Fundamentals of Generative AI and Large Language Models: Theory and Practice

ABOUT THE COURSE: This course provides a rigorous exploration of modern generative AI, covering latent-variable models such as Autoencoders, VAEs, GANs, and Diffusion Models that form the backbone of contemporary generative systems. Learners will develop a deep understanding of probabilistic modeling, adversarial training dynamics, denoising diffusion processes, and latent space manipulation for high-fidelity data generation. The sequence modeling module bridges classical NLP with modern architectures, introducing RNNs, LSTMs, and culminating in the Transformer framework that powers today’s Large Language Models. Emphasis is placed on mathematical foundations, architectural intuition, and practical implementation using widely adopted deep learning libraries. By the end of the course, learners will be equipped to analyze, design, and implement state-of-the-art generative models and LLM-based systems across diverse application domains. INTENDED AUDIENCE: UG and PG students of all the AICTE affiliated institutions PREREQUISITES: Students must have completed introductory courses in Programming and Machine Learning/Deep Learning. Knowledge of Python and basic mathematical concepts is necessary to follow the hands-on exercises. INDUSTRY SUPPORT: Generative AI and Large Language Models are now core technologies adopted across global and Indian industries, including software, healthcare, finance, retail, manufacturing, and creative design. Companies such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, NVIDIA, IBM, OpenAI, and leading Indian organizations like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, LTIMindtree, Tech Mahindra, and Cognizant actively recruit professionals skilled in generative modeling and LLMs. AI-driven startups such as HuggingFace, Stability AI, Rephrase.ai, Sarvam AI, and Qure.ai also value these competencies for developing foundation models, multimodal AI systems, and domain-specific generative applications. This course equips learners with the theoretical and practical exper…