Proof of concept

The college proof of concept

The proof of concept is designed to test Foundation and Bronze learning across different starting points, with guided practice, individual evidence and tutor review. See the agreed programme below.

Read the programme overview Discuss employer involvement

Learners in a college setting taking part in the Edge AI Skills proof of concept

Hybrid delivery

Three settings, one pathway

College

Guided sessions, tutor support and shared baseline activity.

Home

Self-paced workbook activity, reflection and evidence capture.

On the job

Explore realistic workplace tasks within agreed learning boundaries. PoC practice uses tutor-supplied fictional or synthetic examples and approved public material. Real workplace deployment requires separate organisational approval.

Staged progression

Foundation proves the baseline. Bronze proves adoption.

Foundation for all

Every participant completes the shared baseline in safe use, trust, ethics, data protection, human judgement and evidence.

Bronze for most

Progression follows the Foundation gateway decision. Participants apply learning to practical AI productivity in everyday roles and tasks.

Separate advanced-level testing

Foundation and Bronze form the core college PoC pathway. Any separate advanced-level testing requires its own agreed participants, scope and delivery arrangements.

How EAS is being tested

We are testing more than course attendance

The proof of concept will examine practical capability, the usefulness of learner evidence, the delivery experience and what employers and participants would improve.

Findings will guide the next version of the programme. We will distinguish participant feedback from assessed capability and publish results only when the evidence and permissions support them.

Taking part

The first learner programme

The planned programme runs from 7 October to 9 December 2026, combining Foundation learning with a Bronze applied employer brief. Learners build practical confidence, practise responsible use and gather evidence of what they can do. Optional advanced-level testing is separate from the core Foundation and Bronze commitment.

Onboarding

Get access, agree your goals and identify any support you need. This is a working orientation, not a lecture. You leave it with your portal access confirmed, your workbook set up and your support agreed.

Learner orientation

How the programme runs, what each stage involves, where your workbook lives and who to ask for help between sessions.

Portal access

Sign in, confirm your details and open your workbook so the first teaching session starts with learning rather than setup.

Starting point and goals

Record your current confidence honestly and agree what you want to be able to do by the end of the programme.

Support and adjustments

Review accessibility needs, equipment, connectivity and any additional help, then agree what will be put in place and by whom.

Safe use and privacy

Agree how AI is used during the programme, what must never be shared and how your work, evidence and results are stored and reviewed.

Your evidence log

Set up the workbook structure so each session has a place for your own notes, outputs and reflections.

Foundation

Four practical sessions build AI understanding, safe habits, workplace judgement and accountability. Each session adds evidence to your workbook. The tutor reviews your individual evidence and records the Foundation gateway decision within the fourth session on 4 November.

Foundation gateway

Your tutor reviews your evidence and records whether you are ready for Bronze. The gateway is included in the final Foundation session, not an additional teaching week.

Bronze

Five weeks apply your Foundation habits to an employer-informed brief. You plan the work, use AI within agreed boundaries, check outputs and build evidence, finishing with a showcase of your work and what you learned. Entry follows the Foundation gateway decision.

These dates apply to this PoC cohort. Other organisations can agree a different pace and timetable within the same programme framework.

Confirmed module map

Fit the learning into the agreed timetable

This map does not add teaching hours, guided workshops, attendance or learner commitments. It prioritises safe practice, individual evidence and assessment within the fixed Newcastle College PoC dates. The wider programme's framework hours are separate and are not claimed for this cohort.

The sessions below show example areas. Every module covers considerably more than its heading suggests, so read them as a map of the ground rather than the whole of it.

Foundation example areas

Foundation 1

I understand

AI literacy, uses and limitations, shared language and responsible use. Build a five-example AI map, distinguish useful applications from limitations and explain one appropriate use.

Individual evidence. AI map, working glossary and reflection.

