User Research

**Durable Functions, Upgraded: Meet the Durable Task Scheduler** Durable Task Scheduler is the next‑generation execution engine for Durable Functions — faster, more reliable, and built to handle real‑world orchestration workloads at scale. In this session, we’ll look under the hood at what’s changed in the runtime, how the new scheduler improves performance and reliability, and why it represents the future of Durable Functions. You’ll also get a practical, developer‑focused walkthrough of how to upgrade your existing orchestrations, what to watch out for, and how to take advantage of the new capabilities right away. **Speaker: Callon Campbell** Callon Campbell is an Azure Architect, Developer and Microsoft MVP in Azure. With over 25 years of experience, he's been developing enterprise applications for web, desktop, mobile, and cloud-native applications using Microsoft Azure, .NET, ASP.NET, and SQL Server. He's passionate about learning new technologies and sharing his experience with fellow peers in the community. Callon is also the organizer of “Canada’s Technology Triangle .NET User Group” in Kitchener, Ontario. Callon can be reached on Twitter via [@Flying_Maverick](https://x.com/flying_maverick/), and has a blog at [https://TheFlyingMaverick.com](https://TheFlyingMaverick.com). **Schedule:** 6:00 - 6:30 - Meet 'n Greet with Pizza and Pop 6:30 - 6:45 - Introduction and Welcome 6:45 - 7:45 - Main Presentation 7:45 - 8:00 - Closing 8:00 - ? - (Optional - whoever would like to join) Continue our conversations at Bar 6ix, 201 City Centre Drive (3 minute walk) **Where to Find Us** Room 204 in the Hazel McCallion Central Library. 2nd Level. **Parking** There is a parking garage under the library. Parking is free from 6PM on.

RSVP on https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/google-cloud-labs-ai-toolkit-toronto . Join Google Cloud Labs for an immersive, hands-on workshop designed to provide you with the practical skills and architectural patterns needed to deploy secure and scalable AI on GKE  and integrate applied AI solutions across Google’s Data Cloud. Please fill out the registration form on Google's event page to express interest in joining the event! Capacity is limited and registration is required.  Welcome to The Cloud Engineer's AI Toolkit workshop!  This hands-on workshop will provide you with the practical skills and architectural patterns needed to deploy secure and scalable AI on GKE  and integrate applied AI solutions across Google’s Data Cloud. This is an interactive session, not a lecture. Get ready for a series of live labs where you will use GKE OneMCP and the Gemini CLI to accelerate operations, and implement the GKE Agent Sandbox for secure code execution. In our data lab, we’ll guide you through building multimodal pipelines to power BigQuery Graph analytics and agentic workflows in ADK. You will leave with the practical expertise to deploy, secure, and scale production-grade AI workloads. Note: To participate, you must bring your own laptop and power cable. The activities require a laptop and cannot be completed on a tablet or phone.    Who Should Attend? This program is designed for Platform and Security Engineers, as well as Data Practitioners.  Whether your focus is implementing defense-in-depth strategies, such as securing inference endpoints and enforcing security policies via Workload Identity and Policy Controller, or building multimodal data platforms that power agentic workflows, this session is for you. To get the most out of the labs, you should have foundational knowledge of GKE, and containerization, and basic SQL, alongside a commitment to maintaining auditable, scalable security for AI workloads. What You Will Learn: Master AI-Augmented Operations: Dive into the next generation of infrastructure management by utilizing the GKE MCP server, Gemini CLI, and kubectl-ai to replace manual slogging with seamless, natural-language-driven cluster operations. Architect Secure Agentic Ecosystems: Build and deploy AI agents using the GKE Agent Sandbox, implementing hardware-isolated environments that safely execute untrusted, AI-generated code without compromising your cluster's security posture. Engineer Autonomous Remediation: Transition from reactive troubleshooting to proactive platform skills, creating custom AI agents that autonomously detect, diagnose, and resolve complex configuration drifts and cascading failures in real-time. Unify & Govern AI Data Pipelines: Learn to establish governed pathways for ingesting, cleaning, and managing multi-format data across structured and unstructured sources, ensuring your AI is always grounded in accurate, secure information. Unlock Multimodal Insights: Discover how to leverage built-in AI across your data ecosystem to analyze complex datasets, compare vector embeddings, and integrate your agents with data  to uncover patterns that human eyes might miss. Agenda --- Hosted By Solomon Hsu, GDG Organizer I believe in one mandate in the digital space: Crafting Authentic Digital Experiences for All People. With that vision, I value digital accessibility and user centric design as the core foundation for all my projects. It is within the users' insights and needs that allow us to build great apps. Hiral Thaker, Co-organizer Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-toronto-presents-google-cloud-labs-ai-toolkit/.

