On June 23, around 40 students from Illinois and Louisiana will wrap up the year at University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) as the first graduating cohort of AI Leaders—the nation’s first workforce-focused AI literacy course tied to a recognized credential.

These students built real WordPress projects. They applied generative AI to real work. For example, Stephen Poole completed the Ultimate Success track and posted a reflection after every session, and shipped his portfolio at stefanpoole.dev. Another student, Sharaheel Ali, finished WordPress 1–8 and launched sharali.blog, framing his portfolio around WordPress support engineering, cybersecurity, and AI. They earned a micro-credential backed by UIC and the WordPress Foundation. And those who completed the course also earned $1,000. Automattic is proud that we joined the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) to make a donation to UIC Tech Solutions Open Source Fund earlier this year.

Built on Open Source

AI Leaders works because it’s built on open source. Students learn on WordPress, which powers more than 40% of the web, and contribute back to it. They use generative AI as a tool and leave with a credential employers can verify. The community they build while contributing to WordPress remains long after graduation. 

At Automattic, we believe deeply in open source; it’s the ethos that built the web. We think it should help build the next generation of AI-literate workers too—in the open, accessible to all, and with full ownership of the work they do.

Bigger Things are on the Horizon

AI Leaders is just one piece of Automattic’s broader investment in education. We’ve pledged $500 million worth of hosting accounts over the next five years to support open source learning, workforce development, and the next generation of contributors to the web.

We’re investing in this because access to AI and open source skills shouldn’t depend on where you live or what you can afford. The first cohort proves the model works. Now we want to help it grow

What’s Next

Prospective employers and agencies will attend a graduation party in Chicago to meet the students, and more job placements are in motion. The next round of AI Leaders is on the horizon; we’ll share application details for that soon. And to the inaugural AI Leaders cohort: congratulations. The web is what we make it, and we’re excited to watch you shape that legacy.