Simplilearn Press Release
Santa Barbara, CA — March 2026
UC Santa Barbara Professional and Continuing Education (PaCE) is officially launching a new series of professional programs in collaboration with global upskilling leader Simplilearn. This collaboration is designed to address an urgent shift in the workforce: transitioning from using AI as a basic tool to managing AI as an autonomous collaborator.
While many programs focus on simple prompt engineering, the Simplilearn curriculum dives into Agentic AI. These are systems that can reason, plan, and execute multi-step workflows with minimal human intervention.
“The professional landscape isn’t just changing; it is being rebuilt around intelligent systems,” said Denis Couturier, Dean of UCSB Professional and Continuing Education. “Our mission at PaCE is to ensure every professional is equipped with the expertise to meet the demands of a dynamic, AI-driven workforce.”
Inaugural Program Offerings
The partnership debuts with three specialized tracks designed for different career stages.
- Applied Generative AI Specialization: A deep dive into the practical building blocks of GenAI. Professionals learn to design and deploy AI-powered chatbots and business assistants using OpenAI, LangChain, and RAG frameworks. The goal is to move from foundational AI literacy to advanced agentic governance.
- Agentic AI for Leaders Systems, Design and Impact: This 10-week program is built for executives and managers. It goes beyond the basics to focus on Multi-Agent Orchestration. We teach leaders how to design and manage autonomous AI solutions that perform complex business tasks.
- Full Stack Development with Generative: A 20-week interactive bootcamp. It teaches the MERN stack while pioneering vibe coding and AI-assisted workflows. This allows developers to build, test, and deploy production-ready applications at an industry-leading pace.
Prospective students can explore the full program curriculum at the new partnership portal: