GitHub Universe: Where MVPs and GitHub Stars share ideas and build community together
Where building brings people together What happens when people who love building things find themselves in the same place? At GitHub Universe 2026, held October 28–29, Microsoft MVPs, several of them also GitHub Stars, took the stage, shared ideas, and swapped stories. Their reflections go beyond new tools to show why sharing knowledge matters: a handmade nameplate, hallway conversations, and practical lessons on AI context, security, and policy turned technical exchanges into connections - and offered ideas to bring home to their communities. Nick Taylor (MVP) Where Microsoft MVPs and GitHub Stars come together Several Microsoft MVPs are also GitHub Stars, and GitHub Universe is where the two communities come together. The GitHub Stars program recognizes community leaders who inspire, educate, and shape communities, giving them a platform to showcase their work, reach more people, and help shape the future of GitHub. Perks include early access to GitHub features, invitations to GitHub events, connections to internal GitHub Team members and more. MVPs Kent C. Dodds, Huan Li, and Nick Taylor who spoke at GitHub Universe are GitHub Stars. For Huan, the moment that captured the spirit of GitHub Universe was sitting on the floor beside the GitHub Star with his name on it - and yes, he needed another photo with it. “I see it every year, and somehow it still makes me smile.” - MVP and RD Huan Li To learn more about the GitHub Stars, visit stars.github.com. Esteban Garcia (RD & MVP) andAnisha Pindoria (GitHub) Conversations, creativity, and connection Ask a Microsoft MVP what made GitHub Universe stand out, and the answer is rarely a single session. MVP Sam Basu says the event “always feels like a different type of tech conference,” and because it is GitHub, “it is truly polyglot.” It is a chance to “rub shoulders with developers across variety of tech stacks, from various corners of the world.” “The vibe is truly unparalleled with focus on building, collaborating & having fun learning.” - MVP Sam Basu Sam Basu (MVP) For many MVPs, that focus on building was literal. MVP and Regional Director Huan Li spent almost an hour putting hundreds of tiny pieces together to build his own nameplate, and it was “worth every minute.” His takeaway: “even when I take a break from building software, I still want to build something!” built a custom nameplate at GitHub Universe MVP Dylan McCarthy saw the same enthusiasm in the makerspace, where developers lined up to build custom keyboards and GitHub lamps. “They were so popular that supplies ran out before I even managed to make one myself!” he says. Some of the best moments happened between sessions. MVP and Regional Director Esteban Garcia points to “the conversations in between everything else,” talking with people about “what they were building, what was working, and what they were still trying to figure out.” MVP Josh Garverick agrees. His favorite part of attending is “getting to talk with my friends in the community, Hubbers, and new contacts.” “This continues to foster my appreciation for the community and fuels me to do as much as I can to contribute.” - MVP Josh Garverick Ideas you can put into practice MVPs also brought their expertise to the stage. In “Shut the context window! You’re letting the tokens out,” MVP Dylan McCarthy explored how Copilot uses context and tokens. His advice: “moving away from large, monolithic GitHub Copilot instruction files and instead using smaller, targeted instructions with applyTo patterns.” “It’s not simply about reducing token consumption, but about making sure the information we’re providing is relevant, useful, and helps the model deliver better results.” - MVP Dylan McCarthy Zooming out to a bigger question, MVP Kent C. Dodds took the Main Stage to ask, “What’s worth building when AI can build anything?” Joined by Dr. Sue Black of Durham University, he made the case for building deliberately rather than reflexively, exploring responsible software, the daily reality of shipping, choosing between tools, and maintaining what’s already built. The conversation continued at a Session After Party in GitHub Central, an informal Q&A for attendees’ questions. Watch Kent and Sue’s Main Stage conversation to bring a sharper set of questions to your own work. Building deliberately also means deciding what AI agents are allowed to do. In “Open PRs, don’t merge them: Fine-grained authorization for hosted MCP servers,” MVP Nick Taylor showed an identity-aware proxy that adds per-identity authorization in front of a hosted MCP server, with no changes upstream. In a live demo, Copilot opened a pull request and left the merge to a reviewer, enforced per user. Nick also pointed to Martin Woodward’s closing keynote, a reminder that AI is a tool and people still bring the ideas. Watch Nick’s session to see the live demo and the pattern for your own MCP servers. “You can improve your security posture immediately with an identity-aware proxy, whether that be putting a legacy app behind it or building out an MCP gateway with it.” - MVP Nick Taylor Policy matters just as much. What happens when a prototype starts handling real customer payments but its repository still carries its launch-day merge requirements? In “When a prototype becomes critical, does your GitHub policy know?,” MVP Baruch Sadogursky showed how he syncs ownership and business criticality from Port into GitHub as custom properties, so teams can find repositories by owning team and point a GitHub ruleset at critical services. The pattern is repeatable: Port supplies the context, and GitHub turns it into enforced policy. Watch Baruch’s session to see the gap close live. Context ties these sessions together. Sam Basu spoke about bringing context to AI tools through Skills, MCP tools, and custom agents, and his “full room with engaged audience” showed how much this is on people’s minds. Honest conversations about balancing enterprises’ privacy and cost concerns with AI’s benefits were among the best things he took from GitHub Universe. Esteban Garcia offers a simple way to start: “Build something. Try it with your team. Pay attention to where it works and where it falls apart, and then share what you learn.” - MVP & RD Esteban Garcia Keep building. Keep sharing. Curious about GitHub Universe? Explore the recorded sessions or browse the session catalog, pick an idea that interests you, and invite someone to try it with you. Then share what you learn with your own community. Whether you are a developer, engineer, IT professional, or simply curious about technology, there is a conversation you can contribute to. What could you build, or help someone else learn, before the next conference? Want to learn more about the MVP Program? To find an MVP and learn more about the Microsoft MVP Program, visit the MVP Communities website and follow program updates on LinkedIn or through #MVPBuzz.Follow the Noise: Finding Your People at Scottish Summit
