What is open workshops?

An open workshop is a hands on AI session where attendees come from different organisations, which makes it affordable for two or three people and means the material has to stay general enough for a mixed room.

Sending twenty people to a closed session makes sense. Sending three does not, and that is the gap an open workshop fills. You pay per seat rather than for a day, which is the right shape when the group is small.

The compromise is the room. Attendees come from different organisations and occasionally from competitors, so nobody can put their own confidential material on the table and the examples have to work for everybody present.

There is something a shared room gives you that a closed one cannot, which is hearing how other organisations are approaching the same problem. For a lot of attendees that turns out to be the most useful hour of the day.

When we point you at the more expensive option

Duara runs open enrolment AI workshops in Nairobi for small groups and individuals from different organisations.

We will tell you when a closed session is the better purchase even though it costs more. Past a handful of people the economics change, and an open workshop stops being the sensible option well before most buyers notice.

Who this is for

  • You have two or three people rather than twenty
  • You tried these tools once and stopped
  • You want practical use rather than an overview
  • You would like to hear how other organisations are doing this

Industries we serve

  • Small and medium businesses
  • Professional services
  • Nonprofits
  • Startups
  • Individual professionals
  • Teams too small for a closed session

Problems this solves

These are the situations a shared room handles well, and the one it handles badly.

What we deliver

Hands on sessions in small mixed groups, general exercise material so nobody exposes anything, and an honest recommendation to book a closed session once the group is large enough.

Hands on practice rather than an overview

Groups kept under twenty

Exercise material that exposes nobody

Guidance on what not to put into these tools

Materials attendees keep afterwards

Half day or full day formats

Features

Benefits

  • Affordable for small numbers. A workable option for the group sizes that closed sessions price out entirely.
  • People leave able to do something. Hands on practice produces a change in how somebody works, which an overview does not.
  • Safer use of these tools. Knowing what not to put into a chatbot prevents the quiet mistakes people otherwise make for months.
  • Perspective from outside your organisation. Attendees regularly learn as much from the room as from the material.

What the day includes

The half day suits somebody who tried a chatbot once and gave up. The full day suits somebody who wants to leave with something they can use in their own job, which needs the extra hours.

How the process works, step by step

Workshops run half a day or a full day. Open dates are arranged occasionally rather than to a published schedule.

  1. Step 1

    Ask about upcoming dates

    Open sessions are arranged when there is demand, so the first step is telling us you want one.

  2. Step 2

    Format chosen

    Half day for a practical grounding, full day where attendees need to leave with something usable.

  3. Step 3

    Seats confirmed

    Groups are kept under twenty so everybody gets attention during the hands on work.

  4. Step 4

    Hands on session

    Attendees work with the tools using material that exposes nobody in a mixed room.

  5. Step 5

    Materials kept

    Everything used on the day goes home with attendees rather than staying with us.

Quality assurance and how we work

The commitments attached to a room of people who do not work together.

Frequently asked questions about open workshops

What makes an open workshop different?

The room is shared with other organisations, which is what makes it affordable for two or three people rather than twenty.

What is the catch?

You cannot discuss your own confidential work. Attendees come from different organisations and occasionally from competitors.

When should we book a closed session instead?

Past a handful of people. It costs more and becomes better value sooner than most buyers expect, so we say so.

Is there any advantage to a mixed room?

Yes. Hearing how other organisations are approaching the same problem is something a closed session cannot give you.

Do attendees actually use the tools?

Yes, throughout. Watching somebody else use them changes nothing about how anybody works the following week.

What if we tried AI already and it disappointed?

That is who the half day is built for. Most people who stopped had the approach wrong rather than the wrong tool.

What data do attendees practise with?

Ours or generic material, never their own, because somebody competitor may be sitting at the next table.

Do you cover what not to put into these tools?

Yes, and it is the topic most attendees have never had explained properly, which makes it the most useful hour for many.

Half day or full day?

Half a day for a practical grounding. A full day where somebody needs to leave with something they can use in their own job.

Would you tell us half a day is enough?

Yes. Selling a full day where half would do is easy to get away with and we would rather not.

How many seats are in a session?

Under twenty, because hands on work stops being hands on once nobody can get attention.

Are dates published anywhere?

Open sessions are arranged when there is demand rather than to a published schedule, so asking is the way to hear about them.

Can an individual attend?

Yes. Open workshops exist partly for people whose organisation would never book a whole session.

Are these run online?

Both, and the hands on portion works better in a room where somebody can look over your shoulder when you are stuck.

Do attendees need technical background?

No. The sessions are built for people doing ordinary work rather than for developers.

What do attendees take away?

The materials, the exercises and on a full day something built during the session that applies to their own job.

Can we send people from different departments?

Yes, and it works well. They will hear each other problems, which does not always happen inside an organisation.

Can the same workshop run for our team only?

Yes, as a closed session, where your own material can be used and people can speak freely.

Is anything attendees say kept private?

We do not repeat what is said in the room, though in a mixed group the sensible rule is not to raise anything confidential.

What does a seat cost?

It depends on format and dates, confirmed when a session is arranged rather than listed as a standing price.

Glossary of terms

Open enrolment terms in plain language.

Open enrolment
Anybody can book a seat, so the room contains people from different organisations.
Closed workshop
The same day run for one organisation, where your own material can be used freely.
Hands on
Attendees using the tools during the session rather than watching them used.
Mixed room
A group from different employers, which limits what can safely be discussed.
Half day format
A practical grounding, suited to people who have tried these tools and stopped.
Data handling
Knowing what should never be typed into a public tool, which most attendees have never been told.