and knowledge graphs10 min
4.7 Evaluate and deploy1 topics · 0.3 h
- Compare with plain RAG and ship15 min
Module 5 · Project 4: Multi-Agent Customer Support System10 topics · 2.4 h
5.1 Understand the problem1 topics · 0.2 h
- When to use multiple agents and how we will judge it10 min
5.2 Patterns and design1 topics · 0.3 h
- Multi-agent patterns15 min
5.3 Test conversations1 topics · 0.3 h
- Write the test conversation set15 min
5.4 Build in LangGraph1 topics · 0.3 h
- Supervisor and specialist agents15 min
5.5 Build in CrewAI1 topics · 0.3 h
- The same idea as a crew (framework comparison)15 min
5.6 Coordination1 topics · 0.3 h
- Shared state and simple consensus15 min
5.7 Connect across systems1 topics · 0.3 h
- A2A: Agent-to-Agent protocol15 min
5.8 Evaluate and debug1 topics · 0.3 h
- Routing, resolution, failures and cost15 min
5.9 Security1 topics · 0.3 h
- Guardrails for a multi-agent system15 min
5.10 Deploy1 topics · 0.3 h
- Chat app and next steps15 min