Advanced Practical Data Science

Harvard Extension School

CSCI E-115

Section 1

CRN 17342

View Course Details
In today's artificial intelligence (AI)-driven world, building a robust deep learning model is only half the journey. The real challenge often lies in bringing this model to life in the form of an application that is scalable, maintainable, and ready for real-world deployment. In this course, we traverse the complex landscape of machine learning operations, with a special focus on large language models (LLMs). This course has been meticulously curated to provide a holistic understanding of the complete deep learning workflow, from refining your models to deploying them in production environments. We dive deep into topics like containerization, cloud functions, data pipelines, and advanced training workflows, with specific emphasis on LLMs. Students learn how to utilize LLM application programming interfaces (APIs) effectively, host APIs, fine-tune LLMs for specific tasks, adapt them to various domains, and build applications around them. Our objective is not only to help students grasp these concepts but also to empower them to build and deploy scalable AI applications. We delve into the particular intricacies of LLMs and their applications in real-world scenarios. Whether students are AI enthusiasts wanting to understand the intricacies of machine learning operations or seasoned professionals aiming to fortify their knowledge, this course promises a comprehensive exploration of the production side of AI, with a spotlight on LLM applications and productionizing.

Instructor Info

Pavlos Protopapas, PhD

Scientific Program Director and Lecturer, Institute for Applied Computational Science, Harvard University


Meeting Info

9/2 to 12/19

Participation Option: Online Asynchronous

In online asynchronous courses, you are not required to attend class at a particular time. Instead you can complete the course work on your own schedule each week.

Deadlines

Last day to register: August 28, 2025

Prerequisites

An introductory course in machine learning and deep learning, such as CSCI E-89, CSCI E-109b, or the equivalent.

Notes

The recorded lectures are from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences companion course Applied Computation 215. Registered students can ordinarily live stream the lectures Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:45-2:45 pm starting September 2 or they can watch them on demand. The recorded sessions are typically available within a few hours of the end of class and no later than the following business day. Class sessions for this course may include students enrolled in the FAS companion course. Accordingly, when you participate in live class sessions, you will do so alongside both Division of Continuing Education (DCE) and FAS students. If you participate in a way that causes you to appear in recordings of the class, those recordings may be shown to DCE students enrolled in this course or FAS students enrolled in the companion course, according to the policies of the two schools on accessing recordings of class sessions.

All Sections of this Course

CRN Section # Participation Option(s) Instructor Section Status Meets Term Dates
17342 1 Online Asynchronous Pavlos Protopapas Open Sep 2 to Dec 19