⚡ **Launch Your AI Agent Today – OpenClaw Masterclass** Create a working AI agent from your browser in one session. No prior coding needed. ⚠️ Complete your registration below — RSVP is not a confirmed seat. ### [🔗 GET YOUR PLACE](https://aiventurelab.org/product/OpenClawMasterclass?city=Toronto&groupurlname=the-bookish-social-club-for-readers&startgmtdatetime=2026-06-24T22:00:00Z) --- What you get: - Practical skills to automate tasks that eat your time - Hands-on experience building AI workflows from scratch - Templates and tools to build more agents on your own *Real tools. Real agents. Built by you.* 🔧

Join us for **& Juliet**, a hilarious new musical that flips the script on the greatest love story ever told. Get whisked away on a fabulous journey as Juliet ditches her famous ending! Critics and audiences alike are raving about this show! Check out the **[AUDIENCE VIDEO](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgjYUm8w7EE)**. Click on "Read more" below for full details. ***Our group will pay $39 up + service fee in Orchestra, Dress Circle and Balcony. Top price is $59 in Orchestra! Please click on "Read more" below and follow the HOW TO PURCHASE instructions to pay for your ticket(s).*** **The Show:** Created by the Emmy® Award–winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek”, this hit musical asks: What would happen next if Juliet didn’t end it all over Romeo? Join on the ride as Juliet leaves her famous ending behind for a fresh beginning and a second chance at life and love—her way.  Juliet’s new story bursts to life through a playlist of pop anthems as iconic as her name – all from the genius songwriter-producer behind more #1 hits than any other artist this century. Break free of the balcony scene and get into this romantic comedy that proves there’s life after Romeo. The only thing tragic would be missing it. Created by the Emmy® Award–winning writer from “Schitt’s Creek." *** **OUR DISCOUNT TICKETS** **OUR DISCOUNT TICKETS** *(Choose your price!)* * **$39** (regular $79 + $99 in Orch Q-S, Dress Circle G-H and Balcony A-E) * **$59** (regular $109 + $129 in Orch BB-P and Dress Circle A-F) **Service Fee:** $11 per ticket ***No Meetup Fee*** *** **HOW TO PAY** 1\. Sign up on this event page 2\. Send an email to **belindameetup@gmail** to request the payment instructions 3\. Specify you are inquiring about **& Juliet** 4\. Include the name you use on this Thumbs Up Theatre website\. 5\. Indicate how many tickets you need\. 6\. Belinda will email you the payment instructions 7\. If you don't receive the instructions in your inbox\, check your junk box in case it has gone there Members must pay for their tickets in advance. Pick up your prepaid ticket(s) from Belinda at the meetup spot. \*\*\* **OVERVIEW** **Date:** Wednesday, June 24, 2026 **Time:** Show starts at 7:30 p.m. Meet Belinda between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. at the theatre. **Where:** Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King Street West, Toronto, Ont. (St. Andrews subway station) **Show Length:** 2 hours, 30 minutes with intermission *** **ACCESSIBILITY** The Royal Alexandra Theatre is an old theatre and does **NOT** have an elevator to take you upstairs to the Dress Circle or Balcony. Our group discount tickets are in Balcony, but you can purchase upgraded discount tickets in Orchestra if you have difficulty climbing stairs. *** **MEETUP ARRANGEMENTS** Meet Belinda any time between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. on the left side of the lobby (as you enter the first set of doors) **inside** the theatre. She is very short and will be wearing a bright pink hat and bright pink glasses. Cell # (416) 879-7575 for use on day/time of show ONLY. **INTERMISSION MEETUP SPOT:** TBD **DINNER BEFORE SHOW:** Join other members at 5 p.m. at **[Lee Chen Asian Bistro](https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fleechenbistro.com%2F&data=05%7C01%7C%7C9717b412e1784d12b0b208db4e7b1fc3%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638190062940403133%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7W3lGI7WduPzs72q4ITnGG0HdQwnP4s8WyQ516xaeBU%3D&reserved=0)**, a restaurant featuring authentic Chinese food at 214 King Street West, Toronto. The restaurant is located about a block from the theatre. Members will receive their theatre ticket(s) at the restaurant if they dine there. Please message Belinda if you want to be included in the reservation. **[PLEASE NOTE OUR ZERO-TOLERANCE CELLPHONE POLICY](https://www.meetup.com/thumbs-up-theatre-toronto/events/243426512/)**

