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The AI-Powered Strategist

Learn practical AI for the work you already do: Copilot decks, sharper reports, and stories stakeholders will use.

The next cohort starts September 22, 2026

Dr. John EnnisCourse instructor

Dr. Vanessa Rios de SouzaGuest instructor

Format
10-week live course
Live sessions
Tuesdays, 9:30-11:00 AM ET
Tuition
$2,297 early bird full course · $1,397 per part

For sensory scientists, consumer insights researchers, and research leaders who want practical AI workflows.

I've totally changed how I work with AI.

Joey Donovan, PhD, Sensory Director, Kantar · Read what participants say

What course participants say

Feedback from professionals across sensory science, consumer insights, and data analysis who took the course.

I would 100% recommend this course to both colleagues and clients. It successfully demystified AI and encouraged immediate application, which is essential for real learning.

Carolyn Corbett

Vice President, CSS/datatelligence

After all the practical experience and what I learned from the course, I've totally changed how I work with AI. I've seriously done things I never thought I could and much of it comes down to this mentality shift.

Joey Donovan, PhD

Sensory Director, Kantar

One of the traits that distinguishes John is the passion and excitement that he has for the subject. That excitement is contagious.

Stephen McIngvale

Senior Research Director, InsightsNow

Aigora's AI Mastery course does a fantastic job of pairing down the overwhelm of constant change in the world of AI by giving concrete applications for day to day work. Our niche industry isn't immune from this rapid overhaul — this course provides significant help to adapt in real time.

Alex Feldmeyer

MANE

I'm very impressed with the content of the course and the tips and tricks that were prepared. I've already implemented some of them with really encouraging results. I gained a lot of value just watching the prompting happen in real time.

David Harris

Sanitarium Health Food Company

I recommend this to my sensory community as an important step in staying ahead with what AI can do for us sensory-wise! I learned so much in just the first 5 weeks I could feel my brain neurons firing like they did at university.

Micaela Kraft

Sensory & Consumer Insights Project Leader

What you will be able to do

  • Make PowerPoint decks in Copilot. Turn the reports you already have into slides marketing will actually present. Includes a bonus workshop on AI for PowerPoint.

  • Turn data into stories. Move from static reports to POV narratives stakeholders can act on.

  • Build reusable AI workflows. Dependable prompting, synthesis, and reporting for everyday research work, including Copilot in the Microsoft stack you already use.

  • Generate report-ready visuals. Charts, mockups, infographics, and social assets from your data.

  • Grow your strategic value. Bring practical AI judgment to the team, without waiting on a data science hire.

Format, support, and commitment

Format

10-week experience, with a 90-minute live session each week. A new cohort is now enrolling. Spots are limited. Classes start September 22, 2026.

Live sessions: Tuesdays, 9:30-11:00 AM ET

Support

Weekly office hours with Dr. Ennis. Bring your own questions and learn in real time. Plus join 50+ professionals in the private LinkedIn group from Cohort 1 for ongoing networking and knowledge sharing.

Office hours:

  • Thursdays, 10:30-11:30 AM ET
  • Thursdays, 4:30-5:30 PM ET

Commitment & Prereqs

Plan for 3-5 hours per week. Part 1 has no prerequisites; Part 2 welcomes consumer scientists to AI-coding.

Meet your instructors

Dr. John Ennis

Dr. John Ennis

CEO & AI Pioneer, Aigora

With over 30 years in sensory science, a PhD in Mathematics, and a postdoctoral focus on AI, Dr. Ennis is regarded as the world's foremost authority on applying artificial intelligence to sensory and consumer science. Author of 50+ publications and 4 books.

LinkedIn
Dr. Vanessa Rios de Souza

Dr. Vanessa Rios de Souza

Director of Client Solutions, Aigora

70+ scientific publications. Co-author of Data Science for Sensory and Consumer Scientists. PhD in Sensory Science with deep expertise across global consumer research programs.

