The Sovereign Apprentice Workshop
AI literacy for new engineers: earning the judgment the tools let you skip
(Available as a one-day masterclass or a two-day bootcamp; in-person and remote)
New engineers can now produce work that looks like it came from someone with ten years’ experience, and then cannot explain, debug or defend it. This workshop does not ask anyone to give up their tools. It rebuilds the judgment the tools let a beginner skip.
This workshop is based on my book The Sovereign Apprentice: AI Literacy for New Engineers. Exercises use realistic code, such as a payment retry that charges the customer twice and an inherited billing module whose author has left.
It is highly interactive, designed with Sharon Bowman’s Training from the Back of the Room approach: short concept segments, then hands-on practice with real AI agents, debriefs and your own written conclusions. The one-day masterclass covers the core practices with hands-on work throughout. The two-day bootcamp covers the full progression, with more time on realistic code.
Best for groups of around 12 to 24, working in pairs. Sending your senior engineers too? The Sovereign Engineer workshop pairs with this one: seniors learn to design the environment, and juniors learn to earn their sign-off within it.
Workshop Flow
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Session 1: Know What You Want First
Decide what you want before the tool decides for you
Write a sentence of intent before every prompt
Notice when a fluent answer has quietly changed your question
Exercises include: stating your intent before you prompt, on realistic code
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Session 2: Break It Before You Approve It
Try to break generated work instead of approving it
Check your confidence before every review
Exercises include: a payment retry that charges the customer twice
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Session 3: Stay Stuck Long Enough to Learn
Stay with a problem long enough to learn something
Understand the rules you follow, not just follow them
Exercises include: an inherited billing module whose author has left
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Session 4: Write Down Why
Write down why before a decision disappears into a fluent plan
Turn what you learned into maxims in your own words
Exercises include: starting your own short handbook of maxims
For engineers in their first years, final-year students and bootcamp graduates who want to explain, debug and defend the work their tools produce
You’ll leave this workshop with:
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A sentence of intent before every prompt, so you know what you want before the tool decides for you.
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A confidence check before every review, so you try to break generated work before you approve it.
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The patience to stay stuck long enough to learn, and to understand the rules you follow.
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A short handbook of maxims in your own words, to carry into every piece of work you sign off.