Frequently asked questions

Yes. "First Contact with Code" starts with how a computer runs a program at all. There are no prerequisites; a computer with an internet connection is enough. "Your First App with AI" likewise assumes no coding knowledge.

I am a backend-leaning full-stack developer — I do for a living the thing I teach. At AkademiQ.AI I built the analyst interface of a production LLM benchmarking platform with Next.js and TypeScript, and wrote the API and scheduler layer of a multi-agent content pipeline. My TÜBİTAK-backed capstone project was approved: an integrated sub-system inside a fraud detection system that identifies AI-generated content. Before that, backend services and MongoDB data models at Pawlo, and a cybersecurity internship at Acunmedya Academy. I study software engineering at école 42 in Paris and am finishing a Management Information Systems degree. Running workshops is not new either: at Masqot.co I co-ran a nationwide workshop with a 20-student community lead. All of it is written out on the "About Gizem" page.

If you want to understand how code works, take First Contact with Code. If code is not your concern and you want to speed up your work, take Putting AI to Work. If you have an idea in mind and want to see it within a day, take Your First App with AI. If you are unsure, write to me and tell me what you want to do.

Any laptop from the last five years is fine — Windows, macOS or Linux, it makes no difference. Following the workshop on a tablet or phone alone is hard; we write together during the sessions.

No. The only expectation is that you can set aside the time for the sessions.

Live and online. Recordings are shared and they stay with you. But the real value of the workshop is being able to ask questions live — if you cannot attend any session, this format may not be for you.

10–14 people depending on the workshop. There is only one reason I keep the groups small: so everyone gets a turn to speak.

You watch the recording, and we go over whatever you got stuck on at the start of the next session. If you miss several sessions in a row, we can talk about moving you to the next cohort.

Yes, but nothing is graded. The point of the homework is that you arrive at the next session with something in your hands. If you send it to me, I give you feedback.

The video call link comes by email after you register. A messaging group is also opened for your questions during the workshop.

If you have never touched the subject and need an order to follow, a group workshop is usually better: the order is set and the pace is clear. If you have a defined problem in hand — your own project, a tool you need to set up at work, one subject you want to go deeper on — one-to-one is faster. They are not the cheap and expensive versions of the same thing; the guide piece "One-to-one lessons or a group workshop?" goes through it in detail.

There is no ready curriculum. We talk about where you are and where you want to get to, and I put together an order from that; the first lesson starts on that order.

We go by the hour, and I cannot tell you up front how many hours it needs — after a few lessons we see the pace and decide together. That is also why I quote by conversation: write to me about what you want to do and we will see together how many hours of work it is.

Yes, you can write to me where you are stuck. It is not unlimited consulting, but I will not leave you blocked until the next lesson.

Say so openly. If you are at the beginning, a group workshop does the same job for less in most cases, and I have no problem pointing you there. If you are looking for a career programme spread over months, one-to-one is the expensive way to do it.

No. We work on it together, I do not do it in your place — work done in your place does not help you at the next place you get stuck.

There are two formats. A half day (3 hours) is for awareness and first contact: the team picks the tools up and tries something on their own work. A full day (6 hours) moves from awareness to application: we build one of the team’s repetitive tasks end to end together, and what remains at the end of the day is a short internal guide the team wrote themselves.

It does. The most requested subject is the part that needs no coding at all: handing over repetitive tasks, checking the output, and recognising which work is not suited to the tool. There is a separate subject track for non-technical teams; where a team has both technical and non-technical people, we build a mix of the two.

Because the content is built around your company. We need to understand what you do first — which tasks repeat, where mistakes get expensive. If we could send a ready programme, it would not be built around your company at all.

A number given before team size, format and preparation needs are clear will mislead either you or us. Write to us with how many people are on the team, what they do and what you want to solve, and we will put a proposal together. Invoicing runs through Waka Digital Limited and this is stated openly in the proposal.

Gizem runs all of the open workshops. On the corporate side the process runs together with Uğur İnal: Gizem builds the content, and Uğur answers the management and technology questions. Whoever speaks in the video or the meeting is the person who will be in the room on the day.

We work with examples drawn from your work, but which data does and does not go into the tool is drawn at the start of the day. Where real client or supplier data is not needed, we build a fictional set.

No, on the corporate side we are not a certification programme. What the team has at the end of the day is not a document but a flow that works on their own job, plus an internal guide they wrote themselves. (A certificate of attendance is available for the open workshops.)

Probably not, and we will tell you so. Saying up front that we are not the right fit beats selling the day and creating disappointment.

The seller is Waka Digital Limited (company number 1885497, NZBN 9429033751610). Both workshop sales and corporate training run through this company; invoices and contracts are issued in its name. Full details are on the terms page. The person running the workshop does not change — only the invoicing entity does.

The register button takes you to a secure payment page. Your card details are never entered on this site; they are processed directly by the payment provider.

Your right of withdrawal under distance selling rules is preserved. All the conditions are written out on the Refunds and withdrawal page; cancellations made before the workshop starts are refunded.

Yes. You can send your billing details during registration; company invoices can also be issued.

The options your card and bank offer appear on the payment page. Because instalments depend on the bank, I cannot guarantee them from here — and note that payment is taken in US dollars, where most cards do not offer instalments.

I can issue a certificate of attendance. But I would not claim it carries weight in a job application — the real thing you leave with is the work you did and published.

No, I make no such promise, and I would treat anywhere that does with caution. A four-week workshop does not make you job-ready; it shows you where to start and how to continue.

The live workshops are run in Turkish. You also learn the English terms, because you need them when searching. If you would like a workshop run in English, write to me — it depends on demand.