MVP Rob Bos at GitHub Universe 2025

MVPs: Leading, Inspiring, and Innovating at GitHub Universe

The GitHub Universe 2025 conference brought together developers, innovators, and community leaders from around the world to explore the future of software development. Microsoft MVPs truly stood out—not only as experts in their fields, but as passionate mentors, trailblazers, and advocates for the power of open source and AI-driven development. From leading high-impact sessions and launching game-changing resources to inspiring the next generation of tech leaders, MVPs played a pivotal role in shaping the conversations and experiences that defined the event. Their energy, expertise, and commitment to sharing knowledge made GitHub Universe 2025 an unforgettable celebration of what’s possible when community comes together to drive the future of software development.

MVP Jesse Houwing Photo Credit: Priyanshi R

Inspiring the Next Generation: MVPs & GitHub Campus Experts

Before the main event, MVPs joined the GitHub Campus Experts - university students passionate about community building and open source - for a special pre-day at the GitHub office. MVPs engaged with GitHub Campus Experts - university students passionate about community building and open source - during a special pre-day event at the GitHub office. This gathering was designed to inspire young leaders, recognize their contributions, and encourage them to continue making an impact. MVPs shared stories of their own journeys, emphasizing that community involvement is not just a career milestone but a lifelong commitment to learning, sharing, and growing together. MVP Jesse Houwing shared: “The preday was a way to inspire these young folks. Many people who enter the workforce are scooped up in the torrents of work. This day was part of giving them thanks for their services in the past years and a way to inspire them to continue community building and open-source contributions.” Jesse also emphasized the value of MVPs engaging with student communities: “MVPs and Stars have all contributed to community in one way or form. Public speaking, blogging, open source, community organizing. Many of us have been doing this all throughout our professional careers and were awarded at some point. The award isn't the start, it's a token of appreciation along the way. The Campus Experts are at the start of their career. And our possible future stars and MVPs.” Reflecting on the experience, Houwing added: “I spent a couple of hours on the day one with them, and kept seeing them during the conference days. And later connected over LinkedIn. Many have shared their story and how they were inspired. At the same time, they inspired me. Inspired me to keep sharing, to connect to the younger generations and to learn from their enthusiasm.”

Microsoft MVPs Randy Pagels and Rob Bos doing a tech check before they lead a session, “From prompts to productivity: Lessons learned with GitHub Copilot and agentic AI”.

Lessons Learned: From Prompts to Productivity

MVPs Randy Pagels and Rob Bos led a dynamic session, “From prompts to productivity: Lessons learned with GitHub Copilot and agentic AI.” The energy in the room was electric, with attendees eager to learn tips for maximizing Copilot’s capabilities. The session emphasized the importance of collaboration - sharing tips and tricks, building internal communities, and supporting each other’s growth. Rob Bos shared about the energy in the room during his session, “It was amazing, lots of people leaning in to learn some of our tips on how we get the most out of Copilot. We got quite some questions afterwards as well, showing the interest on the topic!” When asked how the audience might apply what they learned in their day-to-day development work, Bos added, “I think the message about collaborating on the way you use Copilot and sharing tips and tricks really resonated with the audience. A lot of folks were agreeing and felt supported with our focus on that. They will take that back home and start an internal community of sharing their knowledge.”

MVPRandy Pagels, Senior Developer Advocate at GitHub April Yoho (who wrote the foreword in The GitHub Copilot Handbook) and MVP Rob Bos

Launching “The GitHub Copilot Handbook”

At GitHub Universe 2025, Microsoft MVPs Randy Pagels and Rob Bos unveiled their new book The GitHub Copilot Handbook - a comprehensive guide designed to help developers harness the full potential of AI-assisted coding. This book goes beyond basic code completion, offering practical strategies to apply GitHub Copilot across the entire software development lifecycle.

From writing smarter prompts and automating tests to streamlining code reviews and integrating Copilot into IDEs, the handbook equips teams with actionable insights to boost productivity. It also addresses onboarding strategies, building a knowledge-sharing culture, and fostering collaboration through Copilot’s chat and agentic AI features.

Why does this matter? As AI becomes central to modern development, this resource empowers developers and organizations to adopt Copilot effectively, reduce friction, and unlock innovation at scale. By launching the book at GitHub Universe—a hub for cutting-edge developer tools - MVPs signal a clear message: AI-driven development isn’t the future; it’s here, and it’s transforming how we build software today.

When asked about launching the book at the event, Rob Bos said: “We timed the release with GitHub Universe as that is THE GitHub event of the year. We visit San Francisco every year to be at this event and meet up with the community and our friends at GitHub, and both learn and share more knowledge on the platform. Of course, we shared the new book with the people that have supported us in writing it: April Yoho and Martin Woodward!”

Rob also shared what inspired the book and its broader impact: “Over the years we have learned so much from the thousands of engineers we trained on GitHub Copilot and seen a lot of the common pitfalls as well, that we had to share this knowledge for everyone to learn from. What better way to make one cohesive overview that takes engineers from just getting started to an experienced user? And we did not stop there, we also included the basics of Generative AI, as well as how to learn together within a local community of people sharing their lessons learned.” If there’s one key takeaway from the book, Bos continued “You can use GitHub Copilot for more than just coding! We show use cases for everyone in your team that is not an engineer, and share how they can also leverage the tools, just like you, for requirements engineering, writing better user stories, test cases, and much more!” Asked why building a knowledge-sharing culture around Copilot matters for organizations, Bos explained, “The best way to learn Copilot is from sharing, as we all use it in different ways. To prevent being stuck in the way you always have worked, getting some inspiration from other people is key. As trainers, we have learned the most from other trainers and Copilot users in how they think and work with this tool.”

Microsoft MVPs continue to set the standard for technical excellence and community leadership. MVPs didn’t just show up – they took the lead, inspired, and elevated the entire GitHub Universe conference experience. Their contributions at GitHub Universe 2025 exemplify the spirit of innovation, mentorship, and collaboration that defines our program and makes our community so special. Thank you to all MVPs for driving excellence, inspiring the next generation of tech leaders and driving the future of software development!

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