💰 **Build a Self-Running Store with AI – eCommerce Blueprint** Discover how to launch and automate an e-commerce store with AI tools. ⚠️ Register below to secure your place — RSVP alone is not enough. ### [🔗 REGISTER NOW](https://aiventurelab.org/product/AIEcommerce?city=Toronto&groupurlname=the-bookish-social-club-for-readers&startgmtdatetime=2026-06-24T22:00:00Z) --- What you'll build: - AI-powered product research and ad creation workflows - An automated AI-driven store system - A marketing funnel that runs on autopilot *Build it once. Scale it forever.* 🚀

As part of our International Day of Yoga marathon of events, we will be offering a special program on the **Scientific Research on Meditation.** The seminar will include: * research overview on the benefits of meditation * hands-on meditation exercises * chakra workshop. Find all our International Day of Yoga events for the week here: [https://100seedsofjoy.com/yoga-days-2026/](https://100seedsofjoy.com/yoga-days-2026/)

📱 **Build a Viral AI Content Brand – Faceless Influencer Blueprint** Launch a content brand that grows on autopilot using AI-generated media. ⚠️ Complete registration to confirm your seat. RSVP is not enough. ### [🔗 SAVE YOUR SEAT](https://aiventurelab.org/product/AiInfluencer?city=Toronto&groupurlname=the-bookish-social-club-for-readers&startgmtdatetime=2026-06-24T22:00:00Z) --- What you'll create: - Viral AI-generated posts for any niche - A strategy to reach thousands with zero screen time - A monetisation path from day one *Your brand. Your rules. No face needed.* 🚀

**Welcome to Service Design Drinks** Service Design Drinks Toronto is back at the pub and this time, we're doing a mid-year check-in. Back in January, a group of us shared things we wanted to do in 2026. Books to read. Skills to pick up. Projects to finally start. This Friday, we're revisiting that list. What happened? What shifted? What are you swapping out before the second half of the year disappears? No agenda, no presentations. Just good conversation with a community of designers, strategists, and curious people over drinks, at the Duke of York. Come ready to reflect a little. Leave with some accountability and maybe a new friend or two. **Format: Casual meet & greet** **What to Expect** ✅ Fun Icebreakers – Thoughtfully designed to help you connect effortlessl ✅ Exciting conversations – Enjoy connecting with creative professionals in the city ✅ A Relaxed, Welcoming Atmosphere – Come as you are, leave with new friend 📢 RSVP here so we can plan accordingly. It reflects the actual signup