LinkedIn

Your Complete AI Accelerator Toolkit

Organized research documents and data tables

The Aigora Master Datakit

A rich collection of mock datasets, protocol documents, surveys, and reports mirroring everyday sensory & consumer science workflows.

AI Toolkit with prompt templates and tools

Aigora AI Toolkit

One-year exclusive access to our custom prompting and AI augmentation tools, including image generation and video workflows.

Coffee mugs and notebooks suggesting mentorship

Community & Office Hours

Join 50+ professionals in the private LinkedIn group from Cohort 1. Weekly office hours with Dr. Ennis give you direct, unstructured access. Bring your own questions and learn in real time.

Headphones on laptop for on-demand learning

Recordings & Flexibility

All live sessions are recorded so you can review at your own pace. Miss a week? Catch up on your schedule.

The 10-Week Journey from reports to working systems

A structured progression in two parts: master the strategic foundations first, then level up with hands-on technical skills.

Knowledge synthesis and visual storytelling workspace

Weeks 1-5

Part 1: The No-Code Strategist

Master knowledge synthesis, prompt engineering, and multimodal storytelling. No coding required.

RAG workflows, Model Empathy & the AI Taxonomy
10-Component prompt engineering framework
AI image, video & audio for visual storytelling

OUTCOME: Multimodal POV narratives that move stakeholders

Data science laboratory with code and sample analysis

Weeks 6-10

Part 2: The Low-Code Power User

Use AI as your coding partner to build reproducible data science systems and deploy interactive apps. Zero prior experience needed.

R & Python with AI as your Pair Programmer
Git, version control & reproducible systems
Deploy interactive Shiny apps & API integration

OUTCOME: Deployed interactive app with live data pipelines

Week-by-week details

Part 1: Knowledge Synthesis, GenAI & Visual Storytelling (Weeks 1-5)

Week 1: Knowledge synthesis with RAG. Produce citation-backed insights.

Objective: How models process information: tokens, embeddings, and context windows. Practice Model Empathy (showing the model where to look) and run the RAG flow with Deep Research, THEUS, and NotebookLM for traceable, citation-backed insights.

Week 2: The AI taxonomy and prompting. Write dependable prompts.

Objective: LLMs are probabilistic pattern recognizers, not search engines. Classify tools from models and wrappers to RAG systems, workflows, and agents, then apply the 10-Component Framework for prompt engineering, with data security and open formats (JSON, Markdown) along the way.

Week 3: The parsing gap. Turn messy data into AI-ready inputs.

Objective: Convert unstructured raw data into clean, machine-readable formats. Compare small-RAG tools (NotebookLM for private document synthesis, Copilot for web and workspace integration) and analyze SKU scorecards and research trends with the Aigora Master Datakit.

Week 4: The visual toolkit. Generate report-ready images from data.

Objective: Use the 4-step prompt-to-image workflow (Define, Contextualize, Synthesize, Refine) with tools like Nano Banana Pro, Aigora Image Maker, and Copilot to produce product mockups, enhanced charts, infographics, whiteboard sketches, and social assets.

Week 5: Multimodal communication. Build video and audio narratives.

Objective: Bridge dense data and executive reality with video and audio AI. Move from static prompting to conversational editing, with motion keyframing, sonic branding, and an exercise on priming emotion through visuals and sound.

Part 2: AI-Assisted Data Science, Coding & Apps (Weeks 6-10)

Week 6: The technical foundation. Stand up your AI-assisted stack.

Objective: Set up R, Python, GitHub, and Posit/RStudio. Learn where AI excels (rapid boilerplate) and where humans lead (architecture and technical debt), plus the 5-Stage Segmented Workflow and the 99% Rule: 99% accuracy requires 100% proper context.

Week 7: The data science workflow. Refine raw data into a golden dataset.

