Training course · GitHub Copilot · Citizen Developers & Low-Code

GitHub Copilot for Citizen Developers

Use GitHub Copilot professionally: completions, chat, agent mode, the coding agent for issues and PRs, code review and enterprise policies.

Duration
2 days (14 hrs)
Format
Online or on-site
Language
German or English
Participants
open dates or exclusive for your team
Certificate
Certificate of attendance

Overview

This course connects GitHub Copilot with the everyday processes of Citizen Developers & Low-Code. Participants work on realistic scenarios and leave with prompts, workflows and checklists they can use straight away.

GitHub Copilot has grown from simple code completion into a broad AI platform that supports the entire development lifecycle. In the editor you work with inline suggestions, next edit suggestions and Copilot Chat; in agent mode Copilot handles tasks across multiple files and runs commands. On GitHub itself, the coding agent picks up assigned issues and delivers pull requests. In this two-day course you will learn how to use each of these building blocks deliberately and fit them cleanly into your existing development process.

Beyond hands-on editor work, the course covers control and quality. Custom instructions and prompt files give Copilot the project knowledge it needs, MCP adds further tools, and Copilot code review complements human reviewers. For those responsible for teams and organisations, we look at policies at organisation and enterprise level, content exclusions, model availability and usage reporting. Together, these lay the groundwork for a secure, transparent and genuinely effective Copilot rollout across the entire company.

Citizen developers are business users who build their own applications and automations without being professional software engineers. Until recently, low-code platforms quickly hit their limits whenever custom logic, integrations or data transformations were needed. AI coding tools push that boundary much further: a plain-language description becomes forms, workflows, scripts and small web apps, and AI explains error messages, formulas and expressions in understandable terms. Responsibility grows at the same time, because home-built solutions also process company data and need maintenance. In this course you learn to use vibe coding and AI agents to build useful solutions for your department, combine them sensibly with low-code platforms and stay within your IT governance rules.

The course is delivered live – either online in a virtual classroom or on-site in our training rooms in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart and Kaiserslautern. We can also run it exclusively for your team.

Who is this course for?

  • Business users with automation ideas in administration, sales, procurement or HR
  • Power users of Excel, Power Platform or similar low-code tools
  • Process owners and business analysts
  • Members of digitalisation and innovation teams
  • IT leads setting up a citizen development programme

Typical challenges we address

  • Recurring manual tasks that IT has no capacity to automate
  • Low-code platforms hit limits with custom logic, integrations or data preparation
  • Little know-how on testing, documenting and running solutions safely
  • Risk of shadow IT without alignment with data protection and IT security

What you will be able to do

  • You use Copilot completions, chat and agent mode purposefully for your everyday development tasks.
  • You capture project knowledge in custom instructions and prompt files to improve output quality.
  • You delegate suitable issues to the coding agent and review its pull requests properly.
  • You integrate Copilot code review sensibly into your existing review process.
  • Build your own automations, forms and small applications for your department with AI support.
  • Combine low-code platforms with generated code for logic, data preparation and integrations.
  • Document, test and run your solutions in line with your IT governance rules.

Course outline

Day 1

Module 1 Copilot in the editor: completions and chat
  • Accepting, rejecting and steering inline and next edit suggestions efficiently
  • Using Copilot Chat for explanations, debugging and test generation
  • Setting context precisely with files, selections, workspace and chat variables
  • Model selection and differences between VS Code, Visual Studio and JetBrains IDEs
Module 2 Agent mode and extensions
  • Planning multi-step tasks in agent mode and executing them under control
  • Feeding terminal commands, test runs and error output into the agent loop
  • Connecting MCP servers for additional tools and data sources
  • Reviewing changes, accepting them partially or rolling them back
Module 3 Project knowledge through custom instructions
  • Writing repository-wide instructions on architecture, style and testing
  • Creating path-specific instructions and reusable prompt files
  • Combining personal and organisation-wide guidance sensibly
  • Refining instructions continuously based on output quality
Module 4 Coding agent and code review on GitHub
  • Writing issues the coding agent can implement reliably
  • Reviewing, commenting on and iterating over the agent’s pull requests
  • Using Copilot code review as an additional check in the PR process
  • Configuring the agent’s development environment with setup steps and Actions

Day 2

Module 5 Administration, policies and security
  • Licence assignment and policies at organisation and enterprise level
  • Content exclusions, model availability and public code filters
  • Using audit logs and usage metrics to steer adoption
  • Clarifying security risks, secrets and accountability for AI-generated code
Module 6 Practice lab: Citizen Developers & Low-Code
  • Automating workflows
  • Building forms and small apps
  • Explaining formulas and expressions
  • Cleaning and transforming data
  • Connecting to interfaces
  • Documenting and testing solutions
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Home-built solutions also process company and employee data: you learn to respect GDPR requirements, IT approval processes, secure handling of credentials and the licence terms of platforms and generated code, so that no shadow IT emerges.
  • Ground rules for safe AI use in your team
  • Checking results: facts, sources, tests and the four-eyes principle
  • Personal action plan for the next 30 days
  • Open questions, outlook and resources for further learning

Practical scenarios from your field

Automating workflows

Describe approval processes, notifications and data transfers between email, spreadsheets, forms and business applications on low-code platforms, and have AI build the matching flows, expressions and conditions.