For the event details and registration, use the user group event link: [Global Fabric Day 2026 - Toronto - Microsoft Fabric Community](https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Toronto-Fabric-Power-BI-User/Global-Fabric-Day-2026-Toronto/ev-p/5161097) The RSVP here is not considered a registration, and it's just to announce the event to the meetup community. TFPUG Team [Toronto Fabric & Power BI User Group | Microsoft Fabric Community](https://community.fabric.microsoft.com/t5/Toronto-Fabric-User-Group/gh-p/TorontoFabricUserGroup) [Toronto Fabric & Power BI User Group | Meetup](https://www.meetup.com/toronto-fabric-user-group/) [Toronto Fabric & Power BI User Group | LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/toronto-fabric-user-group/)

Most of us are already using agentic coding in some form: Claude, Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, or whatever new thing shipped this week. This talk is about the next layer: where the industry is heading as agents take on larger chunks of software work, and what Java developers need to learn to stay ahead. We’ll focus on context management, token strategy, orchestration, Codex-style workflows, cost optimization, and the practical judgment required to use these systems without losing the plot. The goal is to move beyond intro demos and into the real skill stack: knowing what to delegate, how to frame goals, how to keep agents grounded in larger codebases, how to get more value from fewer tokens, how to catch drift before it becomes damage, and how to verify output in a way that actually protects quality. This is also a career talk, because the tools are improving too quickly for casual awareness to be enough. The developers who stay valuable will not just be the ones who “use AI”; they’ll be the ones who can direct, constrain, evaluate, and compound with agentic systems. P.S. Due to popular demand, the slick Keynote animations are coming back. **About the venue** Free Times Cafe has bistro-style seating and a full food and drink menu. Please consider helping to support the venue by planning to have supper during the talk. **Speaker Bio** Victor Szoltysek is a seasoned consultant and technologist, currently at RAVL, where he helps clients eliminate the inefficiencies of undifferentiated heavy lifting and focus on building solutions that drive real business value for their customers. With a career spanning notable organizations like Accenture, Pivotal, and ThoughtWorks, as well as numerous startups, Victor brings a wealth of experience in cloud transformations, DevOps enablement, and Agile software development. A dedicated Java enthusiast with a sharp eye for cutting-edge technologies, Victor’s work frequently intersects with AWS, where he strives to streamline workflows and help teams leverage the cloud without unnecessary complexity. Recently, he’s also ventured into the dynamic world of artificial intelligence, exploring ways to make programming more engaging, efficient, and rewarding. Victor is known for his humorous and sometimes controversial presentation style, ensuring lively discussions and thought-provoking takeaways. His disdain for overly complex tech solutions drives his mission to simplify the way we build and deploy software. Whether he’s sharing insights about Java, AWS, or AI, Victor’s talks are as energizing and satisfying as your favorite cup of coffee. Don’t miss his unique blend of wit, wisdom, and deep technical expertise at our meetup!

RSVP here: https://rsvp.withgoogle.com/events/google-cloud-labs-data-cloud-toronto Join Google Cloud Labs for an immersive, hands-on workshop designed to deliver the practical skills and architectural patterns needed to bridge the gap between traditional data analytics and the new frontier of Agentic AI. Please fill out the registration form on Google's RSVP page to express interest in joining the event! Capacity is limited and registration is required.  Welcome to The Data Cloud workshop!  This hands-on workshop delivers the practical skills and architectural patterns needed to bridge the gap between traditional data analytics and the new frontier of Agentic AI. This is not a lecture! You'll spend the day with Google engineers who will guide you through a series of live labs. You’ll build governed pipelines with Spark and Knowledge Catalog, unlock multimodal analytics using GenAI in BigQuery, and scale vectorized search with AlloyDB. Finally, we'll bring these pieces together using BigQuery Graph and ADK (Agent Development Kit) to build agentic workflows powered by your data. Note: To participate, you must bring your own laptop and power cable. The activities require a laptop and cannot be completed on a tablet or phone.    Who Should Attend? Whether you're a Data Analyst, Engineer, or Data Scientist, we welcome all practitioners responsible for building the platforms that power AI. We recommend this workshop for anyone with a strong data foundation who wants to dive deeper into applied AI. What You Will Learn: Master Governed Data Ingestion: Build a unified data layer with BigQuery and Knowledge Catalog across multi-cloud sources. Architect Multimodal Intelligence: Use Gemini in BigQuery to extract insights from unstructured data like images and logs directly in your warehouse. Scale Vector Search: Deploy AlloyDB AI to find anomalies in massive datasets with sub-second latency. Engineer Agentic Workflows: Build autonomous AI agents using the ADK and MCP to move from dashboards to action. Uncover Hidden Relationships: Use BigQuery Graph analytics to map complex networks and find hidden links. Optimize Data Operations: Right-size your environment to cut costs and latency for performant AI apps. Agenda --- Hosted By Solomon Hsu, GDG Organizer I believe in one mandate in the digital space: Crafting Authentic Digital Experiences for All People. With that vision, I value digital accessibility and user centric design as the core foundation for all my projects. It is within the users' insights and needs that allow us to build great apps. Hiral Thaker, Co-organizer Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-toronto-presents-google-cloud-labs-data-cloud/.

