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ByteSized dRTP: AI-assisted Coding

Event artwork for ByteSized dRTP: AI-assisted Coding
About this event

What to expect

Learn practical AI-assisted coding with GitHub Copilot in this online CAKE NetworkPlus workshop on 12 October 2026, featuring guided, hands-on exercises.

AI coding agents can now inspect repositories, run commands and modify software on a developer’s behalf. This ByteSized dRTP session moves beyond simply prompting a model to examine the wider system, or harness, that helps an agent work reliably. You’ll explore how instructions, available tools, permissions and verification checks influence what an AI agent can do and how confidently you can use its output.

What you’ll learn

Using GitHub Copilot in VS Code and the terminal as the working example, the session will demonstrate how to:

  • use an AI coding agent to explore and understand an existing codebase;
  • guide the agent with project-specific instructions;
  • let an agent run commands and propose or make code changes;
  • check those changes with tests rather than accepting them at face value;
  • record the use of AI assistance to support reproducibility;
  • think about the model and its surrounding harness as separate parts of an effective workflow.

Although the demonstrations focus on GitHub Copilot, the underlying approaches are intended to transfer to other AI-assisted coding tools. This makes the workshop useful for participants who want a practical framework for evaluating and supervising coding agents, not just an introduction to one product.

Format and audience

CAKE NetworkPlus will deliver the event online, combining instructor-led, follow-along examples with guided exercises and dedicated time for hands-on practice. It is particularly relevant to people writing or maintaining software in academia and industry, including researchers and developers who want to understand how coding agents fit into responsible, testable workflows.

Foundational knowledge of Python and git will be helpful. To participate fully in the interactive exercises, you’ll need:

  • a GitHub account;
  • VS Code with the GitHub Copilot extension;
  • the GitHub Copilot CLI.

The free version of Copilot is sufficient for the workshop. Eligible participants may also wish to apply for GitHub Education benefits in advance, as registration can take up to one week. If you cannot install or access the prerequisites, you are still welcome to attend and watch the instructor complete the interactive parts.

Register for ByteSized dRTP: AI-assisted Coding

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