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⇱ Building and Optimizing AI Models | Coursera


Building and Optimizing AI Models

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Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

8 hours to complete
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
Intermediate level

Recommended experience

8 hours to complete
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

What you'll learn

  • Train and evaluate predictive machine learning models using supervised and unsupervised algorithms

  • Design custom neural network architectures for AI applications

  • Optimize deep learning models using transfer learning and performance tuning

  • Benchmark AI algorithms to evaluate efficiency, accuracy, and computational cost

Details to know

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Recently updated!

March 2026

Assessments

20 assignmentsΒΉ

AI Graded see disclaimer
Taught in English

Build your Machine Learning expertise

This course is part of the Transformers Unleashed: Master the Architecture of Modern AI Professional Certificate
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Professional Certificate.
  • Learn new concepts from industry experts
  • Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
  • Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
  • Earn a shareable career certificate from Coursera

There are 8 modules in this course

Building and Optimizing AI Models introduces the foundational engineering practices required to design, train, and optimize machine learning models for modern AI systems. In this course, you will explore statistical machine learning methods, neural network architectures, and deep learning optimization techniques used to develop high-performing predictive models.

You will begin by applying supervised and unsupervised algorithms to train and evaluate predictive models. Next, you will design custom neural network architectures and experiment with different layer configurations to improve model accuracy and efficiency. The course also introduces transfer learning and deep learning optimization strategies that help adapt pretrained models to domain-specific tasks. Finally, you will analyze algorithm performance and benchmark model implementations to understand trade-offs between accuracy, latency, and computational cost. By the end of this course, you will be able to design neural networks, optimize deep learning workflows, and evaluate model performance using industry-standard metrics. Tools and technologies covered include Python, TensorFlow, neural network frameworks, and model performance benchmarking techniques.

You will apply supervised and unsupervised algorithms to train predictive models using structured datasets. You will implement cross-validation techniques to validate model reliability and interpret results to ensure robust performance.

What's included

3 videos1 reading2 assignments

3 videosβ€’Total 17 minutes
  • Welcome and What You’ll Learnβ€’4 minutes
  • Supervised vs. Unsupervised Modeling: When to Use Eachβ€’5 minutes
  • Walkthrough: Training Logistic Regression and K-Means in scikit-learnβ€’8 minutes
1 readingβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • How Cross-Validation Improves Model Reliabilityβ€’10 minutes
2 assignmentsβ€’Total 22 minutes
  • Hands-On Activity: Train Two Models and Run 5-Fold CVβ€’15 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Model Fit Checkβ€’7 minutes

You will evaluate model performance using accuracy and F1 metrics, identify weaknesses, and refine features systematically. You will iterate on feature engineering decisions to meet defined performance targets

What's included

3 videos1 reading3 assignments

3 videosβ€’Total 15 minutes
  • Why Metrics Drive Better Modelingβ€’4 minutes
  • Interpreting Accuracy, Precision, Recall, and F1β€’7 minutes
  • Demo: Interaction Features Improve F1β€’4 minutes
1 readingβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • Feature Engineering Fundamentals: Transform, Combine, Improveβ€’10 minutes
3 assignmentsβ€’Total 42 minutes
  • Hands-On Activity: Improve a Model’s F1 Score with New Featuresβ€’15 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Fix the Modelβ€’7 minutes
  • Graded Quiz: Build, Validate, and Improve a Predictive Modelβ€’20 minutes

You will analyze candidate neural network topologies such as CNNs, RNNs, and Transformers. You will evaluate task requirements, data characteristics, and compute constraints to select the most appropriate architecture.

What's included

3 videos1 reading2 assignments

3 videosβ€’Total 8 minutes
  • Welcome and Why Architecture Choices Matterβ€’2 minutes
  • Comparing Neural Network Topologiesβ€’3 minutes
  • How to Evaluate Architecture Fit in Practiceβ€’3 minutes
1 readingβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • Understanding Task, Data, and Compute Constraintsβ€’10 minutes
2 assignmentsβ€’Total 22 minutes
  • Hands-on Activity: Choose the Best Architecture Under Real Constraintsβ€’15 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Architecture Selection Mini-Reviewβ€’7 minutes

You will create custom neural-network architectures by composing layers, activations, and regularization techniques. You will test architectural decisions to improve generalization and training stability.