**NEW LOCATION - Madison Avenue Pub** **Due to FIFA schedule our venue may be busy. Be sure to confirm venue/dates before coming!** Join your community of fellow Intuitives and MBTI nerds for a casual evening of engaging conversation. We get together every second Sunday – with a mix of regulars and new friends. There is no fee to attend, though we ask that you support the venue by ordering something to eat or drink. **Feel free to contact event host B. via Facebook/Meetup messenger, or text/call 416-712-8635 for directions**. About the venue: Madison Avenue Pub, 14 Madison Ave Nearest Subway: Spadina Map / Directions: https://maps.app.goo.gl/scdLEYqb9LNJWkgWA We make an effort to find pubs that are quiet and introvert friendly, with a section to ourselves. We make no effort to muffle our extroverts, but should they get out of hand, our resident INTJ will use their death stare, to pull them back in line.

A meetup for talking about the frontier of ai, or just vibe coding if you’re into that. Also industry gossip, hiring trends, effective altruism + predictions for the future

**“Join us for a refreshing walk, great conversations, and memorable moments. Capture beautiful photos along the way, share stories and perspectives, and finish the experience with a cozy coffee at a nearby café. Come meet new people, enjoy the journey, and live in the moment—one step at a time.”**

Most people still use AI like a search box: type one question, get one answer, repeat. But the next step is AI agents: systems that can take a goal, break it into steps, use tools, remember context, and produce useful work for a human to review. In this beginner-friendly session, we’ll demystify what AI agents actually are — without hype or jargon. We’ll walk through practical examples of how agents can help with research, planning, writing, coding, operations, and personal productivity. We’ll cover: * What makes an AI “agent” instead of just a chatbot * How agents break tasks into steps * Where agents are genuinely useful today * Where they fail, hallucinate, or need human review * How to design simple AI workflows for your own work * A live demo of an AI agent-style workflow from start to finish No coding experience required. This is for anyone who wants to understand where AI tools are going and how to use them more effectively right now. LOGISTICS AND PARKING: The talk starts at 7:00 PM. The first half hour is reserved for everyone to get set up and mingle. Free pizza and drinks! The cheapest parking option is to find street parking, which will only cost you a few bucks. Otherwise, park in the nearby veteran's museum lot for $8. It's highly recommended you avoid the nearby $15 garage parking.

Rev. Steven Clevenger is an ordained spiritualist minister with over 40 years experience as a Spiritual Healer, Clairvoyant and Spiritual Teacher, educated and trained at the White Lily Chapel. Rev. Siobhan Wolf Shaffer is an ordained spiritualist minister and certified medium and healer with over 20 years experience. She began her development in 1988 in Pennsylvania and continued when she moved to Ohio in 1998 where she studied at Rays of Lights Church with Rev. Steven Clevenger. Our full worship services consist of an inspirational lecture, healing meditation, and messages from the spirit world that serve to demonstrate evidence of eternal life. Please visit our Official Church Website (http://raysoflightchurch.com) for more information.