Objective: Work across collection, preparation, analysis, and value delivery. Use AI to generate designs of experiments, script data imports, align panelist metrics, and produce PCA biplots and executive summaries from dense datasets.

Week 8: Version control. Build reproducible analysis systems.

Objective: Move from ad-hoc scripts to reproducible systems with a pair-programmer working style. Use RStudio, Git, GitHub, and GitKraken as a scientific safety net for code history, directory standards, and pull requests.

Week 9: The app builder. Deploy an interactive Shiny app.

Objective: Turn analytical scripts into stakeholder tools with Shiny (app.R or app.py). Separate the UI from the server logic, then deploy behind the company firewall (Posit Connect) or to the public cloud (shinyapps.io).

Week 10: API integration. Automate data pipelines end to end.

Objective: The capstone week: call APIs and connect external data sources inside R, linking your analytical workflows to live services and automating pipelines end to end.

Want the vocabulary before the journey? Browse the free AI course glossary, every key term from all ten weeks with a printable cheat sheet.

Investment Options for Every Journey

A new cohort is now enrolling. Spots are limited.

Early Bird Pricing · Limited Time

Individual Course Enrollment

A new cohort is now enrolling. Spots are limited. Classes start September 22, 2026. The cohort uses the same 10-week live format, weekly office hours, and recorded sessions.

EARLY BIRD

Part 1 Only

Part 1: The No-Code Strategist

Weeks 1-5 · Strategic + Narrative Systems

Regular $1,697

Early bird price $1,397

Save $300 with early bird pricing

  • ✓ Copilot PowerPoint from existing reports
  • ✓ Data Synthesis & Narrative
  • ✓ Privacy-First Prompting
  • ✓ Image/Video Generation
  • ✓ 5 Weeks Live Instruction
Request an invoice

Team enrollment of $5,000 or more can use net-30 invoicing. Ask about team enrollment

Enrollment reserves your Part 1 seat in the next cohort.

EARLY BIRD

Part 2 - Weeks 6-10

Part 2: The Low-Code Power User

Technical Build Systems

Regular $1,697

Early bird price $1,397

Save $300 with early bird pricing

  • ✓ AI-Assisted R Coding
  • ✓ Interactive Shiny Apps & API Integration
  • ✓ Git, Version Control & Reproducible Systems
  • ✓ 5 Weeks Live Instruction
  • ✓ Weekly Office Hours with Dr. Ennis
  • ✓ Master Datakit + AI Toolkit
  • ✓ Certificate of Completion
Request an invoice

Team enrollment of $5,000 or more can use net-30 invoicing. Ask about team enrollment

Enrollment reserves your Part 2 seat in the next cohort.

Every enrollment includes:

  • ✓ Live sessions & recordings
  • ✓ Private community + weekly office hours
  • ✓ Aigora Master Datakit & AI Toolkit
  • ✓ Shared seat license support for teams
  • ✓ Certificate of completion

Can't make the live cohort?

The full session archive is available on demand, with every transcript, prompt, and dataset. Get the recordings.

🎓

Returning Students Get 50% Off

Already completed a previous cohort? Each new cohort features updated content, fresh case studies, and the latest AI tools. Come back and pay half price on any enrollment tier.

Contact us to verify your prior enrollment and receive your discount.

Academic & Non-Profit Discount

We offer special pricing for academic institutions and mission-driven organizations. Contact us to learn about discounted enrollment options.

Valid .edu email or non-profit verification required

Frequently Asked Questions

When does the next cohort start?

A new cohort is now enrolling. Spots are limited. Classes start September 22, 2026.

When are the live sessions and office hours held?

Live sessions are held Tuesdays, 9:30-11:00 AM ET. Weekly office hours with Dr. John Ennis are offered Thursdays, 10:30-11:30 AM ET and Thursdays, 4:30-5:30 PM ET, so you can join whichever fits your schedule. All sessions are recorded.

What are the technical prerequisites for Part 2?

