Madiha Shakil Mirza to Lead Agentic AI Workshop at Microsoft’s “Unlocking Data Management and AI” Event

Madiha Shakil Mirza, an Artificial Intelligence Engineer at Avanade, will lead a featured 

workshop on Agentic AI at Microsoft’s “Unlocking Data Management and AI” event, taking place 

June 5–6, 2025, at the 1819 Innovation Hub at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. The two-day

 event brings together technologists, researchers, students, and business leaders to explore the 

intersection of data strategy and cutting-edge artificial intelligence advancements.

Madiha’s session will provide a technical deep dive into Agentic AI—autonomous systems 

designed to plan, reason, and make decisions with limited human oversight. As Agentic AI 

continues to emerge as a key frontier in the evolution of artificial intelligence, the workshop will 

offer attendees a foundational understanding of how these systems differ from more commonly 

discussed Generative AI models. It will also explore their architectural designs, core capabilities, 

operational frameworks, and real-world applications across various industries.

In addition to the conceptual framework, the workshop will compare single-agent and 

multi-agent systems, explain agent hierarchies, and examine coordination strategies essential 

for building scalable, autonomous systems. Attendees will gain exposure to Microsoft’s suite of 

technologies powering these innovations, including Copilot Agents, Azure AI Foundry, and the 

Azure AI Agent Service. The workshop will also spotlight leading open-source tools and 

frameworks currently used in the agentic AI space.

To reinforce learning through hands-on experience, Madiha will lead two interactive lab sessions

 where participants will build and deploy autonomous agents using Microsoft’s Semantic Kernel

 and Azure AI Foundry Agent Service. These labs are designed to help participants understand 

the design considerations, integration requirements, and performance benchmarks necessary 

for real-world deployment of Agentic AI.

The workshop is expected to attract over a hundred participants, including software engineers, 

data scientists, AI researchers, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers from various sectors who 

are exploring how autonomous AI systems can enhance operational intelligence, drive 

automation, and unlock new business opportunities.

Madiha Shakil Mirza has consistently contributed to the advancement and accessibility of 

artificial intelligence through her work in both research and industry. Her speaking engagements 

include prominent roles at ODSC East 2024, where she was selected as one of four featured 

presenters for the Women in Data Science Ignite session. She has also shared her expertise at 

Minnestar 2023—the U.S.’s longest-running technology unconference—as well as at the 2024 

WAESOL Annual Conference and the 2018 AI Bootcamp in Seattle.

She has served as an invited expert at events such as the Women in Analytics Virtual Summit 

(February 2021) and the DataConnect Conference (July 2022), where she led sessions on 

Natural Language Processing (NLP), Large Language Models (LLMs), and ethical 

considerations in Generative AI systems.

Outside of conferences, Madiha has demonstrated a strong commitment to STEM outreach and 

education. In 2019, she represented Avanade alongside Microsoft at the Girls in Science and

Technology event hosted at the Science Museum of Minnesota, teaching coding to children 

using AI-powered tools such as Intelligent Kiosk and Paint 3D.

Her academic contributions include presenting NLP research at NAACL-HLT 2018, one of the 

top international conferences in the field, and sharing early research as a graduate student at

MinneWIC 2017, part of the ACM-W Celebration of Women in Computing. Most recently, she

was a featured guest on the Carpe Datum podcast (Season 3, Episode 6) in March 2025,

discussing her innovative work on Generative Humor.

Madiha’s multi-disciplinary experience and continued advocacy for responsible AI development 

underscore her role as a respected voice in the field. Through initiatives like this upcoming 

workshop, she remains actively engaged in shaping the future of Agentic AI and mentoring the 

next generation of technology leaders.