Integrating Artificial Intelligence skills into Learning Design

Cindy is an instructional designer and international trainer. Before joining the “Learning Design and Facilitation Masterclass Series”, offered by UNITAR’s Learning Solutions team, she had over six years of engagement with UNITAR as a trainer in topics related to leadership, coaching, communication, and negotiation. Cindy also works full-time as a training and development designer at Unitrade Management Services and is pursuing a degree in instructional design. Clearly, Cindy was not new to the intricacies of training development, however, UNITAR's Masterclass Series provided her with additional skills that have complemented her experience as an instructional designer. 

The programme was a perfect fit for Cindy, who was eager to enhance her skills and experience the high-quality training that UNITAR is known for. Among the various modules, the one that stood out the most to Cindy was the session on Artificial Intelligence (AI) prompt engineering for learning design. This module not only piqued her interest but also had a profound impact on her approach to instructional design. Before the master class, Cindy had a basic understanding of AI and its potential in the learning and development field. However, the programme introduced her to the nuances of prompt engineering—how to structure questions and prompts to get personalised, meaningful responses from AI tools. This was a game-changer for Cindy. She learned to use AI as a brainstorming partner, helping her generate ideas and refine her training materials. 

I do believe that AI has a place in the world and we cannot escape it. I also believe that we need to responsibly use AI

After the Masterclass, Cindy began to experiment more with AI prompt engineering in her daily work. She has used AI to brainstorm ideas for new training courses, ensuring that the content is tailored to the specific needs of her audience. Her ability to craft personalised prompts led to more effective and engaging learning materials, which were well-received by her colleagues and learners alike. Alongside the technical skills, the Masterclass also highlighted the responsibility that comes with using AI in the learning industry. During her experimentation process, she has learned to balance the strengths of AI with the human touch, creating materials that are both effective and empathetic. 

It just deepened the way I work with AI, but also maybe a lot more mindful about the responsibility I do believe that when we combine the strengths of humans and AI and we create materials, we can get a far more rounded, powerful outcome.

The Masterclass also served as a nice reminder to Cindy on the importance of understanding her audience. The programme emphasised the need to be culturally sensitive and aware of the diverse backgrounds, literacy levels, and digital literacy levels of learners. This resonated deeply with Cindy, who had always strived to create inclusive and engaging content, but considered that a reminder of this was needed to always have this at the top of priorities when designing and delivering training.

Cindy appreciates the opportunity of changing the role from a trainer at UNITAR to a learner in this Masterclass. Despite her extensive experience in the field of learning and development, Cindy is eager to continue gaining new skills in a changing environment as she considers that “change keeps us curious” and hopes that one day UNITAR can provide a standalone course focusing on instructional design.