Part 2 assumes the data science literacy typical of a sensory or consumer scientist: familiarity with data structures, basic statistics, and working with tabular data. No advanced programming background is needed; the course teaches you to use AI as your coding partner across the entire workflow, from building your tech stack and writing R scripts to version control and deploying interactive apps.

Are the sessions recorded?

Yes. Every live session and office hour is recorded and uploaded to the private community within 24 hours, so your team can revisit the material on their schedule. If live timing does not work for you, course recordings and resource access are available separately. Contact us to discuss access.

What if I have limited coding experience? Can I still take Part 2?

Yes. If you have the data science background typical of sensory and consumer scientists (understanding data structures, basic statistics, and working with spreadsheets), Part 2 will meet you where you are. AI does the heavy lifting as your "Pair Programmer," generating code while you direct the architecture and logic. By Week 9 you will have built and deployed an interactive web app.

I work primarily in Sensory Analysis. Is this course too focused on Consumer Insights?

No. The AI methods we teach are agnostic. Part 2 covers how to automate rigorous statistical workflows that sensory analysts spend hours coding manually, build interactive web applications, and deploy data-driven tools for any research domain.

What happens if I miss a live session?

All sessions will be recorded and available on-demand. You can ask questions in the private community forum and during weekly office hours.

How much time commitment is expected per week?

Expect to spend 3-5 hours per week, including live sessions, self-paced learning, and project work.

What software do I need?

All you need is a modern web browser and a stable internet connection. We reference Gemini, Flow, Claude, Copilot, and other mainstream AI tools, but no paid software purchase is required.

Can I pay by invoice instead of Stripe?

Each enrollment tier has a "Request an invoice" option next to the Stripe checkout button. Choose it and we will send an invoice payable by wire, ACH, or check. Team enrollment of $5,000 or more can be invoiced net-30. Your seat is confirmed once payment clears.

I took the course before. Can I get a discount to retake it?

Yes! Returning students receive 50% off any enrollment tier. Each cohort features updated content, new case studies, and the latest AI tools, so there is always something new to learn. Contact us to verify your prior enrollment and receive your discount.

How does the Shared Seat License work?

One Full Course enrollment covers two people from the same organization. One attends Weeks 1-5 live, the other attends Weeks 6-10 live. Both get every session recording, all course materials, and access to the private LinkedIn group, so each person can follow the half they did not attend on their own schedule. Each person earns a certificate for the part they attended. One thing to know before you split a seat: the AI Toolkit license is a single seat and has to be assigned to one named person. If both people need their own Toolkit access, contact us before enrolling and we will quote a second license.

Who gets a certificate?

Anyone who attends gets a certificate for the parts they attended. Complete the full ten weeks and the certificate covers the full course. Attend Part 1 or Part 2 only, whether you enrolled in that part or split a Shared Seat License with a colleague, and the certificate names that part. Two people splitting one enrollment each get their own certificate for their own half.

Don't see your question? We're happy to help.

Contact us with questions

Get AI help writing your approval letter

Need your manager to sign off on the course? This prompt interviews you about your role and your reader, then writes the business case in your own words.

Step 1

Copy the prompt below using the button

Step 2

Paste it into your AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot)

Step 3

Answer the questions it asks about your role and situation

Step 4

Read the draft, check the facts it lists, then send it

Show the meta-prompt: paste into Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot
Expand
Meta-prompt

You're going to help me draft a business case requesting approval (and budget) to enroll in the Aigora "AI for Sensory and Consumer Science" course. But before we write anything, I need you to work with me through a structured discovery process so the letter is specific, persuasive, and tailored to my situation.

First, get the current facts. Everything in the next paragraph was accurate as of August 2026. Dates, pricing, and curriculum change from cohort to cohort. If you can browse the web, open https://aigora.ai/ai-course now and use what you find there wherever it disagrees with this prompt. If you can't browse, say so plainly in your first reply and tell me to confirm the current start date and price at https://aigora.ai/ai-course before I send anything.

About the course (as of August 2026): It's a 10-week, live, instructor-led program taught by Dr. John Ennis (CEO of Aigora, PhD in Mathematics, 50+ publications, 4 books on sensory science) and Dr. Vanessa Rios de Souza (Director of Client Solutions at Aigora, 70+ publications, co-author of "Data Science for Sensory and Consumer Scientists"). The next cohort starts September 22, 2026, and live sessions run Tuesdays, 9:30-11:00 AM ET. The course has two parts: Part 1 (Weeks 1-5) covers AI strategy, prompt engineering, and multimodal storytelling with no coding required. Part 2 (Weeks 6-10) covers AI-assisted data science, R programming, Shiny app deployment, and API integration. Students in the first cohort reported reducing standard descriptive analysis reports from 4 days to under 4 hours. Full Course enrollment includes a Shared Seat License: two people from the same organization split the ten weeks, one attending Weeks 1-5 live and the other Weeks 6-10, with both getting the recordings, the materials, and the private LinkedIn group. The AI Toolkit license is one seat assigned to one named person. Early bird price is $2,297 against a standard price of $2,697.

Step 1: Learn About Me

Start by asking me the following, one natural exchange at a time. Don't dump all the questions at once. Have a conversation.

  • My name, title, and department
  • The organization I work for and roughly how large it is
  • What my core job responsibilities are, especially anything involving sensory evaluation, consumer research, data analysis, or reporting
  • Who the letter will be addressed to (my manager, VP, L&D, a committee) and what matters to them
  • Whether I'd be enrolling solo or splitting a Shared Seat License with a colleague
  • Whether my organization has sent people to professional development before, and what the typical approval process looks like
  • Whether there are specific pain points in my current workflow (slow reporting, manual data cleaning, stakeholder presentations that fall flat)

Step 2: Build the Business Case

Once you understand my situation, help me construct arguments across these dimensions. Draw on what you've learned about my role and organization.

Productivity and efficiency:

  • Specific tasks that currently take hours but could take minutes with AI assistance
  • The "4 days to 4 hours" result the first cohort reported for standard descriptive analysis reports (ANOVA, PCA biplot, product summaries, executive narrative). Attribute it as student-reported, not as a guarantee.
  • Automation of repetitive analysis, reporting, or data cleaning
  • Return on investment: hours saved per month versus course cost

Skill development and strategic value:

  • The course is built for sensory and consumer scientists, so the examples and datasets are from this field rather than from generic AI training
  • The instructors are named above. Use their actual credentials rather than calling them leaders in the field
  • Practical skills from Week 1, not theory-heavy content that never gets applied
  • Part 2 students build and deploy working interactive web applications
  • Graduates of earlier cohorts report using these skills in their regular work

Risk of inaction:

  • AI adoption in consumer insights is accelerating; teams that wait will fall behind
  • Competitors are already investing in AI capabilities for their research teams
  • Building internal AI capability is cheaper and more sustainable than hiring consultants or buying point solutions

Privacy and compliance (important for regulated industries):

  • All training uses mock datasets; no proprietary data leaves the organization
  • Aigora is SOC 2 compliant: we follow SOC 2 practices, and our infrastructure providers are SOC 2 certified. Our own independent Type II examination is in progress. The report has not yet been issued. Current deployments inherit controls from Vercel and Neon. Default workspaces are ephemeral (24-hour cache) unless durable storage is enabled by an organization admin.
  • Students keep all scripts, tools, and code they build
  • The course teaches responsible AI practices including hallucination detection and the Permission/Proprietary/Approved security framework

The shared seat angle:

  • The Shared Seat License puts two people through one Full Course enrollment
  • One person attends Weeks 1-5 live, a colleague attends Weeks 6-10, and they cross-train each other afterward
  • Both get the recordings, the materials, and the private LinkedIn group, so each can follow the half they did not attend
  • Be accurate about the limit: the AI Toolkit license is one seat assigned to one named person. Do not describe this as two full enrollments

Step 3: Write the Letter

Now draft the letter. Follow these rules strictly.

