The Challenge: Moving a Cross-Functional Team Beyond Foundational AI Use
GCMD coordinates a global network of partners across multiple decarbonisation programmes, with teams handling research synthesis, programme reporting, partner communications, regulatory submissions, and multi-stakeholder coordination. For a research and operations organisation of this kind, AI-assisted workflows are an immediate operational advantage rather than a future consideration.
The team had already completed an earlier foundation AI workshop and were comfortable with the basics of prompting and everyday AI tools. The challenge was to move beyond individual, foundational use of tools such as ChatGPT and into structured, applied automation that could be embedded into real workflows across functions.
A generic, off-the-shelf programme would have risked repeating what the team already knew. GCMD needed training that avoided overlap with their earlier foundation workshop, moved quickly into more advanced applications, and was tailored to the team's specific day-to-day use cases across communications, partnerships, and research.
Why Heicoders Academy: Depth in Agentic AI and a Willingness to Contextualise
GCMD engaged Heicoders Academy after evaluating options for a partner able to take the team beyond foundational AI use and into agentic workflows and practical automation. The GA100 curriculum, with its strong emphasis on agentic AI, Manus AI, and n8n automation, matched exactly where the team wanted to go next.
As Singapore's leading AI-First Skills Accelerator and Singapore's exclusive Manus AI education partner, Heicoders Academy brought particular depth to the agentic AI and automation areas of greatest interest to GCMD. Equally important was the willingness to work closely with the team ahead of delivery, adjusting the opening sessions to build on the foundation the team already had and mapping GCMD's own workflows into the programme, so the training extended their capability rather than repeating it.
Heicoders Academy is Singapore's leading AI-First Skills Accelerator, with over 20,000 learners trained, 3,000+ five-star reviews, and 300+ corporate clients including Changi Airport Group, Marriott International, and Temasek Trust.
The Solution: A Customised Three-Day GA100 Private Run, On-Site
GCMD's team attended a full private run of GA100, delivered in person at GCMD's office across three days on 30 June, 14 July, and 28 July 2026. The private run format gave the cross-functional team, spanning communications, partnerships, and research functions, dedicated time to practise and build within every session. The curriculum was structured as a progressive journey from foundational concepts to advanced enterprise automation:
- Generative AI Basics and Prompt Engineering: How Large Language Models work, key AI tools (ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini), advanced prompting techniques including chain-of-thought and few-shot prompting, and AI-powered media creation.
- Advanced Workflows and AI Agents: Hands-on lab using Manus AI to build and deploy multi-step automated workflows across 9 real-world business scenarios, including email automation, data analysis, wide research, spreadsheet automation, and slide generation.
- Agentic Workflow Automation with n8n: Building powerful automated pipelines by connecting multiple applications and services to automate common business processes such as data extraction and report generation.
- RAG for Business Data: Learning how to combine AI with the organisation’s internal data to create reliable, factual knowledge bases and secure private AI systems.
- MCP and Managing AI Risk: Applying frameworks for safe, compliant, and ethical AI use in an enterprise setting, culminating in a hands-on Capstone Project where participants applied their full suite of newly acquired skills.
Ahead of delivery, Heicoders Academy worked with GCMD through a series of alignment calls to map the team's daily use cases into each session, adjusting the opening lessons to build on the team's existing foundation and to weave in real examples drawn from GCMD's communications, partnerships, and research workflows. As a fully SSG-accredited programme, GA100 allowed eligible participants to benefit from significant per-person subsidies. Participants were supported throughout with access to their own student portal, structured hands-on labs, a capstone project, and a dedicated Telegram group with the instructor for ongoing questions after the sessions. Heicoders Academy coordinated closely with GCMD on enrolment, scheduling, and on-site logistics from start to finish.
Results: A Tailored Programme Delivered Across Three Days
The programme was delivered with strong engagement across a cross-functional group of around 20, drawn from GCMD's communications, partnerships, and research functions. Because it was run as a private, contextualised programme rather than a generic workshop, participants worked through hands-on labs and a capstone project using scenarios relevant to their own day-to-day work.
By progressing from advanced prompt engineering into agentic workflows with Manus AI, automation pipelines with n8n, Retrieval-Augmented Generation, and responsible AI governance, the team was equipped with practical capability they could apply directly to research synthesis, partner communications, and reporting. The engagement gave GCMD a structured, hands-on route to embedding AI more deeply into how the organisation works.
What's Next: Applying New Capability Across the Mission
GCMD's team completed the programme equipped with the practical skills and frameworks needed to apply agentic AI and automation within their work across research, communications, and partnerships.
Heicoders Academy remains a committed partner to GCMD and looks forward to supporting the team as they put their GA100 learnings into practice and continue building AI capability across the organisation.
