Building Agentic AI: A 5-Week Hands-On Bootcamp with the OpenAI Agents SDK

Welcome to Session 4 of our 5-week bootcamp.

This session will focus on building more capable agents by connecting them to external knowledge, tools, and safeguards. We’ll explore how agents can use web search, work with your own data through Retrieval Augmented Generation and file search, and connect to external systems using MCP tools.
We’ll also cover guardrails to help control agent behavior and make these systems safer and more reliable.

By the end of the session, you’ll have a stronger foundation for building agents that can access information, use external capabilities, and operate with greater control.

What We'll Cover
Session 1: Agent Foundations — September 10

• Effective Prompting
• Understanding Tokens
• Models and Instructions
• Building Your First Agent

Session 2: Controlling Agent Behavior — September 17

• Pydantic Fundamentals
• Context and Runtime Data
• Dynamic Instructions
• Structured Outputs

Session 3: Memory and Tools — September 24

• Memory and Context
• Creating Tools
• Tool Calling
• Using Multiple Tools

Session 4: Building More Capable Agents — October 1

• Connecting Agents to Web Search
• Retrieval Augmented Generation and File Search
• Connecting Agents to MCP Tools
• Adding Guardrails

Session 5: Multi-Agent Systems — October 8

• Multi-Agent Design Patterns
• Handoffs and Agents as Tools
• Multi-Agent Development
• Multi-Agent Capstone

Prerequisites: A basic understanding of Python is recommended. You do not need prior experience building AI agents or working with the OpenAI Agents SDK. Familiarity with Python classes, functions, type hints, and basic API usage will help you get the most out of the bootcamp.

You should also create and securely save an OpenAI API key that you'll use throughout the bootcamp to run examples, build agents, and interact with OpenAI models from your Python code. Make sure you can access your key before the session begins.

We hope you join us!

AGENDA

• 6:00 p.m. – Welcome
• 6:05 p.m. – Review Session 3
• 6:20 p.m. – Connecting Agents to Web Search
• 6:40 p.m. – Retrieval Augmented Generation
• 7:10 p.m. – BREAK
• 7:20 p.m. – Connecting Agents to MCP Tools
• 8:00 p.m. – BREAK
• 8:10 p.m. – Adding Guardrails
• 8:40 p.m. – Questions/Discussion
• 9:00 p.m. – End