FAQ

  • What is the AI Learning Hub?
  • Which courses are right for me?
  • How long are the courses?
  • How do I access the new AAiP courses?
  • Are these courses eligible for CAE credit hours?
  • What is the Association AI Professional (AAiP) Certification?
  • How do I complete my AAiP Certification? 
  • How long does the certification program take?
  • How do I maintain my AAiP Certification?
  • Approved Providers for AAiP Maintenance Hours
  • What is the Use Case Library?
  • How can I tell if a course is 100% completed?
  • Where can I access my certificates for courses completed?
  • What happened to the previous AAiP courses?
  • What if I started the original courses and want to switch over to the updated courses? Will I lose my progress?
  • Can I earn my AAiP by completing a mix of courses from the original release and the new AAiP Learning Pathway?

What is the AI Learning Hub?

The AI Learning Hub is designed for association professionals looking to master AI and apply it to real-world challenges. This self-paced platform offers specialized lessons, hands-on practice, and strategic insights to help you work smarter and drive innovation.

What to expect:
✅ Master AI for Associations – Gain foundational knowledge and practical skills to implement AI effectively.
✅ Learn with Your Team – Empower your entire organization to adopt AI solutions and transform workflows.
✅ Apply AI Strategically – Leverage AI to streamline tasks, enhance creativity, and make data-driven decisions.
✅ Grow Your Network – Connect with like-minded professionals to share insights and best practices.

Invest in AI skills that bring immediate value to your role and set you up for long-term success in an AI-powered world. 🚀

Which courses are right for me?

We encourage any association professional looking to become proficient in AI to complete all courses for a well-rounded understanding. However, we understand that some users may prefer to focus on specific courses most relevant to their role and immediate needs. The learning path is flexible—choose what works best for you!

Not Sure Where to Start?
👉 Begin with Foundations of AI! (Recommended for everyone!)
Get a clear understanding of AI’s role in associations and how it can enhance your work.

👉 AI Prompting (Also great for everyone!)
Learn practical strategies to improve your AI interactions by mastering the art of effective prompts.

Recommended Courses/ Programs by Role

For Marketing, Events, and Membership Professionals:
  • AI Marketing & Communications - AAiP Pathway
  • AI Events & Conferences - AAiP Pathway
  • AI Membership - AAiP Pathway

For IT and Operations Teams:
  • AI Agents
  • Data + AI 
  • AI in Operations & Administration - AAiP Pathway

For Finance and Accounting Teams:
  • AI Finance & Accounting - AAiP Pathway
  • AI in Accounting and Finance CE Course

For Leadership and HR Professionals:
  • AI HR & People Operations - AAiP Pathway
  • AI Governance & Leadership - AAiP Pathway


For Fundraising Professionals:
  • AI Fundraising and Development - AAiP Pathway

How long are the courses?

All courses are asynchronous, meaning you can take them at your own pace—whenever and wherever it works for you! Each course is divided into smaller, digestible lessons so you can fit learning into your schedule easily.

Here’s a breakdown of course lengths:

Core Courses (Path to AAiP Certification):
 

If you are proceeding with our AAiP Certification Program that includes 7 exams, ~90 minutes

New AAiP Learning Pathway(Launch April 2026):


💡 Since each course is broken into multiple lessons, you can complete them at your own pace—whether that’s a few at once or spread over multiple sessions.

How do I access the new AAiP courses?

Are these courses eligible for CAE credit hours?

The Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential is the marker of a committed association professional who has demonstrated the wide range of knowledge essential to manage an association in today’s challenging environment. Continuing education offered by a professional entity may be applied toward the professional development requirement of the CAE exam or renewal application as long as it is directly related to association or nonprofit management 

You are eligible for up to 11 CAE credit hours for completing the 7 core courses in The Learning Hub. You will receive a certificate of completion after completing each course, for your records. 

What is the Association AI Professional (AAiP) Certification?

The Association AI Professional (AAiP) Certification is a foundational program designed to equip association professionals with the knowledge and practical skills needed to thrive in an AI-driven world. This certification demonstrates your mastery of AI concepts and your ability to apply them effectively within your organization.

Why Get Certified?
✅ Gain expertise in AI applications tailored for associations
✅ Showcase your leadership in navigating AI advancements
✅ Enhance your career prospects with a recognized certification

How to Earn Your AAiP Certification
To achieve certification, you will:
📌 Complete a series of comprehensive AI courses
📌 Pass exams that validate your AI knowledge and skills

The AAiP certification is valid for one year, ensuring that you stay up to date with the latest AI trends and innovations in the association space. By earning this credential, you position yourself as a leader in AI adoption, ready to guide your organization through technology-driven change. 

How do I complete my AAiP Certification?

If you are earning your AAiP through our original AAiP Courses(Available to all users who signed up Prior to March 31, 2026), you will:

  • Complete a series of comprehensive AI courses
  • Pass exams that validate your AI knowledge and skills


Required Courses for Original AAiP Certification:
You’ll need to complete the following courses(in any order of your choosing):

  • Foundations of AI
  • AI Prompting
  • Strategy in the Age of AI
  • Data + AI
  • AI in Events and Education
  • AI Agents
  • AI in Marketing and Member Communications


Final AAiP Certification Steps: After completing the seven core courses, go to the Association AI Professional Certification section.

