Brian Williams, faculty chair of the Virtual Advanced Business Technologies department at IU’s Kelley School of Business, is the lead professor for GenAI 101. Image Credit: Indiana Public Media
The course had recorded more than 114,000 enrolments since its launch in August, according to a report published by Indiana Public Media in April 2026. The university subsequently expanded access to more than 800,000 alumni worldwide in October, bringing the learning opportunity to people who had already graduated but wanted to develop their knowledge of emerging technology. The public launch took place on April 16, 2026. Around 500 people enrolled during the first 5 hours after public registration opened, according to Indiana Public Media’s report published the following day.
Prompt engineering involves giving AI tools clear instructions so that they can produce more relevant and useful responses.
The course includes examples based on publicly accessible generative AI platforms, including Google Gemini and ChatGPT, according to the Kelley School. These included students, faculty members and university staff. The programme covers several important areas of AI use, including prompt engineering, data storytelling, fact-checking AI-generated information and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. The Kelley School explains that Crimson is designed as an animated AI co-teacher. It demonstrates how learners can question, challenge and engage with generative AI rather than simply accepting everything it produces. This practical approach is also reflected in the tools used throughout the programme. This allows participants to connect the lessons with tools they may already encounter in their personal or professional lives.
Initially developed to help members of the university community understand and use AI, the online programme has since attracted more than 114,000 enrolments. The university first extended the opportunity to its large alumni network before opening the course to people worldwide in April 2026, making university-level AI training available to a much wider audience without charging a course fee. Indiana University introduced GenAI 101 as part of its efforts to build practical AI skills across its community.
The Kelley School of Business also reported that businesses, state governments and universities across the country had approached Indiana University about obtaining or developing similar AI training programmes. Indiana University has expanded access to its free generative artificial intelligence course after seeing strong interest from its students, employees and alumni. The course was designed to help participants understand generative AI and use it more confidently in everyday tasks, academic work and professional settings. This interest encouraged the university and the business school to make their existing course available to everyone without a fee.