Almost every organization now uses AI somewhere. Few can show where it runs, who owns it, or how it's being managed responsibly. AI Governance Essentials is built for the leaders and practitioners who have to close that gap. 

Led by Mathias Vercauteren, the course follows one idea throughout: a principle counts only when it becomes a control, and a control counts only when it leaves evidence behind. 

Over four sessions, you'll explore: 

• Foundations and the business case: what AI is for the people who govern it, data governance as the foundation for AI, and ethics and trustworthy AI 
• The rules of the road: how to read the regulations and standards that shape AI governance, and what they mean in practice for your organization 
• Risk, ownership, and the lifecycle: risk taxonomy and tiering, operating models and AI councils, RASCI and decision rights, and lifecycle gates 
• Controls and making it stick: evaluation and monitoring, AI security, incident response and audit, change management, and board reporting 

Regulations and standards discussed include the EU AI Act, GDPR, the NIST AI Risk Management Framework, ISO/IEC 42001, and others. 

This course is designed for professionals who need to move AI governance from policy statements to a working program with named owners, practical controls, and results they can show. 

How the Course Works 
 
The course runs as four weekly half-day sessions. The weekly format gives you time to apply each method to your own AI systems before building on it in the next session. 

During the live sessions, you'll experience: 

• Interactive lectures with live Q&A and instructor feedback throughout 
• Worked examples from real cases, such as a bank discovering its own AI and an AI hiring tool moving through intake and assessment ]
• Hands-on exercises, including risk classification and tiering, an evaluation and monitoring plan, and a tabletop incident ]
• Continued access to recordings and resources after the course 

You'll participate through the DATAVERSITY Training Center (DVTC) and Zoom, which together provide seamless access to all course materials and live sessions. 

Schedule 

• Dates: Thursdays, May 6 - 27, 2027 
• Time: 11 AM – 3 PM Eastern / 8 AM – 12 PM Pacific 
• Length: 3 Weeks 
• CEUs: 16 

Pricing 

• $1,000 Early Bird through April 23, 2027 
• $1,200 Regular Price after April 23, 2027 

Registration Deadline: Tuesday, May 4, 2027 

Program Highlights 

Across four half-day sessions, you’ll: 

• Build the business case for AI governance, including shadow and embedded AI 
• Get a clear, practical overview of the laws and standards that shape AI governance 
• Tier AI use cases with a risk taxonomy and likelihood-and-impact matrix 
• Design an operating model with an AI council, named owners, and decision rights 
• Govern initiatives through six lifecycle gates, from intake to retirement 
• Plan evaluation, monitoring, and incident response for higher-risk systems 
• Drive adoption, AI literacy, and change management across the organization 
   

By the End of This Course, You’ll Be Able To: 

• Explain what an AI system is, where it sits in the business, and why governing it pays 
• Explain how key regulations and standards apply to an AI system and what they require of your organization 
• Classify and tier an AI use case with a risk taxonomy and a likelihood and impact matrix 
• Draw an operating model with a decision-making council, named owners, a RASCI, and decision rights across lifecycle gates 
• Design evaluation, monitoring, and incident controls for a high-risk system and keep the evidence to show they work 
• Plan adoption with a sponsor and stakeholder map, and report the program to a board on one page 

Why Choose This Course 

• Led by Mathias Vercauteren, industry expert, DATAVERSITY Instructor, and SME for the Applied Data Governance Practitioner (ADGP) Certification 
• Built around a clear through-line: principle, control, evidence 
• Focuses on the essentials leaders and practitioners need, with regulations and standards explained in plain terms 
• Grounded in data governance as the foundation for trustworthy AI 
• Half-day format fits around your work while you apply each method to your own systems 

Is This Course Right for You or Your Team? 

This course is ideal for: 

• Data governance leaders and practitioners extending their programs to cover AI 
• Executives and managers tasked with standing up AI governance or an AI council 
• AI product owners and project leaders who need to move initiatives through governance 
• Risk and compliance professionals looking for a practical view of how AI governance runs day to day  

No prior AI governance experience is required, just a role in adopting, overseeing, or assuring AI in your organization. 

Private Team Training 

Organizations can schedule private sessions or group enrollments to build AI governance around their own systems and goals. Team packages include instructor facilitation, customized examples, and post-training access to recordings and materials. 

Contact us to explore corporate training options or bulk licensing. 

Backed by Industry Leaders 

Delivered through the DATAVERSITY Training Center (DVTC), this course connects data governance discipline to the practical realities of adopting and managing AI. 

It equips professionals to turn AI principles into controls and controls into evidence, building a governance program that earns trust from leadership, employees, and customers.