One morning. One skill. Done properly.
Four focused hours, live with an instructor, applied to the work already sitting on your desk.
No prior AI experience needed. No coding. Nothing to install.
Honest about which of the two you should book.
This suits you if
- ·You want the training but can't give up two consecutive days
- ·You have one specific task in mind, not a general upskill
- ·You're outside the Cape and travel isn't practical
- ·You'd rather start small and see how you find it
The retreat suits you better if
- ·You want to work across several areas, not one
- ·You'd value two days away from the office and the interruptions
- ·You learn better in a room than on a screen
- ·You want the cohort — the people are half the value
Choose one track. Spend the morning on it.
Sessions run fortnightly and each one runs a single track. You pick the one that matches the work in front of you.
Research
20 AugustFinding, checking and summarising source material — and knowing when the answer can't be trusted.
Writing
3 SeptemberReports, proposals and correspondence that still sound like you. Drafting, not replacing.
Data
17 SeptemberSpreadsheets, patterns and summaries without needing formulas you don't have time to learn.
Presentations
1 OctoberTurning what you already know into something you can put in front of a board.
Dates shown are the next scheduled Thursday for each track. Sessions run fortnightly, and the cycle repeats after the final date.
Four hours, and one proper break.
Short enough to fit a Thursday morning. Long enough to finish something you can use.
From your own desk. We check everyone’s audio and screen sharing before 09:00 — nobody begins behind.
You’ve probably bought an online AI course before.
And, like most people, not finished it. That’s not a failure of discipline — it’s what happens when nobody is expecting you and nothing is due.
Live, not recorded
A real instructor answering your actual question, in the moment you have it.
Capped at 15
Small enough that you'll be asked how you're getting on.
Screen support
If something won't work, we take your screen and fix it. Nobody sits stuck.
Your own material
You bring real work. What you produce is yours to use on Monday.
Free-to-use tools
No subscription to buy, and nothing stops working when the session ends.
Updated monthly
Courseware revised against current tool releases — not last year's screenshots.
“The writing session changed how I work. I produce proposals in a fraction of the time now.”
— Comms Manager, NGO Communications, Cape Town
Published on gemis.tech. Express-specific quotes are added as attendees consent to them — we don’t invent testimonials.
Price
This is a standalone session, not a deposit toward the retreat — it isn’t credited against the two-day programme.
Questions people ask
It's structured so you're not. Setup from 08:30, a first session to 10:30, a proper twenty-minute break, then you're working on your own material rather than watching slides.
Yes. The room is deliberately capped at 15 and nobody starts behind — we check audio and screen sharing before 09:00. If something will not work, we take your screen and fix it.
You can, and many people do — then quietly stop, because the output looks plausible and they can't tell where it's wrong. What you're paying for is the checking method and a real instructor answering your questions.
No. We work with free-to-use tools, so nothing stops working when the session ends and there is no subscription to buy.
No — it's live only, and that's deliberate. If you can't make your Thursday, move to any later date at no charge.
Yes. Each Thursday runs one track, so attendees often come back for a second. Returning attendees pay the founding price on any later track booked before 30 September.
Yes. Choose "My company is paying" at checkout and we issue a VAT invoice to your accounts address; your place is held while it is settled.
One morning. R1,249.
Next session 20 August — Research. Capped at 15 places, live on Microsoft Teams.