— Continuing professional development —

CPD for AI professionals,
tracked by level.

CPD for AI professionals is how an accredited credential stays active at the Institute of AI. Every level carries an annual continuing professional development target, and the hours you complete are logged and evidenced in your IoAI account. This page sets out the targets, what counts, and how logging works.

Student 10hAssociate 15hProfessional 25hFellow 25h

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— Why CPD —

A credential that stays current.

Accreditation with the Institute of AI recognises what you can do, measured against a published competency framework. Artificial intelligence does not stand still, so neither can the credential. Continuing professional development is the mechanism that keeps it honest: each year you complete a set number of hours of genuine learning and practice, and those hours keep your accreditation active.

The target is deliberately proportionate to the level you hold. A student building a habit alongside study carries a lighter load than a professional leading AI work in a live setting. The point is not to accumulate certificates for their own sake, but to make sure the person behind the credential has kept pace with a field that changes month to month.

Every IoAI credential is publicly verifiable, and CPD is part of what stands behind that verification. When someone checks your accreditation, an active status signals that you have kept current, not simply that you once met the bar. Logging your development is how you keep that signal true.

— Annual targets —

CPD by level, hour by hour.

Each accreditation level carries its own annual CPD target. Here is what each level is expected to complete, and why the number sits where it does.

Level	Annual CPD target	Why this many
Student	10hours / year	A lighter target that fits development around a degree or the first steps into the field. Enough to build a consistent habit without competing with a full course load.
Associate	15hours / year	A realistic commitment for early-career practitioners. It keeps you moving with a fast field while staying sized to an emerging role rather than a senior one.
Professional	25hours / year	The full professional standard. Practitioners shipping or leading AI work are expected to invest seriously in staying current, because others rely on their judgement.
Fellow	25hours / year	Fellows hold the same substantial target as Professionals. Seniority is a reason to keep practising and contributing, not a reason to step back from it.

Hours run across your membership year. They keep an accreditation active rather than earning it, so they sit alongside the assessment, not in place of it.

— What counts —

Development that actually counts.

CPD is not confined to formal courses. Most of what keeps an AI professional sharp already qualifies, provided you can describe what you did and what you took from it.

Structured learning

Courses, certifications and formal training, including IoAI lessons. Anything with a defined syllabus where you set out to learn something specific and can show you finished it.

Building and shipping

Hands-on project work: designing, building and shipping AI, from a proof of concept to production. Applying a new technique or tool in real work is development, not just study.

Reading and research

Working through papers, documentation and technical writing to stay abreast of how the field is moving. Deliberate reading that changes how you work counts towards your hours.

Teaching and contributing

Mentoring, giving talks, writing, reviewing, or contributing to open source and community. Teaching something well is one of the surest ways to understand it, and it develops you too.

Events

Conferences, meetups, workshops and webinars where you engage with new ideas and other practitioners. Time spent learning at an event counts towards your annual target.

— How logging works —

Log it, evidence it, count it.

Recording CPD is meant to be quick. You log activities as you go through your IoAI account, so the year does not end in a scramble.

Log it in your account

Record the activity in your IoAI account: what you did, which category it falls under, and how many hours it took. A few minutes after the fact is all it needs.

Add evidence

Attach something that stands it up, a certificate, a link, or a short note on what you did and what you learned. Evidence is what turns a claim into a record.

It counts to your annual target

Logged hours roll up against your level’s target for the year. Reach it and your credential stays active, with your progress there whenever you or someone else needs to see it.

Log CPD in your account

— Common questions —

CPD questions, answered.

How many CPD hours do I need each year?+

The annual CPD target depends on your accreditation level: 10 hours at Student, 15 at Associate, and 25 at both Professional and Fellow. The hours run across your membership year and keep your credential active.

What counts as CPD for AI professionals?+

Structured learning, hands-on building and shipping, reading and research, teaching and contributing, and attending events all count. The test is whether you can describe what you did and what you took from it, not whether it came with a certificate.

How do I log and evidence my CPD?+

You log each activity in your IoAI account with its category and hours, then attach evidence such as a certificate, a link or a short note. Logging as you go keeps the record accurate and avoids a year-end scramble. See CPD in your account for the detail.

What happens if I do not meet my target?+

CPD is what keeps a credential active, so falling short means your accreditation lapses until you catch up. The Institute of AI expects the hours to be spread across the year rather than left to the end, so logging a little and often is the reliable way to stay on track.

Is CPD separate from my membership?+

CPD is part of holding an active accreditation, not a separate purchase. You record development you are largely doing anyway. For what accreditation itself involves, see the professional accreditation and accreditation cost pages.

— Keep your credential active —

Development that
stays on the record.

Get accredited with the Institute of AI, then keep your credential current with annual CPD logged in your account. Independent, publicly verifiable, and sized to your level.

Apply for accreditation CPD in your account

— Go deeper

— Accreditation