Building Your First AI Agent: A Hands-On with Vertex AI

This hands-on session will guide you through the essentials of designing, building, and deploying your AI agent. Whether you're new to AI or looking to leverage Vertex AI for intelligent applications, you'll gain practical skills and a solid understanding of how to automate tasks and enhance user interactions with agentic AI.

What You'll Learn:

How to design and build a conversational AI agent from scratch.

Hands-on skills using the low-code Vertex AI Agent Builder.

How to connect your agent to data sources and APIs.

The essential steps to deploy your AI agent.

Requirements:

A fully charged laptop.

A Google Cloud account with billing enabled. (Tutorial:https://cloud.google.com/billing/docs/how-to/create-billing-account)

Workshop Agenda:

10:00 AM | Welcome & Setup

Get logged into Google Cloud and ready to build.

10:10 AM | AI Agent Fundamentals

Understand how AI agents work and why 'grounding' is the key to preventing errors and providing reliable answers.

10:40 AM | Hands-On Lab: Build Your Agent

A guided, step-by-step session to build a conversational AI agent using Vertex AI. You will define a goal, connect data, and test your agent live.

11:55 AM | Wrap-Up & Q&A

Recap your success and ask any final questions.

Agenda

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Speaker

Kiran Puthan - Bell Canada (Solution Consultant)

Hosted By

Ali El-Sharif, Professor

Ali El-Sharif works as a professor at St. Clair College in Windsor, where he teaches Data Analytics and Cybersecurity. Ali is currently co-authoring a book with Serg Masís and Nick Schmidt. The book title is “Building Responsible AI with Python - Identify, explain, and mitigate bias with hands-on code examples.” Ali enjoys volunteering for GDG Windsor and encourages everyone to stay connected with this amazing community of developers.

Arunesh Choudhary,

I am a highly motivated and detail-oriented Computer Science student with a strong academic foundation and a passion for machine learning and research. My journey in this field has been marked by hands-on experiences and recognition for my academic achievements. As a recipient of the NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Award (USRA), I have had the opportunity to delve into research, applying advanced techniques in deep learning and information retrieval.

Passionate about applying technical expertise and research experience to innovative projects in machine learning and AI, with the ultimate goal of contributing to the field’s continued evolution. Eager to take on new challenges, contribute to cutting-edge research, and grow within this dynamic field.

Kiran Puthan, Solution Consultant

Kiran is a self-taught UI Designer specializing in User Experience and Product Strategy, with over four years of experience in UX Design. He is also a leadership expert who delivers high-energy talks and presentations on Technology, Design, and Marketing. Passionate about translating visions and objectives into reality, offering tangible results in line with client expectations, and enabling teams to strategize and build with conscious intention.

Daria Deriagina,

I’m a Computer Programming student at St. Clair College 👩‍💻. I have experience in UX/UI design 🎨 and web development 🌐, where I focus on creating easy-to-use websites. I also work as a professional photographer 📸, bringing creativity into my projects. I enjoy combining design and coding to make websites look good and work well. I’m excited to keep learning and work with others in the tech community 🤝.

ranem ghalion, AI Specialist

Troy Hector, St. Clair College

Ashlynn Ward, Computer Science Student

Ashlynn Ward recently started a Computer Science degree at the University of Windsor. She is a Women Techmaker Member and a big fan of Google Developer Groups.

Esraa Abdelhalim,

Esraa is an Assistant Professor at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor, specializing in Human-AI Interaction, Privacy and Cybersecurity, Responsible Algorithms, and Data Analytics. Her research is published in top-tier journals and conferences, and she has received multiple awards, including Professor of the Year (2024, 2025), Ontario Trillium Award, and TechWomen award. Esraa has worked with 100+ women in leading Silicon Valley tech companies and co-founded initiatives like “Women Techmakers-Alexandria”, “GDG-Alexandria”, and “Heya is Back.” She also organizes the annual International Women’s Day event and AI workshops at Odette.

Sam Ghasan, Enterprise Architect

Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-windsor-presents-building-your-first-ai-agent-a-hands-on-with-vertex-ai/.