AI Service Center: Efficient Information Retrieval – Part I

Part I of this four-part workshop series introduces participants to the fundamentals of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). The focus is on building a local, data-secure system that retrieves information from your own documents and generates contextual, understandable answers without sharing sensitive data with third-party providers.

The workshop covers the core components of RAG systems, including local large language models, embeddings, and vector databases. In a hands-on session, participants set up a complete minimal RAG system and explore semantic search and answer generation on real documents.

Part I lays the technical foundation for the subsequent workshops and enables participants to assess and adapt RAG for their own data and use cases.

Event Details

• Title: Efficient Information Retrieval – Part I

• Format: In-person workshop

• Topic: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)

• Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2026

• Time: 3:00–6:00 PM (CEST)

• Location: Hasso-Plattner-Institut
  Prof.-Dr.-Helmert-Straße 2–3, Building K, Room K-1.04, 14482 Potsdam

• Organizer: AI Service Center Berlin-Brandenburg @ HPI

• Duration: 3 hours

• Admission: Free, registration required

• Requirements: Experience with Python, GitHub, and Docker or completion of a basic AI workshop

• Note: Photo, audio, and video recordings will take place during the event