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.
