Training course · GitHub Copilot · SQL & Databases

GitHub Copilot for SQL and Database Professionals

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

“GitHub Copilot for SQL and Database Professionals” is a hands-on course for roles such as Database and SQL developers, Database administrators for PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle or MySQL and Backend developers responsible for data models and ORM layers. Rather than learning GitHub Copilot in the abstract, you work on tasks from your daily routine – with examples, exercises and templates from SQL & Databases.

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.

Databases are the memory of every application, and their performance, consistency and security determine whether entire systems succeed. AI coding assistants and agents support database developers and DBAs in writing complex queries, reading execution plans, designing schemas and index strategies and migrating between database platforms. They translate business questions into SQL, refactor sprawling stored procedures and generate test data. One principle still holds: a syntactically valid query is not necessarily a correct one, and an agent with write access to production data is a serious risk. In this course you learn to use AI productively with schema context, execution plans and tests, and to design access so that your data stays protected at all times.

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?

  • Database and SQL developers
  • Database administrators for PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle or MySQL
  • Backend developers responsible for data models and ORM layers
  • Data engineers and analytics engineers
  • BI developers working with complex reporting queries

Typical challenges we address

  • Slow queries and load spikes whose causes are hidden in execution plans
  • Sprawling stored procedures and triggers without documentation or tests
  • Risky schema changes and migrations on live systems
  • Different SQL dialects during platform changes or in multi-database estates

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.
  • Optimise queries and indexes with AI support based on execution plans rather than guesswork.
  • Plan and test schema changes and database migrations using generated scripts and rollback strategies.
  • Design database access for AI agents securely, with least privilege, read replicas and traceable queries.

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: SQL & Databases
  • Optimising SQL queries
  • Designing and reviewing schemas
  • Refactoring stored procedures
  • Planning migrations safely
  • Translating dialects
  • Generating test data
Module 7 Data protection, quality & transfer to daily work
  • Databases often hold personal and business-critical data: you learn to give AI tools schemas and anonymised samples instead of production data, manage credentials securely and implement GDPR requirements such as data minimisation and deletion policies.
  • 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

Optimising SQL queries

Have execution plans from EXPLAIN ANALYZE or Query Store interpreted, identify bottlenecks such as full table scans or poor join orders and get rewritten queries and suitable indexes with a clear rationale.

Designing and reviewing schemas

Derive normalised data models with keys, constraints and data types from requirements, review existing schemas for redundancy and missing integrity rules and generate ER diagrams.

Refactoring stored procedures

Explain large PL/SQL or T-SQL procedures, convert cursor loops into set-based logic, standardise error handling and add tests with frameworks such as tSQLt or pgTAP.

Planning migrations safely

Generate versioned migration scripts for Flyway or Liquibase, design zero-downtime strategies such as expand and contract and assess rollback paths as well as effects on locking and replication.

Translating dialects

Migrate queries, functions and data types between Oracle, SQL Server, PostgreSQL and MySQL, account for differences in date functions, sequences and transaction behaviour and test for identical results.

Generating test data

Create realistic synthetic datasets that respect constraints, distributions and edge cases without using personal production data, for load tests and development environments. Generators live in the repository under version control.

Possible hands-on projects

Slow query analyser

A script that processes the slow query log or statistics views, groups the most expensive queries and reports concrete index and rewrite suggestions.

Schema documentation generator

A tool that reads a database schema and produces searchable documentation with table descriptions, relationships and an ER diagram. It refreshes automatically after each migration.

Text-to-SQL assistant

A small web app with read-only access to a reporting database that turns business questions into checked SQL and shows both query and result transparently.

Prerequisites

You develop software regularly, work with Git and GitHub issues and pull requests, and use a modern IDE. You write SQL regularly, understand joins, aggregations and indexes and work with at least one relational database system.

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

Databases often hold personal and business-critical data: you learn to give AI tools schemas and anonymised samples instead of production data, manage credentials securely and implement GDPR requirements such as data minimisation and deletion policies.

Suggested dates

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

  • Wed, 25 November 2026 – Thu, 26 November 2026 Online Request
  • Mon, 7 December 2026 – Tue, 8 December 2026 Salzburg Request
  • Thu, 17 December 2026 – Fri, 18 December 2026 Online Request
  • Tue, 12 January 2027 – Wed, 13 January 2027 Online Request
  • Tue, 26 January 2027 – Wed, 27 January 2027 Bremen Request
  • Wed, 10 February 2027 – Thu, 11 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.

Should an AI agent access our database directly?

It can, but it needs careful planning. We recommend a dedicated read-only user, access to replicas or development databases rather than production, query timeouts and logging of every statement. Write changes go through versioned migration scripts with review. In the course you build exactly this safeguard, for instance through a restricted MCP server.

How reliable is AI-generated SQL?

It is usually syntactically correct, but semantic quality depends heavily on context: without the schema, relationships and business definitions, wrong joins or double counting creep in easily. With schema context, example queries and tests against known results, reliability rises considerably. You learn to validate generated queries systematically.

How much does “GitHub Copilot for SQL and Database Professionals” 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.

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