Duration
5 weeksWeekly study
2 hours100% online
How it works
Advanced Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for Large Language Models
Learn to build RAG systems from scratch and lead LLMs with advanced solutions
Give yourself a leg up in the competitive world of tech by upskilling in one of AI’s most applied techniques: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
On this five-week course from Pragmatic AI Labs, you’ll dive into the essential concepts and hands-on skills needed to master RAG and apply them in AI engineering for real-world solutions.
Apply advanced embedding strategies and chunking solutions
You’ll begin this course by exploring the basics of RAG, navigating its core processes and identifying its common pitfalls. With this foundation, you’ll soon move on to learning more advanced techniques, like document embedding and chunking.
Working through hands-on labs, you’ll apply these techniques to real-world data, experimenting with embedding models and refining your chunking strategies to improve document retrieval and alignment.
Create hybrid search systems
Next, you’ll dive into hybrid search in RAG, where you’ll learn how to combine semantic and keyword search to enhance retrieval performance.
You’ll work with both sparse indexing and dense encoding, mastering techniques like BM25 and Sentence Transformers to refine search results.
Plus, you’ll explore reranking strategies, using cross-encoders to improve the alignment of documents with user queries and boost retrieval accuracy.
Design multimodal retrieval applications
By the final week, you’ll explore multimodal RAG for image-based documents. You’ll integrate image encoders, apply quantisation for optimised storage, and build efficient indexing systems.
Through practical exercises and guided labs, you’ll create image embeddings using advanced models, improving search accuracy and optimising vector databases for efficient multimodal systems.
Syllabus
Week 1
Introduction and Simple RAG Application
Course Introduction
In the first video we present the overview of the course, and the main challenges of successfully implementing AI applications in enterprise companies.
Hands-on labs and homework exercises instructions
Instructions to setup Jupyter notebook environment to execute the hands-on labs and exercises notebooks.
Simple RAG Introduction
Introduction video to simple RAG applications
Hands-on lab walkthrough
Video walkthrough of the hands-on lab building a simple RAG application.
Issues with Simple RAG
Discussion on the recall-precision trade-off and its impact on the performance of RAG applications.
Lesson Reflection, Homework Exercise, and Quiz
Review of the key points of the week, homework exercise on simple RAG notebook, and end-week quiz.
Week 2
Document Embedding
Embedding Introduction
Introduction to text embedding
Embedding - Hands-on Lab
Walkthrough of the hands-on lab on the various aspects of embedding including tokenization, vocabulary and embedding visualization.
Embedding Lesson Reflection and Quiz
Lesson Reflection on the key terms and points covered in the lesson, and week-end quiz.
Week 3
Document Chunking
Document Chunking Introduction
Video presentation of the need for document splitting and chunking and the main methods used to perform it.
Chunking Hands-on Lab
Video walkthrough of the hands-on on Semantic Chunking, one of the popular chunking methods.
Chunking Overview
Deeper overview of chunking strategies
Contextual Indexing - Hands-on Lab
Hands-on lab to chunking enrichment using document context and LLM models.
Query-Document Alignment
Discussion of the issue of misalignment of users' queries and document chunks.
Hands-on Lab - Reverse Hyde
Hands-on lab on a powerful method to generate hypothetical questions for document chunks to improve query-document alignment.
Document Chunking Lesson Reflection
Summary and review of the main key terms and points discussed this week.
Homework Exercise for Document Chunking
Advanced exercise notebook to practice various topics and methods of document chunking.
Document Chunking Lesson Quiz
Quiz to test the understanding of the main topics of document chunking.
Week 4
Hybrid Search in RAG
Hybrid Search Introduction
Introduction to Hybrid Search in RAG application to improve document recall in the retrieval step.
Hands-on Lab - Hybrid Search
Hands-on lab to implement Hybrid Search in RAG application using sparse index with BM25.
Hands-on Lab - Reranking
Hands-on lab to implement reranking of Hybrid-Search results in RAG application using a cross-encoder.
Hybrid Search Lesson Reflection
Summary of key terms and points from the Hybrid Search lessons.
Homework Exercise - Hybrid Search
Homework exercise to implement a more sophisticated Hybrid Search using SPLADE and Cohere reranking models.
Hybrid Search Quiz
Quiz on the hybrid search week topics.
Week 5
Multimodal RAG system to handle image based documents
Multimodal RAG Introduction
Video introduction presentation of building RAG application for image based documents using Multimodal techniques.
Multimodal RAG Hands-on Lab
Hands-on lab of building a multimodal RAG application on image based documents.
Multimodal RAG Lesson Reflection
Overview of the main key points and terms covered in the Multimodal week.
Multimodal RAG Quiz
Test on the main topics covered in the Multimodal week lesson.
When would you like to start?
Start straight away and join a global classroom of learners. If the course hasn’t started yet you’ll see the future date listed below.
Available now
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Improve AI applications based on Large Language Models (LLM) using Retrieval-Augmented-Generation (RAG) advanced techniques.
- Assess best use cases for RAG vs traditional GenAI
Who is the course for?
This course is for AI engineers, MLOps professionals, software developers, and data scientists eager to master advanced RAG systems and LLM applications. It’s perfect for those looking to expand their AI skills, integrate cutting-edge technologies into enterprise solutions, or transition into AI development roles.
Who will you learn with?
Who developed the course?
Ways to learn | Buy this course | Subscribe & save | Limited access |
---|---|---|---|
Choose the best way to learn for you! | $79/one-off payment | $244.99 for a whole year Automatically renews | Free |
Fulfill your current learning need | Develop skills to further your career | Sample the course materials | |
Access to this course | tick | tick | Access expires 13 Mar 2025 |
Access to 1,000+ courses | cross | tick | cross |
Learn at your own pace | tick | tick | cross |
Discuss your learning in comments | tick | tick | tick |
Tests to check your learning | tick | tick | cross |
Certificate when you're eligible | Printed and digital | Digital only | cross |
Cancel for free anytime |
Ways to learn
Choose the best way to learn for you!
Subscribe & save
$244.99 for a whole year
Automatically renews
Develop skills to further your career
- Access to this course
- Access to 1,000+ courses
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Tests to boost your learning
- Digital certificate when you're eligible
Cancel for free anytime
Buy this course
$79/one-off payment
Fulfill your current learning need
- Access to this course
- Learn at your own pace
- Discuss your learning in comments
- Tests to boost your learning
- Printed and digital certificate when you’re eligible
Limited access
Free
Sample the course materials
- Access expires 13 Mar 2025
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades) Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply. |
Find out more about certificates, Unlimited or buying a course (Upgrades)
Sale price available until 3 March 2025 at 23:59 (UTC). T&Cs apply.
Learning on FutureLearn
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Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
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Map your progress
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- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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