ASE-26OverviewConceptual modelCurriculumLearning outcomesAssessmentTooling referenceGlossary
Curriculum/Part 1. The discipline
Module 01 · Modules 1–5

What is Agentic Software Engineering?

A discipline shift, not a tooling shift.

01

Agentic software engineering is a discipline shift rather than a tooling shift. The field can be situated historically (rule-based systems, statistical machine learning, transformers, the agent loop) and conceptually as the move from author-of-code to director-of-workflow. What feels like a sudden shift has a decade of preparation behind it.

The longer arc, running from the 1940s, shows the change is unprecedented in pace alone, not in kind. Programmers in the 1940s mediated intent by physically setting switches and connecting patch cables on machines like the ENIAC. Assembly languages in the 1950s introduced symbolic mnemonics. High-level languages abstracted from hardware. Structured and declarative languages shifted expression from how-to-compute to what-to-compute. Object-oriented programming reorganised intent around entities. Design patterns codified recurring solutions. Low-code and no-code platforms replaced authoring with configuration. Statistical code completion interpreted developer intent from local context. Generative AI extended interpretation to whole functions. Vibe coding from 2025 onward mediates intent through natural language and probabilistic inference rather than deterministic syntax. The current transition is the first to redistribute most of the implementation work to the machine.

The central claim of the course is that what separates professional from amateur use of agents is the presence of structure around the interaction. Over 68% of agent-generated pull requests face long delays or remain unreviewed in practice. True solve rates on real bugs collapse under rigorous audit from apparent success to a fraction of it. The speed-versus-trust gap is the defining tension of the current moment.

The autonomy-level framework for software engineering gives precise vocabulary for where current tools sit and what the next level would require. The levels run from manual coding through task-agentic and goal-agentic assistance to specialized and general domain autonomy. The foundational distinction at the heart of the course is ASE versus casual prompting. A casual prompter gives an agent an instruction and hopes. An agentic software engineer equips the agent and verifies the output.

Mikael Alemu Gorsky

International strategist and academic researcher focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on society, governance, and higher education.

Born and educated in Moscow, with Ethiopian and Israeli roots, he lives and works in Israel as an author and researcher on AI's implications for governance, higher education, and the global economy.

He is a lecturer and researcher at the Holon Institute of Technology (HIT) near Tel Aviv, where his work examines how emerging technologies reshape institutions, skills, and long-term development.

Contact: hello@mgorsky.net

Teaching Leaders and Students

AI for Leaders — VIP Workshop

Format: In-office | Duration: 8 hours | Cohort: Invitation only

A concentrated executive immersion into the strategic implications of AI for your organization. How to identify high-value AI applications, build internal capability, and lead the transformation with confidence.

  • Strategic AI Literacy — Understand how generative AI, agents, and automation reshape organizational value chains — without the hype.
  • Team Upskilling Roadmap — Identify which roles benefit most from AI augmentation and design a practical adoption path for your team.
  • Risk and Governance — Navigate data privacy, compliance, and ethical considerations specific to your industry and jurisdiction.
  • Competitive Positioning — Assess where AI creates defensible advantage and where it levels the playing field.

Curriculum

  1. The AI Landscape (Hours 1–2) — From chatbots to autonomous agents: a structured overview of what works, what doesn't, and what matters for your business.
  2. Your Organization and AI (Hours 3–4) — Mapping your workflows to AI opportunities. Identifying the three highest-impact applications within your company.
  3. Building AI Capability (Hours 5–6) — Upskilling strategies that work. How to move from pilot projects to systematic AI integration without disrupting operations.
  4. Leadership in the AI Era (Hours 7–8) — Governance frameworks, vendor evaluation, build-vs-buy decisions, and leading teams through technological transformation.

Agentic Coding — Curriculum 2025/2026

Format: Hybrid | Duration: 40 hours | Cohort: Spring semester

A comprehensive semester-length program in AI-assisted software development. Students learn to work with AI coding agents — from prompt engineering to production deployment — under real engineering constraints.

