Registration
Conference Area - Floor 2
Schedule
9:00 - 10:00
Alistair Pugin
Preparing for Microsoft 365 Copilot
Floor 2
Yes, There is AI in your productivity stack. Yes, it does things for you.
But. You need to make sure that your content is structured and managed correctly,
otherwise, people will gain access to information that they should not have access to...
Read More
In this session we cover:
- How to configure your tenant for Copilot
- What Microsoft 365 Copilot actually does
- How to use Microsoft 365 Copilot effectively
- Security considerations for Microsoft 365 Copilot
- Extending Microsoft 365 Copilot
10:05 - 11:05
Jaid Heesen
How AI tools can facilitate our "techxpertise" in rapidly changing fields
Floor 2
Becoming a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in any field can be a daunting and
time-consuming process. However, the integration of AI tools into your learning and
development journey can dramatically shorten this timeline. In this talk, we will
explore how AI tools can be leveraged to rapidly gain expertise and become a recognized
SME....
Read More
Drawing from my own experience of becoming an SME in web accessibility within
six months, I will highlight the key AI tools and techniques that can be applied
across various domains.
Whether you are a developer, designer, manager, or professional in any industry,
this talk will provide you with practical insights and actionable steps to
leverage AI for accelerated expertise. Join us to unlock the potential of AI and
transform your journey to becoming a Subject Matter Expert.
11:10 - 11:30
Hennie Francis
Navigating GitHub CoPilot: Piloting Your Code Safely
Floor 2
In today's day and age where GitHub CoPilot's new home is in your IDE,
Engineers and Developers run the risk to hand over the controls over to GitHub CoPilot
and just expect to run awesome code... well... that might not work out as expected.
Come hear why we never should trust the output of GitHub CoPilot, and always be in full
control of your code's flight path! AI is here to help, not to take over!
11:40 - 12:00
Niren Gooroocharan
AI insights : Power BI and Copilot
Floor 2
Using copilot to hit the ground running with Power BI
Lunch Break - Floor 2
Conference Area - Floor 2
13:00 - 14:00
Tobias Brandt
PRQL: A Modern SQL Replacement for Transforming Data
Floor 2
PRQL is a modern replacement of SQL. It combines the elegance of
relational algebra with the usability of popular libraries like Pandas, dplyr, and LINQ,
offering a functional, pipelined query paradigm with modern ergonomics and expressivity.
It looks very similar to KQL/Kusto but can be used on any SQL query engine....
Read More
PRQL has only 12 primitive built-in transforms, making it quick to learn and
easy to remember. This small set of builtins can be easily combined to form
complex data pipelines.
PRQL incorporates modern ergonomics like f-strings, @date literals, and a ?? null-coalesce operator, as well FP features such as functions, currying and loop based iteration that have long been missing from SQL.
PRQL is usable on any RDBMs, compiling to many dialects of SQL, allowing you to leverage your existing infrastructure and bringing your compute to where your data resides.
PRQL is Apache licensed and completely volunteer-driven. With over 9k stars on GitHub, and seeing increasing adoption by startups, we believe it is the future of data! Come and join us!
PRQL incorporates modern ergonomics like f-strings, @date literals, and a ?? null-coalesce operator, as well FP features such as functions, currying and loop based iteration that have long been missing from SQL.
PRQL is usable on any RDBMs, compiling to many dialects of SQL, allowing you to leverage your existing infrastructure and bringing your compute to where your data resides.
PRQL is Apache licensed and completely volunteer-driven. With over 9k stars on GitHub, and seeing increasing adoption by startups, we believe it is the future of data! Come and join us!
14:05 - 15:05
Allan Pead
AI, .NET and the Digital Microscope
Floor 2
Join me on a Journey of combining IoT and AI to produce a solution that is
useful, practical and also improves accessibility.
We will cover how to incorporate a custom Raspberry Pi based imaging device directly with Azure AI services, like Azure Ai Vision (Ocr and Image Analysis) and Azure Ai Speech. We will also use OpenAi and incorporate RAG in a seamless way using Azure CosmosDB.
Best of all this is all done with .NET and Avalonia.
This solution definitely catered for my own accessibility needs, hopefully the session will spark some ideas of what else can be done with AI.
We will cover how to incorporate a custom Raspberry Pi based imaging device directly with Azure AI services, like Azure Ai Vision (Ocr and Image Analysis) and Azure Ai Speech. We will also use OpenAi and incorporate RAG in a seamless way using Azure CosmosDB.
Best of all this is all done with .NET and Avalonia.
This solution definitely catered for my own accessibility needs, hopefully the session will spark some ideas of what else can be done with AI.
Registration
Conference Area - Floor 2
9:00 - 10:00
Werner Rall
This session is not about AI, it's about YOU!
