The AI Accelerator is built as a pathway, not a one-off workshop. Start with Level 1 if you’re new to AI, or if you already have the basics, move straight into Level 2 to get strategic. Both levels are delivered as live weekly sessions with a private Slack community, real mentor support, and a credential at the end.
AI Accelerator
Build your AI advantage, one level at a time
A two-level AI fluency program for women in digital and tech, from your first prompt to leading AI strategy in your organisation. Choose the level that matches where you are, and build real, working skills you’ll use immediately.
What is the AI Accelerator?
Over 90% of organisations are now using AI tools, and around half of employees engage with generative AI regularly. But the gap is real: women are adopting AI less often, and remain underrepresented in the leadership conversations shaping how it’s used. WID’s own Mind the Gap research backs this up, only 41% of people trust AI accuracy overall, and that number drops to 37% for women. Closing that gap starts with capability, not confidence alone.
- 90%+ of organisations now use AI tools
- 41% trust AI accuracy overall (37% for women)
- $1.8B potential annual boost to the Australian economy from closing the gender gap in tech over 20 years
AI fluency should be accessible, practical and career-accelerating. That’s what this program is built for.
Have more questions? We will be hosting two information sessions to provide you with more information on the course and help you select the right level. Register today!
How the program works
Level 1: AI Ready
- Best for women new to AI tools and concepts
- Starts Tuesday 29 September 2026
- Duration: 8 weeks
- Format: Weekly live online sessions + Slack community+ you’ll build your own custom AI assistant
- What else: Access to industry mentors through our mentor circles, and a community of peers, not a library of videos. You will also have dedicated in-session time to apply what you’ve learned, not just homework.
- Commitment: Each week is a live one-hour online session (recorded if you can’t make it) plus homework and application, so allow two to three hours a week in total to get the most out of the program.
- Cost: $399 +GST (WID Members) | $599 +GST (WID Non-Members, includes a WID Annual Membership*)
*Valued at $199. Your WID Annual Membership starts on the payment date and automatically renews each year at the then-current rate, charged to the payment method used at checkout, unless you cancel before your renewal date. Cancel anytime via the Members Portal or by emailing membership@womenindigital.org.
Level 2: AI Capable
- Best for women who already use AI but want to go deeper and be more strategic
- Starts Wednesday 30 September 2026
- Duration: 10 weeks (prerequisite: Level 1 or equivalent experience)
- Format: Weekly live sessions + Slack community + live showcase + you’ll build a working automation or multi-agent workflow, plus a business case
- What else: Access to industry mentors through our mentor circles, and a community of peers, not a library of videos. You will also have dedicated in-session time to apply what you’ve learned, not just homework.
- Commitment: Each week is a live one-hour online session (recorded if you can’t make it) plus homework and application, so allow two to three hours a week in total to get the most out of the program.
- Cost: $599 +GST (WID Members) | $799 +GST (WID Non-Members, includes a WID Annual Membership*)
*Valued at $199. Your WID Annual Membership starts on the payment date and automatically renews each year at the then-current rate, charged to the payment method used at checkout, unless you cancel before your renewal date. Cancel anytime via the Members Portal or by emailing membership@womenindigital.org.
Meet your Facilitator
Kara Bombell, Founder of EthicAI
Kara is a strategic operations leader with over 15 years transforming businesses, including as Chief Operations Officer at Digitas and Executive Director of Operations at Isobar. She holds qualifications in AI and Business Strategy from MIT Sloan and the Ethics of AI from the London School of Economics, and now runs EthicAI, helping organisations embed AI and automation in ways that serve business goals and the people doing the work. Her approach puts human judgement, ethics and creativity at the centre of the AI conversation, not just speed or cost-cutting.
Accelerator Overview
Level 1: AI Ready
From “I’ve never used this” to your own working AI assistant, in 8 weeks.
Who it’s for:
- You’re in a non-technical role and want to future-proof your career
- You want clear guidance on where AI actually fits in your day-to-day work
- You’re in a technical role but want a practical implementation lens
- You’d rather build confidence with responsible AI use than just move fast
Curriculum at a glance
We believe AI fluency should be accessible, practical, and career-accelerating.
- Tuesday 29 Sep | Foundations & the AI Landscape – Understanding AI & setting strategic direction
- Tuesday 6 Oct | Mastering & Verifying AI Outputs – From basic queries to trustworthy outputs
- Tuesday 13 Oct | Practice & Mentoring Circle – Consolidating your prompting skills with mentor support
- Tuesday 20 Oct | Customise AI Assistants – Building the bot
- Tuesday 27 Oct | Customise AI Assistants – Knowledge & testing, making your assistant reliable
- Tuesday 3 Nov | Practice & Mentoring – Testing, troubleshooting & refining your assistant
- Tuesday 10 Nov | Responsible AI in Practice – The five dimensions, benchmarked to the National AI Centre standard
- Tuesday 17 Nov | Consolidation, Mentor Panel & Personal Showcase – Present your working assistant, pathway into Level 2
Throughout the course, live sessions will be conducted from 1.00pm – 2.00pm AEDT
By Week 8, you’ll walk away with a working custom AI assistant built around your real job, a personal prompt library.