What's included

3 videos1 reading3 assignments

3 videosβ€’Total 9 minutes
  • Why Build Custom Architecturesβ€’2 minutes
  • Layers, Activations, and Regularizationβ€’2 minutes
  • Screencast: Constructing a Custom Model in PyTorchβ€’5 minutes
1 readingβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • Designing a Custom Network Step by Stepβ€’10 minutes
3 assignmentsβ€’Total 42 minutes
  • Hands-on Activity: Build Your Own Network Architectureβ€’15 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Improve a Baseline Model With Regularizationβ€’7 minutes
  • Graded Assessment: Custom Neural Network Architechture Evaluationβ€’20 minutes

You will apply transfer-learning workflows to fine-tune pretrained models on domain-specific datasets. You will experiment with freezing and unfreezing layers to improve model adaptation.

What's included

3 videos1 reading2 assignments

3 videosβ€’Total 14 minutes
  • Welcome and Orientation β€’3 minutes
  • Why Transfer Learning Worksβ€’5 minutes
  • Fine-Tuning Workflow Step-by-Stepβ€’6 minutes
1 readingβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • A Practical Introduction to Transfer Learningβ€’10 minutes
2 assignmentsβ€’Total 25 minutes
  • Hands-On Activity: Fine-Tune a Pretrained Model on a Small Datasetβ€’15 minutes
  • Quiz: Check Your Transfer Learning Basicsβ€’10 minutes

You will evaluate deep model configurations by comparing accuracy, latency, and memory usage. You will balance performance and efficiency to determine the most suitable production-ready configuration.

What's included

3 videos1 reading3 assignments

3 videosβ€’Total 17 minutes
  • Accuracy vs. Efficiency: The Real Trade-Offsβ€’6 minutes
  • Hyperparameter Sweeps: Comparing Configurations Fairly (Optuna Example)β€’5 minutes
  • Quantization as a Configuration Choice: Speed vs. Accuracy (TensorRT Example)β€’6 minutes
1 readingβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • Practical Model Training Tips for Reliable Machine Learning Performanceβ€’10 minutes
3 assignmentsβ€’Total 40 minutes
  • Hands-On Activity: Run a Mini Optimization Comparisonβ€’15 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Evaluating Model Performance Trade-Offsβ€’5 minutes
  • Graded Assessment: Model Optimization Decision Challengeβ€’20 minutes

You will analyze the computational complexity of algorithms and evaluate how data structures affect performance. You will select optimal approaches based on scalability and workload demands.

What's included

3 videos1 reading2 assignments

3 videosβ€’Total 15 minutes
  • Welcome and Why Speed Matters in Real AI Systemsβ€’4 minutes
  • Understanding Complexity: From Big-O to Practical Speedβ€’5 minutes
  • Hidden Costs: Constants, Cache Effects, and Real-World Slowdownsβ€’6 minutes
1 readingβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • Data Structures That Scale: Trees, Hash Maps, and Heapsβ€’10 minutes
2 assignmentsβ€’Total 20 minutes
  • Hands-On Activity: Complexity Match-Up: Predict the Faster Methodβ€’10 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Test Your Complexity and Data Structure Skillsβ€’10 minutes

You will create prototype algorithms and design structured benchmarks to measure latency, throughput, and memory usage. You will interpret benchmark results to evaluate performance trade-offs and justify implementation decisions.

What's included

2 videos2 readings3 assignments

2 videosβ€’Total 10 minutes
  • Why Benchmarking Beats Guessworkβ€’5 minutes
  • Building Simple Benchmarks: Tools, Timers, and Fair Testsβ€’6 minutes
2 readingsβ€’Total 20 minutes
  • Interpreting Benchmark Data: Throughput, Latency, Memory, and Curvesβ€’10 minutes
  • Documenting Benchmarks for Engineering Decisionsβ€’10 minutes
3 assignmentsβ€’Total 45 minutes
  • Hands-On Activity: Benchmark Two Approaches and Compareβ€’15 minutes
  • Practice Quiz: Check Your Benchmarking and Performance Insightsβ€’10 minutes
  • Graded Quiz: Algorithm Performance and Benchmarking Assessmentβ€’20 minutes

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Frequently asked questions

In this course, you will learn how to design, train, and optimize machine learning and deep learning models. You will explore neural network architectures, predictive modeling techniques, and performance optimization strategies used in modern AI systems.

Yes. This course is designed for learners with basic knowledge of Python programming and machine learning concepts. Familiarity with regression, classification, and neural network fundamentals will help you succeed in this course.

You will work with Python and deep learning frameworks such as TensorFlow while learning techniques for neural network design, model evaluation, and performance benchmarking used in modern AI development.

To access the course materials, assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience when you enroll in a course. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid. The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Certificate, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile.

Financial aid available,

ΒΉ Some assignments in this course are AI-graded. For these assignments, your data will be used in accordance with Coursera's Privacy Notice.