Audience
Developers, technical leads, DevOps engineers, and anyone looking to integrate AI‑assisted development into their workflow.
Prerequisites
None.
Duration
1 day. Hands on.
Objectives
A focused, hands‑on introduction to using GitHub Copilot to accelerate software development. Participants learn how to apply Copilot across coding, documentation, testing, and collaboration workflows, with an emphasis on practical skills and responsible use.
Upon completion Delegates will be able to:
· Use GitHub Copilot and Copilot Chat effectively in supported IDEs
· Generate, refactor, and explain code using natural‑language prompts
· Produce documentation and tests with AI assistance
· Apply Copilot in GitHub workflows such as pull requests and CI
· Recognize Copilot’s limitations, risks, and best‑practice usage patterns
Course Content
1. Introduction & Setup (09:00–09:30) Overview of Copilot, licensing, supported environments, and hands‑on setup.
2. Copilot Fundamentals (09:30–10:30) How Copilot works, prompting basics, inline suggestions, and first coding exercises.
3. Practical Coding with Copilot (10:45–12:00) Using Copilot for scaffolding, API integration, refactoring, and building a small working application.
4. Documentation & Testing with Copilot (13:00–14:00) Generating docstrings, READMEs, unit tests, integration tests, and improving code clarity.
5. Copilot in the GitHub Workflow (14:00–15:00) Using Copilot for pull‑request reviews, code suggestions, and generating GitHub Actions workflows.
6. Advanced Techniques & Best Practices (15:15–16:15) Prompt engineering, multi‑file reasoning, security considerations, and avoiding hallucinations.
7. Capstone Exercise (16:15–17:00) Participants extend the morning project or build a new feature using Copilot end‑to‑end.