Before attendees stepped inside Scottish Summit, they could hear it. Bagpipes carried across Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh, Scotland, growing louder as people approached the entrance. A bag piper and drummer welcomed attendees before leading the keynote speaker onstage. “Follow the noise,” as MVP Zoe Wilson put it. Inside, the invitation was bigger than a day of technology sessions. AI is changing rapidly. Products, platforms, and skills keep evolving. But people still want to learn together, build together, help someone else get started, and find somewhere they belong. Scottish Summit made room for all of that. Building a place to belong For Microsoft MVPs Matt Beard and Zoe Wilson, leading Scottish Summit meant carrying forward a welcome they had experienced themselves. Zoe first spoke there in 2020, at one of her earliest in-person speaking events. She remembers strangers being friendly and a feeling that stayed with her long after the sessions ended. Zoe Wilson (MVP) and Matt Beard (MVP) “But it was the 1st place that felt like home.” - Zoe Wilson, Microsoft MVP That feeling helped motivate her to volunteer and become more involved. In 2026, she and Matt led the organizing team at Murrayfield. The challenge was real: neither had visited the venue beforehand. Photos and a teammate nearby helped them plan from a distance. They accepted the handover as an opportunity to test themselves, while relying on a wider team to bring the event together. Several Scottish Summit organizers are also Microsoft MVPs, including Matt Beard, Zoe Wilson, Mike Hartley, Rex de Koning, Sara Fennah, and Areti Iles. Together with the wider organizing team and volunteers, they help turn a shared love of technology into a place for people to learn and connect. That care is felt by the people who attend. As Microsoft MVP Matt Collins-Jones puts it, “Scottish Summit feels different than other tech conferences because it's run by a small group of community people who genuinely care if you have a good time.” AI was part of that work, too, helping behind the scenes with the website and other preparations. Onstage, GitHub’s Vice President of Developer Relations Martin Woodward delivered the keynote “Building with Heart in the Age of AI.” Across Dynamics 365, Power Platform, Microsoft 365, and Azure, the event brought people together to make sense of changing technology. “And I think AI has helped more people help more people.” - Matt Beard, Microsoft MVP For Matt, that possibility includes helping more people turn ideas into tools they can share. Zoe sees technology boundaries blurring and more reasons to exchange experience across specialties. The tools may change, but the purpose remains wonderfully familiar: learn something, make something useful, and help someone else along the way. “In the age of AI, I believe community is more important than ever because of real human connection and conversation.” - Edine Olijve-Watkinson, Microsoft MVP The welcome comes full circle Zoe’s journey from newer speaker to event leader gives belonging a human face. A welcome can become a reason to create that same experience for someone else. She encourages newcomers to consider volunteering as well as speaking; Scottish Summit welcomes contributors who are not MVPs, too. That sense of welcome resonated with Microsoft MVP Kevin McDonnell, too: “Scottish Summit feels different from other tech conferences because it places the human aspect front and centre. I heard so many stories from people inspired to join the community from previous Scottish Summits and I so hope that this year’s event has the same impact.” For Microsoft MVP Melissa Hale, that sense of belonging goes hand in hand with discovery: “I keep coming back to community events like Scottish Summit because they give me dedicated time and space to learn new and interesting things, while being surrounded by the most incredible, kind and smart people!” Matt and Zoe’s friendship tells a similar story. Matt recalled that they barely knew each other before organizing Scottish Summit. Their work sits in different technology areas, but volunteering together connected them. “I made some of my best friends through working up for these events and it happens across the whole community.” - Matt Beard, Microsoft MVP Microsoft MVP Edine Olijve-Watkinson captures that spirit simply: “If I had to describe Scottish Summit in three words, they would be inclusion, friendship, sharing.” They also brought an honest conversation about loss, illness, and support into the program. People do not stop being people at a technology conference. Community is not an extra here; it makes the conference possible. “I keep coming back to community events like Scottish Summit to see my friends who have become family, even though we live in different parts of the world!” - Lindsay Shelton, Microsoft MVP Kevin McDonnell (MVP), Zoe Wilson (MVP) and Daniel Laskewitz (Cloud Advocate at Microsoft) A moment to take it all in At the evening celebration, Microsoft Cloud Advocate April Dunnam performed an acoustic set. Matt stepped back and watched people standing together, singing. “We pulled all these weird strings all together in this one room right now and it just works.” - Matt Beard, Microsoft MVP Explore Scottish Summit, share what makes your community feel welcoming, or help someone take their first step into yours. What began with bagpipes drawing people toward an entrance ended with music bringing them together. The technology will keep changing. The invitation to belong is worth keeping. Want to Learn More About the MVP Program? To find an MVP and learn more about the Microsoft MVP Program, visit the MVP Communities website and follow program updates on LinkedIn or through #MVPBuzz.
