By Mary Sun 
Generative AI is reshaping how teams write, code, design, and support customers, so 2026 is a smart time to build job-ready skills that translate into faster delivery and better decisions. It also changes what employers expect, from prompt quality to governance and measurable outcomes.
The courses below focus on practical workflows, prompting, model evaluation, and responsible deployment, with options for business, product, and technical roles across India’s leading institutes.
Factors to Consider Before Choosing a Generative AI Course
- Career goal and role fit: Pick a syllabus that matches your day-to-day work, such as product, analytics, engineering, or operations.
- Practice style: Prefer labs, case studies, and a capstone so you finish with proof of skills, not just notes.
- Time commitment: Check weekly hours, live session cadence, and the full calendar so you can finish on time.
- Credential value: Look for a completion certificate tied to assessments, attendance, and project quality.
- Responsible use: Ensure it covers evaluation, safety, and governance, not only prompt writing.
Top Generative AI Courses to Build Portfolio-Ready Skills in 2026
1) Certificate in Generative AI, Great Learning with IIT Bombay
Duration: 5 months
Mode: Online
A hands on generative ai certificate built for professionals who want to design reliable GenAI applications.
You learn prompting, evaluation, multimodal basics, Retrieval Augmented Generation, fine tuning, and agent workflows, then close with deployment and security practices.
Weekly live sessions and projects keep the learning aligned with real product needs at work.
What Sets It Apart?
- Certificate on successful completion, suitable for showcasing on professional profiles
- Six-module structure that moves from foundations to deployment readiness
- Strong emphasis on practical application, not only concepts
Curriculum Overview
- GenAI foundations and large language model basics
- Prompt engineering and evaluation methods
- LLMOps, monitoring, and quality checks
- Multimodal concepts and use cases
- Retrieval Augmented Generation and fine-tuning techniques
- Agents, deployment, and security considerations
Ideal For
Business and tech professionals who want a structured GenAI application building with a recognized certificate.
2) Certificate Programme in Generative AI, IIT Delhi
Duration: 6 months
Mode: Online
This structured program builds a strong foundation before moving into text and vision generation. Expect weekly sessions, guided assignments, and tool-based practice that connect transformers, reinforcement learning ideas, and responsible use.
The flow helps you go from math essentials to building and assessing modern GenAI models for real problems.
What Sets It Apart?
- Completion and participation certificate options tied to attendance and scoring
- Clear module sequence from foundations to GenAI for text and vision
- Includes responsible AI as a dedicated module
Curriculum Overview
- Mathematical foundations for machine learning
- Machine learning concepts and practice
- NLP fundamentals
- Generative AI for text
- Generative AI for vision
- Responsible AI and governance basics
Ideal For
Professionals who want a longer runway to build fundamentals, then apply GenAI methods in technical or product contexts.
3) Advanced Executive Program in Applied Generative AI, IIT Madras Pravartak
Duration: 16 weeks
Mode: Online, live sessions
Designed for working professionals, this applied track emphasizes building GenAI and agentic applications through live instruction and hands-on exercises.
You cover foundations, model architectures, prompt techniques, workflow design, and governance, then complete projects that simulate business use cases. Optional campus immersion adds peer learning and helps you document outcomes.
What Sets It Apart?
- Completion certificate designed for professional upskilling use
- Applied focus, with projects aligned to workplace scenarios
- Live format supports steady progress and feedback
Curriculum Overview
- GenAI fundamentals and model architecture concepts
- Prompt design patterns and evaluation basics
- Building retrieval-based workflows and app prototypes
- Agent style workflows and orchestration concepts
- Governance, risk checks, and deployment readiness
- Project work to turn ideas into working demos
Ideal For
Midcareer professionals who want a time-bound applied program and a certificate, with project outputs to show.
4) Generative AI and Prompt Engineering, IIIT Hyderabad via TalentSprint
Duration: 3 months
Mode: Live online, weekend schedule
A compact program that blends faculty lectures with mentor-supported labs. It covers Generative AI foundations, prompt engineering, and agentic concepts, then pushes you into projects across language, vision, and tool-using workflows.
