Your Instructor
Tom Givoni
I studied Computer Science at Monash University and have spent years tutoring students and helping them build confidence in technical subjects. When AI coding tools arrived, I became fascinated by how much they could open up software creation to people who had never thought of themselves as programmers. I created Tom's Launch Pad to give young people that experience early: the chance to turn their ideas into real software with the right guidance.
General Info
The class uses browser-based tools running on each student's own cloud computer, so there is no complicated local setup. A strong AI subscription makes a real difference to the quality of results students get.
Content
Over 10 sessions, you will build a project you choose yourself. Every concept is applied directly to your own app, so nothing stays theoretical for long.
Create Real Software
From day one, you build your own app, not a tutorial project but something you actually care about. By the end, you have working software you designed and shipped yourself.
Engineer with AI
You learn the prompt-build-refine loop: how to describe what you want, evaluate what you get, and iterate until it is right. Precision in communication is the core skill.
Understand How AI Works
Beyond just using AI, you build an intuition for how language models think, what they are good at, where they fall short, and why. This includes concepts like context windows and how memory works in AI conversations.
APIs and MCPs
You connect your app to the real world. APIs bring in live data like weather, sports, and news. MCPs go further, letting AI tools interact with real services like calendars and databases.
Think Critically About AI
You also talk honestly about the risks: deepfakes, bias in AI systems, job automation, and who gets left behind. Not as a lecture, but as a real conversation.