Monday, March 16, 2026

Top 5 Projects You can Build to Learn AI and LLM Engineering in 2026

5 Projects You Can Build to Learn AI and LLM Engineering

Hello guys, AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) have become the backbone of modern tech. If you are learning AI and LLM engineering and looking for resources then you have come to the right place.

Earlier, I have shared best AI and Machine Learning courses, and Gen AI and LLM courses and today I am going to share real world projects you can build to learn AI and LLM Engineering better.

If you’re serious about mastering AI and LLM engineering, you’ll find that books and courses are only part of the equation. Don’t get me wrong — reading well-structured books and taking high-quality courses is a smart way to lay a solid foundation.

They give you the theory, the terminology, and the tools you need to understand the landscape like AI Engineering by Chip Huyen and The LLM Engineering Handbook by Paul Iusztin and Maxime Labonneand Generative AI with Python and TensorFlow 2 on Educative.io offer great depth and practical walkthroughs.

But here’s the catch — no amount of passive learning will make you confident unless you roll up your sleeves and build something.

Real learning happens when you hit snags, debug errors, and figure out how to glue the concepts together in a working system. That’s where projects come in.

They force you to move from knowing to doing, and that’s when things start to click. In this post, we’ll look at five hands-on AI and LLM engineering projects that will push you beyond theory.

These projects aren’t just exercises — they’re stepping stones to becoming someone who can build, deploy, and fine-tune AI systems that solve real problems.

And I’ll share why getting Educative Unlimited is the smartest move if you want full access to these and other valuable resources.

5 Best Projects to Learn AI, Machine Learning and LLM in 2026

Whether you’re aiming to break into AI engineering or sharpen your existing skills, hands-on projects are the best way to truly grasp concepts.

Theory alone can’t help you master these fast-evolving fields. That’s why practical, guided projects are gold, especially when they cover real-world scenarios.

Here are 5 top-notch projects from Educative.io that will help you build solid expertise in AI and LLM engineering.

1. Build an LLM-powered Chatbot with RAG using LlamaIndex

This project lets you create an AI-powered conversational assistant that doesn’t just parrot what it was trained on. Instead, you’ll use Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) to enhance responses with live information from Wikipedia.

Imagine building a bot that pulls facts from chosen Wikipedia pages and replies smartly, using frameworks like OpenAILlamaIndex, and Chainlit.

In this project you’ll:

  • Index Wikipedia pages in vector stores.
  • Build a semantic search tool.
  • Develop a React agent that reasons, acts, and refines its answers.
  • Create a conversational UI for real-world use.

If you want to see LLMs go beyond canned replies and tap external knowledge bases, this project is a must-do.

Here is the link to join this course — Build an LLM-powered Chatbot with RAG using LlamaIndex

2. Data Visualization with Seaborn for Walmart Sales Projection

AI engineering isn’t just about models. It’s also about making sense of data. This project focuses on using Seaborn to create beautiful, insightful charts that can guide sales projections for a retail giant like Walmart.

What you’ll work on:

  • Clean and transform raw sales data.
  • Explore the link between sales and external factors like holidays.
  • Build visual reports that highlight sales trends and seasonal patterns.
  • Use these insights to craft a predictive model for weekly sales.

It’s the kind of project that teaches you how data stories drive business decisions — and how AI can support that.

Here is the link to join this project — Data Visualization with Seaborn for Walmart Sales Projection

3. Generating New Music with Artificial Intelligence

If you’re keen on mixing AI with creativity, you’ll love this one. Using Meta AI’s AudioCraft and PyTorch, you’ll build a tool that generates music based on user prompts.

You’ll learn to:

  • Design a user interface where users input the type of music they want.
  • Generate music across different genres.
  • Compare how varying prompts produce different compositions.
  • Fine-tune outputs for better quality.

This project brings together Python coding, AI frameworks, and prompt engineering — all while letting you explore the musical side of AI.

Here is the link to join this course — Generating New Music with Artificial Intelligence

4. How to Predict Traffic Volume Using Machine Learning

This project is a classic in applied machine learning. You’ll predict traffic volume on roadways using historical data and environmental factors like weather and holidays.

You’ll:

  • Clean and visualize the data using Seaborn and Matplotlib.
  • Train models like linear regression, decision trees, and random forests with scikit-learn.
  • Save your trained models and use them for real-time predictions.

By the end, you’ll not only understand model training but also how to deploy models for use in the real world.