There, you’ll need to:
  • Complete the 7 related exams
  • Submit a short video(less than 2 minutes) explaining how you currently use AI
  • Complete the demographics survey
  • Complete the Evaluation Survey


The AAiP certification is valid for one year, ensuring that you stay up to date with the latest AI trends and innovations in the association space. By earning this credential, you position yourself as a leader in AI adoption, ready to guide your organization through technology-driven change.

If you are earning your AAiP through our newly Launch AAiP Learning Pathway, you will need to complete the AAiP Learning Pathway in its entirety(100% complete).

How long does the certification program take?

Most learners complete the full certification in about 30 days by spending ~3 hours each week. Please see below for an example Learning Path.

How do I maintain my AAiP certification?

AI is evolving at an extraordinary pace, and staying current isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s essential. That’s why we require frequent renewal: to ensure certified individuals are not only up to speed on the latest advancements but also actively applying AI in meaningful ways. We believe knowledge alone isn’t enough; real impact comes from hands-on experience and the ability to adapt AI tools in real-world contexts.

Your AAiP certification is valid for 1 year. To maintain your AAiP certification in good standing, each year, professionals must complete: 
 
Ongoing AI education every 12 months
Stay aligned with current best practices and emerging capabilities.Have met all previous AAiP Requirements

The “What’s New in AI” course every six months
This includes the Fall 2025 6-Month Update in AI, now ready for you in the Learning Hub.

Three elective hours of AI learning annually
Take any 2 Sidecar Continuing Education(CE) courses or submit outside learning for approval.
👉 Submit your elective hour documentation here  

Maintain an active subscription to the Sidecar AI Learning Hub
This ensures uninterrupted access to updates, new courses, and maintenance materials.

For more information on AAiP maintenance, check out our AAiP Maintenance page.

Approved Providers for AAiP Maintenance Hours

To maintain your AAiP certification, you may submit external learning hours from the following approved education providers:

  • DeepLearning.AI (Coursera)
  • Google (Coursera + Cloud Skills Boost)
  • Microsoft Learn + Coursera
  • IBM Skills Network
  • OpenAI Learn
  • LinkedIn Learning — AI courses only
  • Industry Providers with AI-specific courses
(e.g., AICPA/CPA.com, AMA, SHRM, PMI — AI-focused modules only)

Important: Introductory Courses Do Not Qualify
Maintenance hours must reflect your continued advancement in AI competency.
Courses that are introductory, beginner-level, or equivalent to the AAiP curriculum are not eligible.

Eligible courses must be:
  • Intermediate or advanced
  • Beyond the level of content covered in AAiP
  • Focused on applied AI, prompting, agents, workflows, data for AI, or responsible AI

If you have questions about a course, you may submit it for review when you log your maintenance hours.

What is the Use Case Library?

The Use Case Library is a collection of short, real-world AI examples tailored for associations. Each video—under 10 minutes—demonstrates a practical way to apply AI in your daily work. From creating a podcast with a notebook language model to generating FAQs with ChatGPT, these use cases are designed to spark ideas and help you turn AI Learning Hub insights into immediate, meaningful improvements in your workflows.

Want to suggest a topic of the Use Case Library? Please send this to hello@sidecar.ai

How can I tell if a course is 100% completed?

There are two ways to tell a course has been 100% completed.
1. Completion is indicated by green checkmarks on each section within the course outline on the left-hand side (see images below for reference).
2. All completed courses are sent a certificate of completion via email from community@sidecar.ai. Please check spam/junk/and quarantine if you do not see it and reach out to us at support@sidecar.ai if you need it resent.

Where can I access my certificates for courses completed?

You can access your certificates directly through Accredible. To do so, click here, then select “Access without password” (see image below).

Once you enter your email address, Accredible will send you a link to view and download all credentials associated with that email.

What happened to the previous AAiP courses?

We recently launched our updated AAiP Learning Pathway. Since we will be removing the older courses by the end of the year, anyone who already earned their AAiP can only see the new learning pathway.

Rest assured, we can still see every course you have completed in the past, and you can access your certificate of completion for each of those courses at any time via accredible.

Learners who purchased the older AAiP program prior to 04/10/2026 will retain access to the original course versions and also have the option to take the newly updated AAiP Learning Pathway.

What if I started the original courses and want to switch over to the updated courses? Will I lose my progress?

Users who were enrolled in the original courses prior to the launch will have the flexibility to choose the path that works best for them:

  • Continue with the existing AAIP course track if you’re already in progress
  • Start fresh with the newly updated AAIP courses to take advantage of the latest content and enhancements


There’s no interruption to your current progress—just more options to support your learning journey.

Can I earn my AAiP by completing a mix of courses from the original release and the new AAiP Learning Pathway?

No, to earn the AAiP certification, all required courses must be completed within a single track.

This is because the new AAiP Learning Pathway includes a comprehensive final exam that covers material from all updated courses. Therefore learners cannot mix and match courses from the original and new tracks to complete the certification.

Contact help@sidecar.ai for any other questions