Make your own Chatbot 1 – Beginners

Would you like to learn how to build your own chatbot in UvA AI Chat for your work or teaching? In this practical beginner’s workshop, you will work step by step towards creating your first own chatbot (persona) that you can immediately build and use.

Course details

In this hands-on workshop, you will learn how to build an initial chatbot (persona) in UvA AI Chat for a specific task or application in your work or education. The workshop starts with the basics: first you explore what exactly your chatbot should do, who it is intended for, and what type of chatbot fits that purpose. Then, starting from an initial prompt, you will work step by step towards a fully functioning chatbot.

We will cover different types of chatbots, such as task-oriented chatbots, sparring partners, and helpdesk-like applications. You will learn how to test, improve, and refine your chatbot, including for difficult or unexpected situations. The focus is on small, concrete, and immediately useful applications. By the end of the workshop, each participant will have developed their own chatbot.

Intended Learning Outcome

  • Explaining why well-designed personas are valuable and distinguishing between the main types (task-oriented bots, discussion bots, and information-retrieval bots);
  • Knowing the design strategy for a simple persona, including the use of AI “cheat codes” to speed up development;
  • Recognising pitfalls and limitations in persona design and knowing how to avoid them;
  • Evaluating how and by whom personas can be created and used (individually, co-created, created by students), and clarifying the difference between personal and classroom use;
  • Being able to build a chatbot (persona) in UvA AI Chat yourself.

Good to know

Target audience UvA (teaching) staff who want to use AI in a practical way in their work or teaching.
Preparation No preparation required. Participants may bring a task, idea, or use case if they wish.
Language Dutch or English, depending on participants
Trainer Morten Strømme (GenAI Living Lab
Participants Minimum of 8, maximum of 30 participants
Location One of our UvA locations (see Registration)
Dates
  • Tuesday 1 December 2026 (1:00-3:00PM)
  • Wednesday 12 May 2027 (1:00-3:00PM)
Organised by GenAI Living Lab, TLC Central

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to have experience with AI to participate?

No, this workshop is intended as a beginner’s workshop.

Do I already need to know what kind of chatbot I want to build?

No, that can help, but during the workshop there is also room to first explore a possible application.

Is this a technical workshop?

No, you do not need to program. The workshop is about building and testing a chatbot within UvA AI Chat.

Registration

The course is funded from central funds. Signing up is not non-committal, we will count on your participation.

  • Registration buttons for employees with an @UvA.nl email address:
  • For AUC, ACTA or FdG (AMC) employees: send an email with your name, faculty and date for which you want to register to tlc-centraal@uva.nl

After registering, you will receive an automated invitation for your Outlook calendar (please don’t forget to accept). If the location is not yet known at that time, an update will follow later.

A proof of participation is available upon request. Please send an email to tlc-centraal@uva.nl after the course.

More information?