Building forms and small apps

Generate data entry forms, checklists or booking apps from a description, complete with validation, mandatory fields and simple data storage, and refine them step by step based on colleagues’ feedback.

Explaining formulas and expressions

Have complex Excel formulas, Power Fx or flow expressions explained in plain terms, track down errors and reliably write new calculations from a business description.

Cleaning and transforming data

Merge exports from different systems, remove duplicates, standardise formats and generate Python scripts or Power Query steps that make the preparation repeatable. Monthly preparation then takes minutes, not hours.

Connecting to interfaces

Use AI to understand how a REST interface works, configure connectors and set up simple API calls that bring data from business systems into your own solutions.

Documenting and testing solutions

Produce user guides, short technical documentation and test cases for home-built applications so colleagues and IT can understand, take over and keep running the solution.

Possible hands-on projects

Leave and cover planner

A small web app where team members enter absences, assign cover and give the team lead a monthly overview. Overlaps are flagged automatically.

Incoming invoice checker

A script that reads incoming PDF invoices, checks mandatory details and transfers the data into a structured spreadsheet for approval.

Request tracker

A simple ticketing tool for internal requests with a form, status history, assignments and automatic email notifications. Everyone keeps track of open and completed requests.

Prerequisites

You develop software regularly, work with Git and GitHub issues and pull requests, and use a modern IDE. You are confident with office applications and spreadsheets; no programming skills are required, though experience with a low-code platform helps.

Technical requirements

Your own laptop with VS Code or a JetBrains IDE, the Copilot extension installed and a GitHub account with an active Copilot licence; the coding agent requires a suitable plan.

Data protection & compliance

Home-built solutions also process company and employee data: you learn to respect GDPR requirements, IT approval processes, secure handling of credentials and the licence terms of platforms and generated code, so that no shadow IT emerges.

Suggested dates

All dates are suggestions – your preferred date is always possible.

  • Mon, 23 November 2026 – Tue, 24 November 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 1 December 2026 – Wed, 2 December 2026 Augsburg Request
  • Mon, 14 December 2026 – Tue, 15 December 2026 Online Request
  • Wed, 13 January 2027 – Thu, 14 January 2027 Online Request
  • Mon, 25 January 2027 – Tue, 26 January 2027 Bremen Request
  • Mon, 1 February 2027 – Tue, 2 February 2027 Online Request

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between agent mode and the coding agent?

Agent mode runs inside your IDE: you work interactively with Copilot, see every step and approve commands. The coding agent, by contrast, works autonomously on GitHub once you assign it an issue, uses its own execution environment and opens a pull request that you then review just as you would a contribution from a colleague.

How can we make sure Copilot complies with our company policies?

At organisation and enterprise level you can enable or block specific features, models and extensions. Content exclusions keep sensitive files out of the context, and audit logs make usage traceable. During the course we show how to align these controls with data protection, information security requirements and your internal coding standards.

Is the course worthwhile if we already use Copilot?

Yes, especially then. Many teams rely on completions alone and barely touch chat, agent mode, custom instructions or the coding agent. The course shows how to use these features in a structured way, improve results with project knowledge and avoid common pitfalls. Experienced users benefit most from the sections on review and governance.

Do I need programming skills to work with AI as a citizen developer?

No. You describe what your solution should do and the AI generates forms, flows, formulas or scripts. What matters is stating your requirements clearly and checking results systematically. In the course you learn the essential concepts such as data, logic, interfaces and testing so you can steer precisely and narrow down errors yourself.

How do we avoid shadow IT?

With clear rules rather than bans: approved platforms and tools, defined data classes, a simple register of home-built solutions and a route for handing over to IT once an application becomes business-critical. In the course you learn to apply such rules, and IT leads gain ideas for setting up a citizen development programme.

How much does “GitHub Copilot for Citizen Developers” cost?

The course costs a flat €949 plus VAT per participant – whether online or on-site. This includes 2 training day(s) with a live trainer, course materials, a lab environment and a certificate of attendance.

Can I suggest my own date?

Yes. Our suggested dates are just a guide. In the request form you can always describe your preferred date or period in free text – we check availability and confirm within one working day.

Is the course online or on-site?

Both are possible: live online in a virtual classroom or on-site in Munich, Salzburg, Berlin, Augsburg, Hanover, Bremen, Stuttgart or Kaiserslautern. We can also run the course exclusively for your team.

More courses for Citizen Developers

More GitHub Copilot courses

All 32 GitHub Copilot courses

GitHub Copilot · MunichGitHub Copilot · SalzburgGitHub Copilot · BerlinGitHub Copilot · AugsburgGitHub Copilot · HanoverGitHub Copilot · BremenGitHub Copilot · StuttgartGitHub Copilot · KaiserslauternGitHub Copilot · Online