  • Prompt Architecture — Design systematic prompt strategies that produce reliable, production-quality code output across languages and frameworks.
  • Agent Orchestration — Build multi-step coding agents that plan, execute, test, and iterate autonomously within guardrails.
  • Quality Assurance — Develop verification and testing frameworks for AI-generated code in production environments.
  • Human-AI Collaboration — Master the feedback loops between human oversight and machine execution at scale.

Curriculum

  1. Foundations of Vibe Coding (Hours 1–8) — The paradigm shift from manual coding to intent-driven development. Prompt engineering fundamentals.
  2. AI Coding Tools Deep Dive (Hours 9–16) — Comparative analysis of Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, and other tools.
  3. Agentic Workflows (Hours 17–24) — Autonomous coding agents: planning loops, tool use, file system interaction, and iterative refinement.
  4. Architecture and Design (Hours 25–32) — AI-assisted system design. Database modeling, API architecture, and full-stack development with agents.
  5. Production and Deployment (Hours 33–40) — CI/CD integration, code review workflows, security considerations, and deploying AI-assisted projects.

Change Management — Executive Education

Format: Hybrid | Duration: 4 hours | Cohort: Rolling basis

A focused executive session on leading organizational change in the age of AI. Practical frameworks for the eight steps of transformation, drawn from real implementation experience.

  • Transformation Framework — Apply the eight-step change model to AI adoption, tailored to your organizational context and maturity level.
  • Stakeholder Navigation — Build consensus across leadership, technical teams, and operational staff during rapid technology shifts.
  • Risk Mitigation — Identify and address the organizational, cultural, and technical risks inherent in AI deployment.
  • Sustainable Adoption — Design change initiatives that stick — moving beyond pilot enthusiasm to embedded organizational capability.

Pro Bono Projects

AI for Seniors — Pro Bono Workshop

Helping older adults confidently adopt everyday AI tools.

For older adults, artificial intelligence is not about technology trends or market disruption. It is about preserving quality of life, maintaining a sense of autonomy, and sustaining the feeling of independence that defines dignified aging. AI chatbots and voice assistants can help seniors manage daily routines, access information in their native language, communicate with family across distances, navigate healthcare systems, and stay connected to the world.

For seniors who have emigrated — who live in countries where they were not born, where the language is different, where the bureaucracy is unfamiliar — AI becomes a bridge. AI chatbots can translate documents, explain official letters, help compose emails in the local language, and guide users through government websites.

The AI for Seniors workshop has been delivered to Russian-speaking communities in Israel, where it was met with genuine enthusiasm. Participants — many of them in their 70s and 80s — discovered that AI could help them read Hebrew documents, communicate with Israeli institutions, and access services that previously required help from children or grandchildren.

Startup Competitions — Judging and Mentoring

Contributing expertise as a judge and mentor at startup competitions, evaluating AI-driven ventures and providing strategic guidance to early-stage founders. Focused on helping teams clarify their value proposition, assess technical feasibility, and prepare for the realities of scaling an AI product.

AC/VC LinkedIn Group — Professional Community

AC/VC (Agentic Coding — Vibe Coding) is a LinkedIn group bringing together software developers, engineering students, and AI practitioners who are exploring the frontier of AI-assisted development. The community shares practical insights, code examples, tool comparisons, and honest assessments of what works in production.

Join the AC/VC LinkedIn group

Analytics and Research

Academic Research in AI

Research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and education — exploring how generative AI transforms learning, creativity, and human development. Key themes include constructionism in the age of AI, the cognitive impact of machine-assisted learning, and frameworks for integrating AI into educational practice.

Publications

The AI Pravda — LinkedIn Newsletter

Critical analysis of machine intelligence and its socio-economic impact. Over 4,200 subscribers.

Subscribe to The AI Pravda on LinkedIn

AI Chronicles — Daily Digest

Tracking AI evolution and impact through daily news digests, an industry rolodex, and a comprehensive archive.

Business Opportunities

Available for: Advisory, Board membership, Consulting, Mentoring startups, Teaching.

Contact: hello@mgorsky.net

Important Links