Live sessions keep the momentum going, while campus visits and peer work add structure and accountability for busy professionals.
What Sets It Apart?
- Certificate on completion, supported by structured assessments
- Weekend cadence works well for full-time roles
- Strong lab and project orientation to build practical confidence
Curriculum Overview
- GenAI foundations and prompting workflows
- Building LLM-based applications and evaluation habits
- Retrieval workflows and grounding techniques
- Responsible use, safety checks, and limitations handling
- Capstone-style project work and review
Ideal For
Professionals who prefer guided weekend learning with labs and a formal certificate outcome.
5) Generative AI for Business with Microsoft Azure OpenAI, Great Learning
Duration: 16 weeks
Mode: Online
Built for business teams, this microsoft generative ai course shows how to scope GenAI use cases and build workflows using Azure tools.
You learn about prompting, large language model basics, and practical NLP tasks such as summarization and classification. The curriculum offers coding and no code tracks, plus AI900 exam prep with guided projects.
What Sets It Apart?
- Completion certificate, suited for business-focused GenAI roles
- Clear linkage between business use cases and build steps
- Includes structured preparation for the AI900 exam context
Curriculum Overview
- GenAI foundations and prompt engineering
- Large language model basics and application patterns
- LLMOps concepts, evaluation, and responsible use
- NLP for business tasks, including automation scenarios
- Building workflows in Azure AI Studio and Promptflow
- Practice through case studies and projects
Ideal For
Business professionals who want GenAI skills with a cloud workflow focus and a certificate outcome in 16 weeks.
6) Generative AI Learn by Doing, IIT Kharagpur Continuing Education
Duration: 3 Months
Mode: Online
A short-term continuing education course focused on practice. You work through hands-on exercises that turn concepts into working demos, making it easier to understand prompting patterns, retrieval methods, and lightweight evaluation.
The fixed schedule suits professionals who want a clear start and finish in 2026 with weekly milestones.
What Sets It Apart?
- Certificate of completion tied to learning activities and completion norms
- Learn by doing approach with assignments and a capstone mindset
- Strong coverage of both foundations and deployment-oriented topics
Curriculum Overview
- Python foundations and core machine learning concepts
- Deep learning training methods and transformer fundamentals
- Fine-tuning approaches and practical implementation patterns
- Prompt engineering, LLM applications, and evaluation basics
- Retrieval-based approaches, multi-agent concepts, and deployment themes
Ideal For
Learners who want a fixed calendar, hands-on practice, and a completion certificate within a short time window.
7) Generative AI and Large Language Model Engineering using Python, iHUB Divyasampark IIT Roorkee
Duration: 74 hours
Mode: Online
This certification is paced for evenings and builds LLM engineering skills in Python.
The syllabus covers model basics, transformers, prompt engineering, fine-tuning, and Retrieval Augmented Generation, as well as practical topics such as vector databases and handling hallucinations.
With a defined hour count, it fits professionals planning weekly study blocks in 2026.
What Sets It Apart?
- Program certificate from iHUB Divyasampark IIT Roorkee
- Evening schedule supports working professionals
- Strong emphasis on engineering concerns like cost, scaling, and deployment
Curriculum Overview
- Prompt engineering and application design patterns
- Retrieval workflows and semantic search concepts
- Vector databases and evaluation-oriented troubleshooting
- Speech-to-text concepts and building practical prototypes
- Deployment readiness, scaling, and cost control approaches
Ideal For
Professionals who want a defined hour-based plan and a certificate, with an engineering-first approach to building GenAI applications.
Conclusion
If you want GenAI impact at work, choose from gen ai courses that match your role, give you projects, and teach evaluation and risk controls, not just prompting.
Aim to finish with a small portfolio: one workflow, one agent style prototype, and a short write-up of metrics, cost, latency, and quality checks. That evidence helps in interviews and internal mobility, and it keeps your learning grounded in business constraints in 2026