Strategic call Most automation fails because people automate the wrong thing. That is why this workshop starts with choosing, not with clicking. In two hours you learn how to tell a good automation idea from a bad one, you build that idea in n8n with an AI step, and you put it live so a fellow student can use it. You leave with a working tool, a certificate of attendance and a handout to look back on.
Want a workshop or guest lecture like this at your own university or company? See Marrallisa’s page as an AI keynote speaker and trainer.
The session is open to students from every faculty, from law and medicine to business, science and the humanities. You do not need to know how to code. The build uses a shared skeleton that you then bend to your own field.
What you will learn
The evening is built around four things you take home. You learn to select and filter automation cases: which tasks deserve a workflow, and which ones never pay back. You learn the essentials of n8n: triggers, an AI step, storing data and showing a result. You build a proof of concept that actually runs. And you learn how ongoing improvement works once real people start using what you made.
The rule of thumb behind all of it is simple: the value of an automation is the time it saves multiplied by how often it runs. A weekly task pays back. Cleaning one dataset once does not.
Programme
| Time | Block | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 18:30 | Welcome | Why automate, and what you leave with |
| 18:40 | Part 1: Qualify | Crazy 8s, cost vs impact, pick one idea |
| 19:05 | Part 2: Build | An AI intake assistant, node by node |
| 20:00 | Part 3: Launch | Go live, swap forms, fix bugs |
| 20:25 | Close | Certificate and next steps |
In the first part, everyone writes down eight repetitive tasks they would pay to never do again, places them on a cost versus impact matrix and runs the best one through four filters: impact and risk, frequency, rule versus judgment, and whether a first version fits in thirty minutes. In the second part we build together on the projector, with a checkpoint after every node so nobody falls behind. In the third part you swap seats and use each other’s tools, because a workflow is not real until someone else uses it.
What you build
Everyone builds the same four-node AI intake assistant. A student submits text through a form, an AI step summarises, categorises, drafts a reply or proofreads it, the result is saved to a Data Table and it appears on the confirmation screen. Only the AI step needs a key; the form and the table are built into n8n.
Then you make it yours. A law student pastes a contract clause and gets a plain-language explanation with risk flags. A medical student turns rough notes into a patient-friendly summary. Business students score an inbound lead and draft a reply, science students turn an abstract into three bullets, and humanities students get a proofread paragraph with suggested edits. Only the form fields and the prompt change.
Before you come
The session is set up for 15 to 30 students, and building starts on time, so arrive prepared:
- A laptop and a charger
- A stable internet connection
- An n8n Cloud account on the free two-week trial (the sign-up link is in your confirmation email)
- A free AI key from OpenAI or another provider, or the plan to use the AI credit that comes with the n8n trial if it is offered
Registered students receive a confirmation email with the room, the sign-up link and these instructions.
After the workshop
You receive a certificate of attendance and the handout above, with the qualify matrix, the build step by step, the variations per faculty and space to reflect on what you built. If you want to go further, the official n8n Academy courses at docs.n8n.io/courses are the next step. To keep your workflow running after the trial, managed n8n hosting in Europe is an affordable option. Keep the first version small: a complex workflow may stop running when the trial ends.
Built something you are proud of? Share it and tag @marrallisa.
About MAIN and TCM
The workshop is organised together with two student associations at Maastricht University. MAIN, the Maastricht AI and Technology Network, brings students from all faculties together around AI and technology through panel talks, workshops and hackathons. TCM, Tech Consulting Maastricht, is a student-led tech consultancy that delivers technical solutions for real companies.
Both are listed in Maastricht University’s overview of student organisations, under career and extracurricular skills.
About the teacher
Marrallisa Kreijkes is the founder of Viralistic and an official n8n Ambassador. She builds automations for businesses, trains teams and spoke at In The Loop, the first n8n conference. Read more about how we approach automation.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need programming experience?
No. n8n is a low-code tool: you build workflows by connecting nodes on a canvas. The workshop is designed for students from every faculty, and the build follows the projector step by step, with a checkpoint after every node. If you can fill in a form and write a clear instruction, you can build the assistant.
Do I need paid tools?
No. You build on an n8n Cloud account with the free two-week trial, and you need an AI key. Many AI providers offer free credit, and the n8n trial may include AI credit as well. If you have no AI key, you can still build the form, the table and the confirmation; only the AI step is skipped.
In which language is the workshop taught?
The workshop is taught in English, so students from every programme and nationality can take part. The handout is in English too. Questions in Dutch are welcome during the build.
Will my workflow keep running after the workshop?
Your workflow runs as long as your n8n account is active. The free trial lasts two weeks, so keep your first version small and decide afterwards whether you want to keep it running, for example with a low-cost hosting licence. Simple workflows like the intake assistant are easy to move later.