Foundation 2

I protect

Trust, ethics, privacy, security, data handling and prompt-injection awareness. Classify supplied information descriptions, challenge unsafe instructions and complete personal safe-use rules.

Individual evidence. Data drill, Personal AI Use Checklist and guardrails.

Foundation 3

I apply

Workplace opportunity, risk, output checking and human oversight. Work through one realistic fictional use case, check a sample output and defend an approve, restrict, redesign or reject recommendation.

Individual evidence. Use-case canvas, six output checks, provenance and reflection.

Foundation 4

I explain and demonstrate

Accountability, governance, communication, final brief and gateway. Finish the F3 brief, distinguish advice from approval and accountability, then explain individual evidence for tutor review.

Individual evidence. Ownership map, final brief, evidence index, nine-criterion review and individual gateway decision.

Each Foundation session also carries the shared language of the programme, your workbook habits, tutor feedback on your own work and the checking habits that make your evidence usable outside the classroom. The four titles are signposts to that wider content rather than a limit on it.

Bronze example areas

Bronze 1

Session 1

Choose useful tasks and team projects

Everyday AI, role and function relevance, safe selection of individual tasks and team projects and brief scoping.

Individual evidence. Examples, function match, sources and task scope.

Bronze 2

Session 2

Prompt and improve

Prompt structure, iteration, comparison, output checking and reusable prompts.

Individual evidence. Prompt builder, refinement record, comparison, checks and prompt library.

Bronze 3

Session 3

Prepare and explain

Planning, role research, interview practice and two truthful skills stories.

Individual evidence. Plan, role comparison, practice, draft, two stories and integrity check.

Bronze 4

Session 4

Complete the task

Develop the agreed brief into a complete result with a traceable evidence trail.

Individual evidence. Plan, safe-use check, trial, first draft, checks, final work, audit trail and contribution.

Bronze 5

Session 5

Show and reflect

Use the existing Module 4 reflection, presentation and evidence for the final showcase.

Individual evidence. Showcase, feedback, reflection and evidence index, plus the tutor's completion record.

The five Bronze sessions run on one brief from start to finish, so each week also revisits safe task selection, output checking and the reasoning behind your decisions. Prompting, planning, drafting and review deepen across the programme instead of appearing once and disappearing. The closing showcase brings that evidence together rather than adding a new piece of work.

Ask about future cohorts

Evidence base

Informed by research, shaped by the market

The pathway draws on existing research, employer feedback, skills surveys and live market signals to understand what is missing, what is changing and what learners need to become work ready. That evidence does not sit in a report. It feeds into module design, employer briefs, assessment expectations and future pathway development.

Existing research identifies where AI, data and digital skills are changing job requirements.
Employer and member feedback identifies what is missing in current training and recruitment.
Tutors and educators help convert market need into structured learning.
Learner evidence shows what support, confidence and practice are needed.
Sponsors and partners help scale the model into sectors, employers and communities.

Continuous improvement

Built to stay relevant

Edge AI Skills is designed as a living pathway, not a fixed course catalogue. Employers, members, sponsors, educators, tutors and learners continually feed into the programme so modules stay close to the labour market, real job roles, emerging AI practice and changing organisational needs.

Employers

Provide live briefs, job-role insight, skills gaps and feedback on what job ready means in practice.

Members and delivery partners

Contribute specialist knowledge, sector context and module updates.

Tutors and educators

Translate market needs into teachable, assessable learning experiences.

Learners

Provide evidence, reflections and practical feedback from real tasks, projects and placements.

Educators turn market need into teachable practice

Tutors and educators are central to the model. They help translate employer insight, research and changing AI practice into structured learning, safe activities, assessment evidence and reflective practice. Their feedback from delivery is part of the improvement loop, helping each module become clearer, more credible and more useful over time.

The demonstrator

See how the pathway works in practice

The portal is the working demonstrator behind the proposition. It shows the levels, sessions, module library and the evidence learners build. The public site explains why the programme matters. The portal shows how it runs.

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