🤖 **Create a Working AI Agent – OpenClaw Workshop** Create a working AI agent from your browser in one session. No prior coding needed. ⚠️ Register via the link below to secure your place — RSVP won't do it. ### [🔗 CLAIM YOUR PLACE](https://aiventurelab.org/product/OpenClawMasterclass?city=Columbus&groupurlname=network-of-book-lovers-and-discussion-meetups&startgmtdatetime=2026-06-30T22:00:00Z) --- What you get: - A real, working AI agent by the end of the session - A browser-based setup you can use immediately - Hands-on experience building AI workflows from scratch *Don't just use AI. Build it.* 🤖

We're planning a hands-on technical session focused on building AI solutions in ServiceNow - think skills, agents, and real-world use cases. If you’re curious about AI on the platform, RSVP now and stay tuned for more details. Let's build together!

📊 **Profit from Predictions – Polymarket Strategy** Stop guessing on Polymarket. Learn the analytical system that generates real profit. ⚠️ Complete registration below — RSVP alone doesn't reserve your spot. ### [🔗 CLAIM YOUR SPOT](https://aiventurelab.org/product/Polymarket?city=Columbus&groupurlname=network-of-book-lovers-and-discussion-meetups&startgmtdatetime=2026-06-30T22:00:00Z) --- What you'll learn: - A systematic approach to forecasting outcomes - How to identify high-value markets before the crowd - Polymarket strategies that generate consistent daily profit *The forecasters who win have a system. Get yours.* 🎯

Come chat about Atlassian tools and best practices at the Reynoldsburg Sunny Street Cafe and Breakfast is on Atlassian! Let's get the day started off with breakfast with your ACE Leaders! We're always excited to talk about Atlassian Products, share our knowledge and hand out swag! Come chat with us about new product news and anything you are working on within the Atlassian product stack. This is a great opportunity to come see what we are all about, hear new business news and share with other Atlassian users your questions and experiences. We'd love to see new and old friends come out to chat and learn about Atlassian! Agenda --- Moderators Kimberly Deal - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley - Columbus Atlassian User Group Leader Greg Sprowls - Columbus Atlassian Community Leader Hosted By Kimberly Deal, Atlassian User Group Leader Kevin Stanley, Chief Everything Greg Sprowls, Agility Lead --- Global Partner Atlassian (http://atlassian.com) Millions of users globally rely on Atlassian products every day for improving software development, project management, collaboration, and code quality. Partner Atlassian --- For over a decade, Atlassian customers have come together to network, share ideas, solve problems, and find new ways to use Atlassian products. Today, more than 15,000 people take part in Atlassian community events in more than 30 countries. --- Complete your event RSVP here: https://ace.atlassian.com/events/details/atlassian-columbus-presents-rise-and-shine-with-atlassian-reynoldsburg-5/.

**Important time note:** Please plan on arriving between 5:30 and 6:00 as the elevators lock after 6 and you'll need to message us and we'll need to come get you. The building address is 4450 Bridge Park The entrance is 6620 Mooney St, Suite 400 You will need to scan your ID at the door to get a visitor badge. **Abstract** *Customize the IDE: Building Extensions for Visual Studio Code* Visual Studio Code is one of the most widely used development environments today, and much of its flexibility comes from its extension ecosystem. Extensions allow developers to customize the editor with new features, integrations, and workflow improvements tailored to their needs. In this session, we’ll cover what extensions are and the different types available, including full extensions written in TypeScript or JavaScript, along with lighter-weight extensions such as color themes, language packs, language support, code snippets, and keymaps. We’ll also look at practical reasons a developer might create an extension, from automating repetitive tasks to adding custom tooling. The session includes a hands-on walkthrough of creating a new extension, testing it locally, and understanding the basic project structure. We’ll close with a brief overview of how extensions are packaged and published to the Visual Studio Marketplace and other distribution options. **YouTube Link** TBD