Here is the link to join this course — How to Predict Traffic Volume Using Machine Learning

5. Train an Agent to Self-Drive a Taxi Using Reinforcement Learning

Autonomous vehicles are the future, and this project gives you a taste of the tech behind them. You’ll use Gymnasium (formerly OpenAI Gym) to train a taxi agent that picks up and drops off passengers efficiently.

You’ll learn how to:

  • Set up and explore the Taxi environment in Gymnasium.
  • Build Q-learning and SARSA algorithms from scratch in Python.
  • Train, test, and compare both models.
  • Visualize learning curves to see how your agent improves over time.

This is a brilliant way to get hands-on with reinforcement learning and see the magic of AI learning from experience.

Here is the link to join this course — Train an Agent to Self-Drive a Taxi Using Reinforcement Learning

Why Choose Educative Unlimited?

All these projects are available on Educative.io, and you can access them (plus countless other courses, tutorials, and coding challenges) with Educative Unlimited. What makes it worth it?

You get:

  • Unlimited access to all Educative projects and courses, including the latest in AILLMsRAGVector Databases, and more.
  • Interactive, browser-based coding — no setup needed.
  • Access to the AI helper that guides you when you’re stuck or want deeper explanations.

A good thing is that Educative is now offering a whopping 55% discount on their yearly subscription. As a developer, there is a lot to learn and sometimes you want the simplicity of taking multiple courses without paying for each one.

Here is the link to get discount — Educative.io Unlimited 55% OFF

With this subscription model, you can now just pay once and get a full access to every course on Educative.

If you’re serious about mastering AI engineering in 2026, Educative Unlimited is a no-brainer. Instead of hopping between platforms, you get one subscription that covers it all — with hands-on, project-based learning that’s miles ahead of dry textbooks.

Ready to start building? Check out Educative Unlimited and take your AI skills to the next level.

Other Awesome Resources from Educative.io You may like

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these AI, ML and LLM Projects then please share with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to leave a comment.

P. S. — If you are new to AI and LLM Engineering worth then I also suggest you to go through this Machine Learning Handbook and Generative AI Handbook, both are great resources for any who want to learn Artificial Intelligence in depth.

Is Grokking the Generative AI System Design Course on Educative.io Worth It? Review

Hello guys, Generative AI is transforming industries — from text-to-text chatbots to text-to-video models that can generate realistic scenes on command.

As an engineer, AI enthusiast, or tech leader, understanding how to design these systems isn’t optional anymore — it’s becoming essential.

But building these systems isn’t just about fine-tuning a model or calling an API. It requires thoughtful Generative AI System Design — designing architectures that can handle massive data flows, scale with demand, and deliver reliable, efficient results in real-world settings.

If you’re looking to build this expertise, Educative’s Grokking the Generative AI System Design promises a structured, practical path. But is it worth your time (and money)? Let’s dive in

In the past, I have reviewed many of my favorite courses on Educative like Grokking the System Design and Grokking the Low Level Design Interview Using OOD Principles course and in this article, I am going to review their newest course which I really liked, Grokking the Generative AI System Design.

While books and theoretical courses are a good starting point, but the real learning happens when you roll up your sleeves and build. That’s why project-based learning platforms like Educative.io are so valuable.

Their interactive, hands-on courses don’t just explain concepts — they give you the tools to implement, test, and deploy them in real-time.

If you’re aiming to crack Gen AI System Design interviews in 2026 then Grokking the Generative AI System Design is one of the best resources to prepare yourself for 2026 and beyond.

And, in the end, I’ll also share why getting Educative Unlimited is the smartest move if you want full access to these and other valuable resources.

What Is Generative AI, and What Is GenAI System Design?

Generative AI refers to AI models that can create new content — whether text, images, audio, or video — rather than just making predictions. Large language models (LLMs), diffusion models, and multi-modal models fall under this category.

GenAI System Design is the practice of architecting these models into production-ready systems:

  • How will you train large models on distributed infrastructure?
  • How will you deploy them to handle millions of requests efficiently?
  • How will you balance cost, performance, and user experience?

Designing these systems requires blending knowledge of machine learning, distributed computing, and software architecture — and that’s exactly where this course comes in.

Why Learn GenAI System Design for Interviews and Career Growth?

If you’re aiming for FAANG-level roles (L5+), unicorn startups, or AI-heavy product companies, system design questions focused on generative AI are becoming more common.