Level 2: AI Capable
Go from using AI tools to leading AI strategy, in 10 weeks.
Who it’s for:
- You’ve got the basics and now want to identify high-impact use cases in your organisation
- You want to build a real automation or multi-agent workflow, not just prompt one tool at a time
- You need to build a business case, with a clear ROI and risk story, for stakeholders
- You’ve been asked to help your team through AI-driven change and want to do it well
Curriculum at a glance
We believe AI fluency should be accessible, practical, and career-accelerating.
- Wednesday 30 Sept | Use Case Mapping & Workflow Analysis – From individual tools to organisational strategies
- Wednesday Wed 7 Oct | Risk, Ethics & ROI for AI Use Cases – Building the business case and understanding the impact
- Wednesday 14 Oct | Automation Fundamentals – Moving beyond single tools
- Wednesday 21 Oct | AI Agents and Agentic AI – Understand the concepts and difference between sophisticated AI workflows.
- Wednesday 28 Oct | AI Agent Build session – Choose one of 3 AI agents to build and run locally
- Wednesday 4 Nov | Agentic AI Build session – Choose one of 3 Agentic workflows to build and run.
- Wednesday 11 Nov | Practice & Mentoring Circle – Testing, troubleshooting & getting unstuck
- Wednesday 18 Nov | Change Management for AI-Enabled Teams – Leading your team through the change, not just the tool
- Wednesday 25 Nov | Workshop: Troubleshooting & Peer Build – Getting unstuck, together
- Wednesday 2 Dec | Showcase, Measurement & Next Steps – Present your solution, plan what’s next
Throughout the course, live sessions will be conducted from 1.00pm – 2.00pm AEDT
By Week 10, you’ll present a working automation or multi-agent solution with measured impact, a business case ready for your leadership team, and a clear roadmap for what’s next.
FAQ’s
- Which level should I start with?
- Can I do Level 1 and Level 2 back to back?
- What tools do I need?
- I can’t attend some sessions. Are they recorded?
- How much time do I need each week?
- Can I get a refund if I can’t attend my WID Academy course?
- Can I transfer my spot to someone else?
- Is the membership included in my course fee refundable?
- What happens if WID postpones my cohort?
Which level should I start with?
Use our AI Accelerator Program Finder to help determine whether you are AI Ready or AI Capable. Still have questions? Reach out to our team for support via hi@womenindigital.org
Can I do Level 1 and Level 2 back to back?
Not within the same intake. AI Ready (Level 1) and AI Capable (Level 2) run concurrently, so the two schedules overlap and you can’t be in both cohorts at once.
What you can do is complete one level now and pick up the other when we run the program again in 2027. So if you start with AI Ready this round, you’d be first in line for AI Capable next year.
What tools do I need?
Free versions of an LLM (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot) are fine for Level 1. For Level 2, you’ll need a paid version of one of these tools to complete the course requirements, plus your own account with the automation platform(s) used in the build weeks (this covers things like the client research agent and triage/draft workflow projects).
I can’t attend some sessions. Are they recorded?
Yes, sessions are recorded and available if you miss one live. That said, we’d encourage you to join live wherever you can, the discussion, Q&A and mentor circle moments are hard to fully get back from a recording.
How much time do I need each week?
Allocate one hour for the live session, plus another one to two hours for research, homework and putting what you’ve learned into practice. Aim for two to three hours a week, and you’ll get the most out of the program.
Can I get a refund if I can’t attend my WID Academy course?
Yes. Cancel 14 days or more before your cohort starts and you’ll get a full refund of your course tuition. Cancel 7 to 13 days before and you’ll get 50% back. Inside 7 days, or once the course has started, refunds aren’t available, but a transfer might be.
Can I transfer my spot to someone else?
Yes, any time before your cohort starts, at no charge. Email hi@womenindigital.org with your details and the new participant’s details and we’ll take care of the rest.
Is the membership included in my course fee refundable?
No. If your course fee included WID membership, that part isn’t refundable, even within the full-refund window. Refunds only apply to the course tuition component of your fee.
What happens if WID postpones my cohort?
If a cohort doesn’t reach minimum numbers, we postpone rather than cancel. Your enrolment automatically carries over to the next cohort at no extra cost. If you’d rather have a refund instead, let us know within 10 business days of being notified.