Floor 3
How can we bridge the gap between the real world and the digital world.
There are so many promises of AI but where do we draw the line? or is there even a line?
In this session we take a look at how AI can make our lives easier, increase our
productivity, help us cook, make our holidays cooler and be a more efficient developer
10:05 - 10:25
Adam Kaminski
Down the LLM Rabbit Hole: Navigating the Challenges of developing RAG Chatbots!
Floor 3
We all know about the cool and fascinating world of Retrieval-Augmented
Generation (RAG) and and Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots, but lets explore the
growing pains of this innovation, from concept to close.
Read More
- We begin with the challenges surrounding data processing. Unstructured and un-suitable data created before LLMs and RAG were useful.
- The additional difficulties in developing pipelines on limited resources.
- What are the difficulties and how can you beat them. Finally, how to prove the value of your solution as quickly as possible.
11:10 - 11:30
Lemi Masalu
Niels Berglund
Unlocking the Magic: An Intro to Generative AI and Large Language Models
Floor 3
Join us for an enlightening 20-minute journey into the fascinating world of
Generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs). In this session, you'll discover how
Generative AI is transforming the landscape of technology and creativity. We'll start with a
simple explanation of Generative AI, showcasing some amazing real-world applications
highlighting its potential...
Read More
Next, we'll demystify Large Language Models, the powerhouse behind many of these
innovations. You'll learn what LLMs are and get a peek into how they work—without
getting lost in technical jargon. We’ll explore how these models are revolutionizing
development across industries and discuss the significant benefits they bring to
developers like you.
Whether you're curious about the latest AI trends or looking to integrate cutting-edge technologies into your projects, this talk will equip you with the essential knowledge to start your journey with Generative AI and LLMs.
Whether you're curious about the latest AI trends or looking to integrate cutting-edge technologies into your projects, this talk will equip you with the essential knowledge to start your journey with Generative AI and LLMs.
Lunch Break - Floor 2
Conference Area - Floor 2
13:00 - 14:00
Jacob O'Brien
Ransomware Distribution with Artificial Intelligence
Floor 3
In this talk, we will explore the evolving landscape of ransomware
distribution, focusing on how cybercriminals are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) to
enhance their malicious activities...
Read More
Attendees will gain insights into traditional and modern methods of ransomware
distribution, with a particular emphasis on scripting attacks such as Server-Side
Request Forgery (SSRF). The session will delve into how AI enables automation,
scalability, and sophistication in these attacks, making them more effective and
harder to detect.
We will also examine real-world case studies illustrating the impact of AI-powered ransomware campaigns and discuss advanced techniques used by attackers.
The talk will cover defensive strategies, highlighting how AI can be utilized to detect and mitigate these threats.
By understanding both the offensive and defensive applications of AI in cybersecurity, attendees will be better equipped to protect their organizations from the growing threat of AI-driven ransomware.
We will also examine real-world case studies illustrating the impact of AI-powered ransomware campaigns and discuss advanced techniques used by attackers.
The talk will cover defensive strategies, highlighting how AI can be utilized to detect and mitigate these threats.
By understanding both the offensive and defensive applications of AI in cybersecurity, attendees will be better equipped to protect their organizations from the growing threat of AI-driven ransomware.
14:05 - 15:05
Someleze Diko
Protect PII information with Azure AI in your Microsoft Fabric Lakehouse
Floor 3
This session will focus on how organizations can achieve protecting their
customer's data by using Responsible AI practices that protect the PII and sensitive
features in their dataset, such as data masking, secure and compliant data storage and
access, fairness and accuracy monitoring, and transparent and respectful communication.
Registration
Reception - Ground Floor
8:30 - 09:30
Shafee Khan
Unlocking Productivity with Gen AI in the Modern Workplace
Ground Floor
Showcasing the power of Copilot for M365 in the microsoft apps we use today
like MS Teams, Outlook, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Unlocking real world examples with your
very own AI Companion.
09:35 - 10:35
Sibusiso Mfana
Emerging farmers and the world of AI
Ground Floor
Join us for an enlightening event that explores the dynamic intersection of
artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology in agriculture, with a focus on
empowering emerging farmers. This event will highlight the latest innovations and practical
applications of AI and blockchain in farming, demonstrating how these technologies can
enhance productivity, efficiency, and sustainability for smallholder and early-stage
commercial farmers.
10:40 - 11:00
Mfundo Mbambo
Ethics in the Age of AI Disruption
Ground Floor
At the beginning of the recent generative AI boom, I wanted to be involved in
it somehow. However, with no data or coding background my involvement was limited to being
an end user. As a risk professional I then started to notice that there were many issues
around the use of AI, especially from an ethical perspective. The light came on, and I
decided my involvement in this massive movement was to bring about knowledge and guardrails
on how AI can be developed and used responsibly. My session will be about ethical
considerations in AI and how these can be mitigated, creating safe AI for all.
