The Oxford Second Brain Bootcamp - Cohort 1
This event has run
The Oxford Second Brain Bootcamp - Cohort 1 took place on Wednesday, 21 October 2026 at Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Dates for the next cohort are being confirmed.
Tell me when the next dates are set
Email hello@oxfordagentic.com and we will add you to the list for the next cohort.
Key facts
Cohort 1 of the Oxford Second Brain Bootcamp ran on Wednesday 21 October 2026 at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. It was a one-day, in-person course for business leaders who use AI daily and have hit the ceiling of prompting alone: everyone built a structured second brain from their own material and left with it working and set up to maintain. No coding was required.
- Date
- Wednesday, 21 October 2026
- Time
- 9:00–17:00
- Venue
- Pitt Rivers Museum, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PP
- Who it was for
- Business leaders, founders, partners and senior operators who use AI most days
- People who have hit the ceiling of what prompting alone can do
- Anyone tired of re-explaining their business to a tool that forgets by Tuesday
- What the day was built around
- A working second brain, populated with your own material during the day
- An architecture for your context, so it stays findable as it grows
- A maintenance routine, so the system improves with use rather than decaying
- The connections that let your AI tools draw on it, across tools
Part of The Oxford Second Brain Bootcamp.
How the day ran
- Morning
Why context beats prompting
What a second brain is, its anatomy, and designing yours.
- Midday
The build
Populating it with your own material, in formats that stay sustainable.
- Afternoon
Making it last
Maintenance, memory management, and connecting it to your tools.
- Close
What it makes possible
Where this goes next, and time with the room.
Questions
When and where was it?
Wednesday 21 October 2026, 09:00 to 17:00, at the Pitt Rivers Museum on South Parks Road in central Oxford. That date has passed and dates for the next cohort are being confirmed.
What is a second brain?
A structured, maintained store of your own context - how you write, what good looks like, what your business knows - that your AI assistants can draw on. With it, answers stop being generic; without it, every conversation starts from zero.
Do I need to be technical?
No. Nothing on the day requires code. The work is deciding what your context is and structuring it, which is thinking about your business, not programming.
How is this different from the Oxford Agentic Bootcamp?
The Agentic Bootcamp builds workflows - AI pipelines that do a task. This day builds the context those tools draw on. They compound, and neither assumes the other.
Which AI tools does this work with?
The ones you already use. What you build is your own material, structured so a model can read it, rather than a setup inside one particular app. The day ends with connecting it to the tools you work in, so it survives you changing them.
Who is it not for?
People who want a conceptual overview of AI - this is a build day, not a briefing. Anyone who cannot bring their own material, because the day is spent populating a second brain with real documents and notes, and without them you leave with a template rather than a second brain. Anyone expecting a vendor or platform pitch: no tool is being sold. And anyone whose work laptop blocks new sign-ups, which is worth checking first.
What should I bring?
A laptop, and access to your own material - the documents, notes and examples that carry how you work. The day is built around populating your second brain with real content, not placeholders.
Can I still join this cohort?
No - this date has passed and registration for it has closed. Dates for the next cohort are being confirmed.
Can I install software on my work laptop?
Worth checking before you book. Corporate and government devices often block new tool sign-ups, and the day ends with connecting your second brain to the tools you work in. This caught people out at the first Oxford Agentic Bootcamp, so it is better found now than at 09:30 on the day. If your laptop is locked down, email hello@oxfordagentic.com and we will work out what you need beforehand.
What if some of my material is confidential?
Bring what you would be comfortable putting in an email to an external supplier. Credentials, keys and other people’s personal data stay out of a second brain in any form. That still leaves most of what makes AI answers specific to you: how you write, what good looks like, and the decisions you have already made.
Can I bring my team?
Yes. Teams are welcome, and bringing a colleague means the same approach goes back to work with two of you rather than one. Email hello@oxfordagentic.com and we will arrange it.
What if I cannot make the date?
Tickets are not refundable, but your place transfers to a future cohort at no charge. Just let us know and we will move you.
Can my organisation pay by invoice?
Yes. If your organisation would rather pay by invoice than book on a card form, email hello@oxfordagentic.com and we will arrange it.