AI & Machine Learning Fundamentals: online course for South Africa
A beginner course in how artificial intelligence works and how to use it at work: data, Python, machine learning, generative AI and prompt writing, automation, and using AI responsibly and securely. It suits South African graduates and professionals who want practical AI skills without a computing degree.
Course fee R3,705 · or start with R247 · pay with Card · EFT
Payments in South Africa open soon. The first lesson is free to try now.
Who this course is for in South Africa
It is written for graduates, university and TVET college students, and young professionals. No previous experience is needed.
- Graduates and final-year students from any discipline who want to understand and use AI at work
- Young professionals in banking, retail, mining and business services who want to automate routine work and use AI tools safely
- Anyone considering a career in data or AI who wants a practical, project-based starting point
Where these skills are used in South Africa
The course's industry pathways most relevant here: Banking · Mining · Retail.
- Banking and retail
- Banks and retailers use machine learning for fraud detection, demand forecasting and customer segmentation, and AI assistants for customer service.
- Mining
- Mines use sensor data to predict equipment failures and computer vision to monitor safety on site.
- Business services
- Businesses of every size use AI to draft, summarise, analyse data and automate routine work.
See what South African employers are advertising right now on our latest jobs board for South Africa, updated daily.
South African laws and regulators to know
The lessons are the same in every country and use general, international examples rather than any one country’s rules. They teach the principles, not South Africa’s law in detail, so read these alongside the course:
- Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (POPIA)
- South Africa's main personal-data law, enforced by the Information Regulator. Relevant whenever an AI project uses data about people.
What you’ll learn
| Day | Topic |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | What AI is and is not, its history, and AI vs traditional software |
| Day 2 | How machine learning works: supervised, unsupervised and reinforcement learning |
| Day 3 | Data types, data quality, bias and privacy |
| Day 4 | Python basics for AI in Google Colab |
| Day 5 | Data analysis and charts with pandas and Matplotlib |
| Day 6 | Supervised learning: regression and classification with scikit-learn |
| Day 7 | Unsupervised learning: clustering, segmentation and anomaly detection |
| Day 8 | Model evaluation: precision, recall, overfitting and cross-validation |
| Day 9 | Generative AI, large language models, assistants, agents and RAG |
| Day 10 | Prompt engineering and AI-assisted research |
| Day 11 | AI automation with no-code tools and a human in the loop |
| Day 12 | Neural networks, deep learning and transfer learning |
| Day 13 | Natural language processing: sentiment, entities and chatbots |
| Day 14 | Computer vision: detection, OCR and document processing |
| Day 15 | AI across industries and how to judge an AI idea |
| Day 16 | Responsible AI: bias, privacy, deepfakes, copyright and governance |
| Day 17 | AI and cyber security: prompt injection, AI phishing and deepfake fraud |
| Day 18 | Your capstone: plan, build, evaluate and present an AI project |
Every lesson is illustrated and has a matching video. Each day ends with a short quiz and an assignment, and the course finishes with a capstone project you can show employers. It is self-paced with lifetime access, and you can try the first lesson free before paying.
Your certificate, and what it isn’t
Your Paleon certificate of completion shows you finished an 18-day introduction to AI and machine learning and its capstone project. It is not a university degree or a vendor certification from Google, Microsoft or AWS, though the course is a practical foundation for them.
When you finish, including the capstone, we help you write a CV that presents your project as real work, and provide a reference confirming what you completed. We teach skills; we don’t promise jobs.
Who runs the course
Paleon Training Limited is an online training company registered in Nigeria (Warri, Delta State), with operations in the United Kingdom. There is no Paleon office in South Africa: the course is taught entirely online, and you can reach us by WhatsApp on +44 7508 823495 or at hello@paleontraining.com.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know coding or maths?
No. Every idea starts in plain English with an everyday example. You write your first Python in Day 4, one small step at a time, in a free online notebook.
What will I build?
Small projects every day (a data analysis, a prediction model, a customer segmentation, a prompt library and an automation workflow) and a capstone AI project you present at the end.
How much is it?
R3,705, or start with a R247 deposit.
Training a team of specialists? See the AI + Cybersecurity Professional Accelerator for employers in South Africa.
Keep exploring
- Cyber Security Fundamentals course for South Africa
- GIS and Drone Mapping course for South Africa
- Digital Marketing course for South Africa
- HSE Fundamentals course for South Africa
- Latest jobs in South Africa
- Student Ambassador programme in South Africa
- Top skills employers want
- What does a SOC analyst do?