Understand RAG Basics

"Understand RAG Basics" is an intermediate course for developers and data scientists who want to build more powerful and trustworthy AI applications. While Large Language Models (LLMs) are revolutionary, they often lack specific, up-to-date knowledge and can hallucinate answers. This 2-hour course provides the fundamental solution: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). You will need to be familiar with basic Python, API, and LLMs. You will also need Python and a code editor like VS Code installed locally. Focused on practical application, this course transitions from theory to execution. You will begin by learning to diagram the core components of a RAG architecture (the retriever, the generator, and the vector database) to understand its data flow. Then, you will translate that knowledge into a functioning application. Through a hands-on project that mirrors a real-world job task, you will use Python to build a minimal RAG pipeline, complete with a local vector store, to successfully ground an LLM with external facts. By the end, you'll be able to build intelligent systems that provide accurate, context-aware answers derived from your own data

• Describe RAG architecture and components
• Build a basic RAG pipeline to augment LLM with retrieved context
• Understand data flow among RAG components
• Develop a functional RAG-based application

• Basic familiarity with Python, APIs, and LLMs
• Willingness to practice through applied exercises