Sponsored by Microsoft
Microsoft Labs & Lounge
Hands-on labs proctored by Microsoft employees and MVPs ran in 90-minute blocks all three days in the Excellence room, with a lounge next door for refreshments and conversation. Thanks to everyone who stopped by.
Presented in partnership with
Who Ran the Labs
Every lab was proctored in person — nobody worked through one alone.
If you have ever left a conference session thinking “that looked great, but I want to actually try it” — this was that room. Attendees sat down at a lab, worked through it at their own pace, and had a Microsoft employee or MVP a few feet away when they got stuck.
How It Works
How the lab room ran
Ran All Three Days
There was a lab in every session slot, all three days — and each lab repeated during the week, so attendees who missed one time could catch it again.
Proctored by Microsoft
Microsoft employees and Microsoft MVPs were in the room to get attendees unstuck, answer questions, and talk through how the technology applied to what they were building.
Hands-On, on Your Own Machine
Attendees worked on their own personal or work laptops, with tables, power, and venue-wide Wi-Fi in the room.
At Your Own Pace
Every lab was self-paced. Attendees finished one and started another, or spent the whole block going deep on the single topic they cared most about.
The Labs
Three hands-on labs, each run as a 90-minute proctored block
Azure SQL + Azure OpenAI Service + Microsoft Fabric
Bringing AI to your data. Attendees worked hands-on across the Microsoft data and AI stack — querying data in Azure SQL, grounding models on it with Azure OpenAI Service, and pulling it all together in Microsoft Fabric's unified analytics platform.
Cupcake Workshop (Python) — Microsoft Foundry
A hands-on Python workshop built on Microsoft Foundry. Attendees followed the Cupcake Workshop from first prompt to a working AI application, and saw how Foundry brings models, agents, and tooling together for Python developers.
GitHub Copilot Lab
Practical AI-assisted development. Attendees put GitHub Copilot to work end to end in their own editors — writing, refactoring, testing, and understanding code — and picked up the habits that make it genuinely useful day to day.
Lab Schedule
All labs ran in the Excellence room and started and ended with the regular sessions, 30 seats per session.
- 10:15 AM – 11:45 AM Azure SQL + Azure OpenAI Service + Microsoft Fabric Lab
- 1:15 PM – 2:45 PM Cupcake Workshop (Python) - Microsoft Foundry Workshop
- 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM GitHub Copilot Lab
- 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Azure SQL + Azure OpenAI Service + Microsoft Fabric Lab
- 10:15 AM – 11:45 AM Cupcake Workshop (Python) - Microsoft Foundry Workshop
- 1:15 PM – 2:45 PM GitHub Copilot Lab
- 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM Cupcake Workshop (Python) - Microsoft Foundry Workshop
- 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Azure SQL + Azure OpenAI Service + Microsoft Fabric Lab
- 10:15 AM – 11:45 AM Cupcake Workshop (Python) - Microsoft Foundry Workshop
- 1:15 PM – 2:45 PM GitHub Copilot Lab
- 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM Cupcake Workshop (Python) - Microsoft Foundry Workshop
Right Next Door
The Lounge
Three days of technical content is a lot to take in. Just steps from the lab room, Microsoft hosted a casual lounge for attendees who wanted to sit down, catch their breath, and have a conversation that was not on the schedule.
People grabbed a coffee and the refreshments and baked goods, took a proper break, and kept hallway conversations going long after sessions ended — some of the best moments of the conference happened right there. Thanks to everyone who stopped by.
Refreshments
Coffee and drinks to get through the afternoon sessions.
Baked Goods
Fresh treats on hand all three days.
Casual Seating
Comfortable space to relax, recharge, and reset between sessions.
Hallway Track
An easy place to keep talking with speakers and fellow attendees.
Thanks for Stopping By
Excellence Room · Brilliance Convention Center · September 30 – October 2, 2026