Structure and persuasion:

  • Lead with a concrete problem or opportunity the reader cares about, not with the course itself
  • Frame every benefit in terms of business outcomes, not course features
  • Include a brief cost-benefit sketch with rough numbers based on my actual work
  • Mention the Shared Seat License if I'm planning to split a seat with a colleague
  • End with a clear, specific ask and a suggested next step (a quick meeting, a trial approval, a call with Aigora)
  • Keep it to one page if possible, two at most

Writing quality. Make it sound like a real person wrote it:

  • IMPORTANT: Don't use em-dashes or emojis at all
  • Write the way a thoughtful professional actually talks: direct, confident, specific
  • Vary sentence length. Mix short punchy statements with longer explanatory ones.
  • Use concrete examples from my actual work, not generic business language
  • Avoid these giveaway phrases: "leverage," "utilize," "in today's rapidly evolving landscape," "it's important to note that," "streamline workflows," "empower teams," "I hope this message finds you well," "I wanted to reach out," "please don't hesitate to"
  • Don't hedge everything. If something is clearly true, state it plainly.
  • Use contractions naturally where a real person would
  • If you catch yourself writing a sentence that could appear in any business letter at any company about any topic, delete it and write something specific to my situation
  • Read it back: does it sound like something I would actually say to my boss in a meeting? If not, rewrite it until it does

Step 4: Review Together

After drafting, ask me:

  • Does this sound like me? What would I say differently?
  • Is anything missing about my specific situation?
  • Is the tone right for my reader?
  • Should we add anything about how I'd share what I learn with the broader team? Then revise based on my feedback.

Step 5: Hand It Back Properly

When we're done revising, do all of this before you finish:

  • Tell me directly to read the whole letter start to finish before I send it. This letter goes out under my name to my manager, so I own every word in it.
  • List every fact in the letter that came from you rather than from me: dates, prices, the course structure, the "4 days to 4 hours" figure, any number you calculated. Tell me to check each one against https://aigora.ai/ai-course.
  • Say plainly which parts you estimated or assumed, especially any hours-saved or cost-benefit math. I gave you rough inputs, so those are estimates, and my manager may push on them.
  • Point out anything you were unsure about, so I can fix it rather than discover it in a meeting. Do not skip this step, and do not soften it. A letter with a wrong price or a stale start date in it costs me credibility with the person I'm asking.

This meta-prompt was developed by Dr. John Ennis and the Aigora.ai team as a resource for prospective students of the AI for Sensory and Consumer Science course.

The prompt runs a structured conversation to learn your situation before it writes anything, so the letter sounds like you rather than like a template. It also asks the assistant to check this page for current dates and pricing, and to hand you a list of every fact you should verify before the letter goes out.

Still Have Questions?

Let's have a strategic conversation about how this course can sharpen your team's capabilities.

Step 1

Secure enrollment + access toolkit

Each enrollment tier has a "Request an invoice" option next to the Stripe checkout button. Choose it and we will send an invoice payable by wire, ACH, or check. Team enrollment of $5,000 or more can be invoiced net-30. Your seat is confirmed once payment clears. We send the onboarding kit after payment is confirmed.

Step 2

Join the private community

You'll be added to the cohort workspace, gain access to session recordings, and meet peers ahead of the cohort kickoff on September 22, 2026.

Step 3

Start on day one

Join live Part 1 on September 22, 2026, then continue into Part 2 on schedule. If live timing does not work, contact us about recordings and resource access.

Prefer to pay by invoice? Every enrollment tier has a request an invoice option. We handle your information according to our Privacy Policy.