Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics

A tight, fundamentals-only introduction

IBM's Generative AI: Prompt Engineering Basics is a beginner-level course with a narrow, practical focus — it doesn't try to cover the whole generative AI landscape, just the mechanics of writing effective prompts and evaluating what comes back.

What's in scope

• Core prompt engineering concepts and reusable prompt patterns
• Working directly with ChatGPT-style tools
• How to evaluate model outputs rather than accept the first answer
• Framing generative AI use cases clearly enough to prompt for them

It's a good fit for anyone who wants a fast, no-frills entry point into prompting specifically, rather than a broader AI-literacy course. With 656,000+ learners enrolled, it sits alongside Vanderbilt's similarly-themed course as one of the most popular ways to learn prompting on Coursera.