Explore + Create

Introduction for workshop attendees

This workshop is about exploring AI agents in a practical, low‑pressure way. We’ll work from something many of you already use — Copilot — and build towards understanding how AI can act more like an assistant that carries out defined tasks.

We’re not positioning this as expert training. AI agents are still emerging, and this session is part of ongoing experimentation. The aim is to surface what works, what doesn’t, and where this might genuinely support teaching and academic practice.

You’ll have space to try things out, question assumptions, and think critically about where human judgement remains essential. We’ll look at simple ways to structure AI tasks, consider risks and limitations, and test ideas in a hands-on way.

By the end, you should have:

• A clearer sense of what an AI agent is (and isn’t)
• Practical ways to start using them
• A realistic view of where they add value —and where they don’t

This is as much about learning together as it is about the tools themselves.

Agenda

• 11:00 - Orientation + expectations + baseline understanding
• 11:25 - Break
• 11:30 - Real use + critical thinking
• 12:30 - Lunch break
• 13:10 - Where is the data?
• 13:30 - Build and explore - simple agent structure
• 14:25 - Break
• 14:30 - Limits + Misuse
• 15:00 - Close