11:00 - 12:00
Jacqui Muller
Incorporating AI into your Power Platform Strategy
Ground Floor
To fully realise the potential of the Power Platform in an organisation, a
strategy is essential to governing and maintaining the scalability of the platform
adequately. Copilot and other AI technologies are fast on the rise and should be included in
the strategy.
Lunch Break
Food Truck - Outside
13:00 - 14:00
Felicia Sephodi
Creating effective API Documentation for AI services
Ground Floor
AI services often cause frustration and confusion among user because they lack
clarity, are always evolving and are very complicated.
In this session we will explore how to create API documentation for AI services and the
importance of creating comprehensive API documentation for AI services. The session will
cover complicated endpoints, strategies for creating clear and concise, user-friendly
documentation.
The session should be interesting for developers, data scientists and product managers among
other professionals.
14:05 - 15:05
Luis de Sousa
Enhancing Retrieval Augmented Generation with GraphRAG
Ground Floor
Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) has emerged as a powerful technique for
enhancing the accuracy and relevance of generated content. Traditional approaches often rely
on naive semantic-search methods that use plain text snippets, leading to limitations in the
depth and context of the retrieved information...
Read More
Join us for a 60-minute deep dive into GraphRAG, a revolutionary approach that
addresses these limitations by leveraging structured and hierarchical methodologies.
GraphRAG transforms raw text into a comprehensive knowledge graph, constructs a
community hierarchy, and generates insightful summaries for these communities,
offering a more nuanced and contextually rich framework for RAG-based tasks.
15:10 - 15:30
Hennie Francis
Navigating GitHub CoPilot: Piloting Your Code Safely
Ground Floor
In today's day and age where GitHub CoPilot's new home is in your IDE,
Engineers and Developers run the risk to hand over the controls over to GitHub CoPilot and
just expect to run awesome code... well... that might not work out as expected.
Come hear why we never should trust the output of GitHub CoPilot, and always be in full control of your code's flight path! AI is here to help, not to take over!
Come hear why we never should trust the output of GitHub CoPilot, and always be in full control of your code's flight path! AI is here to help, not to take over!
15:35 - 15:55
Carike Botha
AI: Your Co-Pilot, Not Auto-Pilot. Embracing Tech's Future.
Ground Floor
In a tech world defined by rapid change and the looming specter of AI taking our jobs, my talk will address the concerns and inspire us to harness the potential of AI. I will talk about how to view AI as a co-pilot, not a threat, and how it can augment our skills and advance our careers. Get ready to leave with actionable takeaways, ready to use AI to your advantage.
Registration
Reception - Ground Floor
8:30 - 09:30
Allan Pead
AI, .NET and the Digital Microscope
Top Floor / Roof
Join me on a Journey of combining IoT and AI to produce a solution that is
useful, practical and also improves accessibility...
Read More
We will cover how to incorporate a custom Raspberry Pi based imaging device directly
with Azure AI services, like Azure Ai Vision (Ocr and Image Analysis) and Azure Ai
Speech. We will also use OpenAi and incorporate RAG in a seamless way using Azure
CosmosDB.
Best of all this is all done with .NET and Avalonia.
This solution definitely catered for my own accessibility needs, hopefully the session will spark some ideas of what else can be done with AI.
Best of all this is all done with .NET and Avalonia.
This solution definitely catered for my own accessibility needs, hopefully the session will spark some ideas of what else can be done with AI.
09:35 - 10:35
Josh Chettiar
Agentic experiments in CrewAI & Autogen
Top Floor / Roof
Join me as we delve into two popular emerging frameworks for creating and
managing a team of autonomous AI agents. What use cases can and can't they presently solve
for, and what does the likely trajectory of autonomous AI agents mean for the future of the
workplace?
10:40 - 11:00
Jason Baxter
Improve copilot for M365 RAG
Top Floor / Roof
Exploring a concept of improving m365 search and therefore improving copilot
RAG
11:00 - 12:00
Roberto Ferro
The ABCs of LangGraph
Top Floor / Roof
Join me for a session on "The ABCs of LangGraph." I’ll be breaking down what LangGraph is, its key use cases, and how it functions, including a showcase of its new IDE. To bring it all to life, I’ll also be doing a live demo of LangGraph in action. Whether you're new to LangGraph or looking to deepen your understanding, this session is designed to give you the insights you need. If you're eager to learn more about LangGraph and see it in the wild, this talk is for you!
Lunch Break
Food Truck - Outside
13:00 - 14:00
Mokone Tsiloane
Create, Sign and File Forms on the Fly
Top Floor / Roof
This is to showcase the Power Automate Run the script action that creates
a file from a template and sends it for signature approval.
