In today’s explosive AI era, automation is no longer just a trend—it has become a “survival skill” for anyone working in technology or business. To help students gain access to modern automation tools, the NTT Institute of International Education (NIIE) hosted the workshop “Building Data Automation Workflows with n8n,” offering a practical look at how AI Agents and workflow automation are applied in real businesses.
The workshop was led by Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, MSc, Senior Developer at Kyanon, who has over 7 years of experience in software development, automation system design, and AI solution deployment in real-world projects. With strong expertise in backend development, API integration, and automation platforms, Mr. Tuan delivered a hands-on, easy-to-understand session that still carried significant technical depth.
At the start of the workshop, the speaker introduced n8n—a powerful no-code automation platform that connects more than 400 applications to create visual automated workflows. As described on pages 2–3 of the attached materials, n8n allows users to drag and drop nodes to build workflows from Trigger → Process → Action, much like assembling technological Lego blocks. Thanks to this approach, tasks such as data filtering, system synchronization, and AI-powered content analysis can be automated within minutes.
In the main section, Mr. Tuan explained core concepts such as nodes, connections, data flow, execution, and testing—elements that determine the stability of any workflow. This foundation helps students understand how data moves step by step through a system to avoid errors during operation. He then introduced common node types such as Webhook, HTTP Request, IF, and Code Node, demonstrating how they are applied in real situations like extracting invoice data, sending automated notifications, or synchronizing customer information across multiple platforms.
One of the most exciting topics for students was the integration of AI Agents into n8n. As presented on pages 8–11 of the materials, n8n offers strong support for AI-related nodes such as Chat Trigger, AI Agent, LLM nodes, and direct integrations with OpenAI, Gemini, and Claude to create intelligent workflows. The speaker demonstrated how to:
- Integrate ChatGPT to automatically read, categorize, and reply to emails
- Use Gemini to analyze images and extract data
- Build a voice-bot workflow using VAPI and ElevenLabs for speech-to-text automation
At the end of the workshop, students had time to ask questions about career opportunities in AI automation, how to get started with n8n, and the essential skills needed to build professional workflows. Many shared that the session helped them “open their eyes” to the power of automation—where a single n8n workflow can replace hours of manual work.
