Microsoft Developer presents an in-depth MCP for Beginners course led by April Gittens, covering everything from MCP fundamentals to building and deploying AI agents in Visual Studio Code.

Overview

This video course, presented by Microsoft Developer and instructed by April Gittens, is designed for individuals seeking to understand and apply the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to build robust AI agents. The course aims to provide learners with a strong foundation, practical skills for implementation, and knowledge of best practices in real-world AI application development.

Key Lessons and Topics

  1. Introduction to Model Context Protocol (MCP)
    • What MCP is and why it is important for AI applications.
  2. MCP Core Concepts
    • Detailed explanation of foundational elements in MCP.
  3. MCP Security Best Practices
    • Guidance on how to develop secure AI solutions with MCP.
  4. Building Your First MCP Server
    • Step-by-step walkthrough for creating a simple MCP server.
  5. Building, Testing & Deploying MCP Apps
    • Guidance on using real development tools and workflows for full application lifecycle management.
  6. Advanced MCP: Secure, Scalable, Multi-modal AI Agents
    • Covers advanced topics like multi-modal agent design, scalability, and security enhancements.
  7. Contributing to MCP: Tools, Docs, Code, and Community
    • Encourages community involvement, detailing how to participate in the MCP ecosystem.
  8. Lessons from MCP Early Adopters
    • Insights and case studies from organizations implementing MCP in real environments.
  9. MCP Development Best Practices
    • Practical recommendations for efficient, sustainable MCP development.
  10. MCP in Action: Real World Case Studies
    • Demonstrates MCP’s impact via actual deployment scenarios.
  11. Building AI Agents in Visual Studio Code
    • Four hands-on labs providing step-by-step instruction using Visual Studio Code and the AI Toolkit for MCP app creation.

Practical Skills Developed

  • Implementing MCP servers and agents.
  • Ensuring AI application security and scalability.
  • Applying best practices from industry use cases.
  • Using Visual Studio Code and the AI Toolkit for real development scenarios.
  • Engaging with open-source communities for ongoing learning and contribution.

Conclusion

This comprehensive course is suitable for developers and consultants interested in building secure, scalable, and real-world AI powered solutions using MCP. The structured lessons, real code samples, security insights, and hands-on labs offer both foundational knowledge and advanced applications.

Full resources and code samples can be accessed at: https://aka.ms/MCP-for-Beginners