Hiring managers now expect candidates to:
1. Understand how to architect scalable GenAI services
2. Estimate compute needs and infrastructure costs
3. Make trade-offs in latency, throughput, and cost
4. Handle data privacy, security, and ethical concerns

Even if you’re not preparing for interviews, these skills help you:

  • Build AI-powered products that actually work in the real world
  • Communicate effectively with infra teams, data engineers, and stakeholders
  • Stay ahead as GenAI reshapes the tech landscape

Introducing Educative’s Grokking the Generative AI System Design

Grokking the Generative AI System Design (Educative) is a comprehensive, text-based interactive course that helps you master GenAI system design with practical, step-by-step guidance.

The course is built by MAANG-level engineers and covers both:

  • Foundations — neural networks, transformers, embeddings, tokenization
  • Applied system design — training/deployment architectures for text-to-text, text-to-image, text-to-speech, and text-to-video models

The highlight of the course is its SCALED framework, a 6-step system for designing GenAI systems in a structured, repeatable way.

What Does This Course Cover?

Here’s what you’ll learn:
✅ The basics of GenAI and distributed ML
✅ A 6-step framework (SCALED) for GenAI system design
✅ Back-of-the-envelope calculations for infra planning
✅ Training + deployment designs for real-world systems:

  • ChatGPT-like text-to-text systems
  • DALL·E-like text-to-image generators
  • ElevenLabs-style text-to-speech
  • Sora-style text-to-video
  • How to estimate, evaluate, and optimize GenAI systems
  • Mock interview questions to test your skills

Here is the link to join this course —

What This Course Does Not Cover

❌ This is not a hands-on coding or model-training course (you won’t write PyTorch/TensorFlow code)
❌ It assumes you’re familiar with basic ML concepts — it’s not for complete AI beginners
❌ There’s no video — it’s entirely interactive text with quizzes and mock interviews

How Is This Course Beneficial?

Here are the key benefits of joining this course:

  • Interview prep: Prepares you for system design rounds focused on AI/LLMs
  • Practical architecture skills: Helps you design scalable, cost-efficient GenAI systems
  • Industry relevance: Content designed by ex-MAANG engineers, reflecting real-world challenges
  • Reusable framework: The SCALED approach can be applied across GenAI system types

Is Grokking the AI System Design Really Worth it?

If your goal is to confidently design production-ready GenAI systems — for interviews, work, or personal projects — Educative’s Grokking the Generative AI System Design is absolutely worth it.

It combines the right level of depth, practical case studies, and a clear framework — helping you stand out in interviews and build real-world skills.

Whether you are an ML/software engineer, AI enthusiast, or manager, this course will equip you to design, train, and deploy generative AI models for various use cases. You will gain confidence to approach new challenges in GenAI and leverage advanced techniques to create impactful solutions.

Here is the link to joint his course — Generative AI System Design

Why Consider Educative Unlimited?

If you’re interested in Grokking the Generative AI System Design, chances are you’ll also benefit from Educative’s other top-tier AI/system design courses — like:

  • Grokking the System Design Interview
  • Become an LLM Engineer
  • Generative AI Essentials
  • Grokking Modern ML System Design

Instead of buying just this course, Educative Unlimited gives you full access to all of these (and hundreds more) at one flat price.

It’s the smarter choice if you’re serious about AI, system design, or FAANG interview prep.

Another good thing is that Educative is now offering a whopping 55% discount on their yearly subscription. As a developer, there is a lot to learn and sometimes you want the simplicity of taking multiple courses without paying for each one.

Here is the link to get discount — Educative.io Unlimited 55% OFF

With this subscription model, you can now just pay once and get a full access to every course on Educative.

If you’re serious about mastering AI engineering in 2026, Educative Unlimited is a no-brainer. Instead of hopping between platforms, you get one subscription that covers it all — with hands-on, project-based learning that’s miles ahead of dry textbooks.

Conclusion

That’s all in this review of Grokking the Generative AI System Design course on Educative. This is one of its kind course and I highly recommend it.

Generative AI (GenAI) has rapidly moved from being a cutting-edge research topic to a must-have capability for modern software engineers, machine learning practitioners, and tech leaders.

From chatbots like ChatGPT to image generators like DALL·E and text-to-speech systems like ElevenLabs — GenAI powers the tools we interact with daily.

They are now also entering interviews and this course will give you the edge over other candidates.

Other Awesome Resources from Educative.io You may like

Thanks for reading this article so far. If you like these AI, ML and LLM Engineering courses then please share with your friends and colleagues. If you have any questions or suggestions feel free to leave a comment.

P. S. — If you are new to AI and LLM Engineering worth then I also suggest you to go through this Machine Learning Handbook and Generative AI Handbook, both are great resources for any who want to learn Artificial Intelligence in depth.