14:05 - 15:05
Jacob O'Brien
Ransomware Distribution with Artificial Intelligence
Top Floor / Roof
In this talk, we will explore the evolving landscape of ransomware
distribution, focusing on how cybercriminals are leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI)
to enhance their malicious activities...
Read More
Read More
Attendees will gain insights into traditional and modern methods of ransomware
distribution, with a particular emphasis on scripting attacks such as
Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF). The session will delve into how AI enables
automation, scalability, and sophistication in these attacks, making them more
effective and harder to detect.
We will also examine real-world case studies illustrating the impact of AI-powered ransomware campaigns and discuss advanced techniques used by attackers.
The talk will cover defensive strategies, highlighting how AI can be utilized to detect and mitigate these threats.
By understanding both the offensive and defensive applications of AI in cybersecurity, attendees will be better equipped to protect their organizations from the growing threat of AI-driven ransomware.
We will also examine real-world case studies illustrating the impact of AI-powered ransomware campaigns and discuss advanced techniques used by attackers.
The talk will cover defensive strategies, highlighting how AI can be utilized to detect and mitigate these threats.
By understanding both the offensive and defensive applications of AI in cybersecurity, attendees will be better equipped to protect their organizations from the growing threat of AI-driven ransomware.
15:10 - 15:30
Lemi Masalu
Niels Berglund
Unlocking the Magic: An Intro to Generative AI and Large Language Models
Top Floor / Roof
Join us for an enlightening 20-minute journey into the fascinating world of Generative AI
and Large Language Models (LLMs). In this session, you'll discover how Generative AI is
transforming the landscape of technology and creativity. We'll start with a simple
explanation of Generative AI, showcasing some amazing real-world applications highlighting
its potential...
Read More
Next, we'll demystify Large Language Models, the powerhouse behind many of these
innovations. You'll learn what LLMs are and get a peek into how they work—without
getting lost in technical jargon. We’ll explore how these models are revolutionizing
development across industries and discuss the significant benefits they bring to
developers like you.
Whether you're curious about the latest AI trends or looking to integrate cutting-edge technologies into your projects, this talk will equip you with the essential knowledge to start your journey with Generative AI and LLMs.
Whether you're curious about the latest AI trends or looking to integrate cutting-edge technologies into your projects, this talk will equip you with the essential knowledge to start your journey with Generative AI and LLMs.
15:35 - 15:55
Roma Gupta
AI COE or Data & AI COE?
Top Floor / Roof
The session is about Center of Excellence for Data & AI COE that every organization must think about in the age of AI. The talk will include a sample COE that organization can start thinking about.
Cape Town Speakers
The amazing line up
Alistair Pugin
Allan Pead
Lemi Masalu
Niels Berglund
Niren Gooroocharan
Someleze Diko
Tobias Brandt
Werner Rall
Hennie Francis
Jacob O'Brien
Jaid Heesen
Adam Kaminski
Johannesburg Speakers
Come join us and learn even more about AI
Allan Pead
Roberto Ferro
Felicia Sephodi
Hennie Francis
Jacob O'Brien
Jacqui Muller
Jason Baxter
Josh Chettiar
Luis de Sousa
Mfundo Mbambo
Lemi Masalu
Niels Berglund
Roma Gupta
Shafee Khan
Sibusiso Mfana
Mokone Tsiloane
Carike Botha
Register now
This is a free event, you just need to
register and join us.
What's included?
- 15+ talks from industry-leading speakers
- Amazing networking oppotunities
- FREE refreshments, coffee with Barista and lunch in Cape Town
- FREE coffee and lunch available to purchase in Johannesburg
Cape Town Venue
BBD Cape Town Offices
3rd Floor, Northbank Building, No. 1 N Bank Ln, Century City, Cape Town, 7441
Limited Parking is available in the 2 secure parking areas at the BBD offices. Buzz BBD at the roller doors. Overflow pay parking at Canal Walk, Virgin Active or The Colosseum.
Map
Johannesburg Venue
DVT Johannesburg
2 Venus St, Melrose, Johannesburg, 2196 · Johannesburg
How to get to DVT's office:
- DVT's office entrance is just off Glenhove Rd, down 6th Street. (Corner of Glenhove Rd and 6th St at the Dynamic Technologies House)
- At the security entrance, please give your name to the security guard, and he will tick your name off the list and let you in.
Where to park?
- There will be plenty of parking outside the building and in the underground parking.
- If you park outside, you can access the reception at the main entrance.
- If you park in the underground parking, take the lift or the stairs to the Ground level (G) to reception.
Registration
- Registration for the event will take place at the main reception desk.
Map
Your Team
We are so excited to be your organization
team with the support of our amazing volenteers.
Allan Pead
Carike Botha
Hennie Francis
