Data & AI Community Day Durban: Encore + .NET Conf Community Edition South Africa

Data & AI Community Day Durban: Encore + .NET Conf 2026 Community Edition South Africa

Two events. Two stages. One last set for 2026.

Data enthusiasts, AI innovators, .NET developers, and tech explorers: we unplugged, played the Maskandi Sessions, plugged in, and every time, the room asked for one more. So before the lights go up on 2026, we're walking back on stage for one last set.

Join us on Saturday, November 21, 2026, at Richfield College, Umhlanga Campus, for Data & AI Community Day Durban: Encore, running side by side with .NET Conf 2026 Community Edition South Africa: a FREE, full-day, in-person event for the community, by the community.

So, What's "Encore"

AI Unplugged stripped things back to find out what's real. AI Unplugged II — The Maskandi Sessions turned up the local volume: storytelling, craftsmanship, and Durban pride. Plugged In ran current through it all, connecting the tools, the pipelines, and the people who actually ship this stuff.

Encore is what happens when the room won't let the band leave.

This is our last event of 2026, and we want it to feel like one. The best encores aren't filler. They're the songs the crowd has been waiting for all night, played as the band means it. That's what's on the setlist: the talks our speakers have been sharpening all year, the things they finally got working in production, and the lessons they learned the hard way so you don't have to.

Same no-hype spirit as always. Nothing here is a product roadmap in disguise.

.NET Conf Comes Back to KZN

Here's the part we're especially excited about: .NET Conf 2026 Community Edition South Africa is coming to Durban, making this only the second .NET Conf ever held in KwaZulu-Natal.

.NET Conf is a free, community-driven event celebrating .NET and the latest in the .NET ecosystem. Every November, the official .NET Conf runs online; the South African Community Edition brings it in person to a city near you. This year it's a nationwide roadshow, and Durban is the first stop:

- Durban: Saturday, November 21 (that's us!)

- Cape Town: Saturday, November 28

- Bloemfontein: Saturday, December 5 (first .NET Conf ever in Bloem!)

Two events. One Saturday. One roof. One registration gets you into both, and you can move between them anytime. Data person curious about what's happening in .NET? Walk across the hall. .NET developer who wants to know what the data team is actually doing with AI? Same thing, other direction.

Following Up on Plugged In

September's Plugged In brought GitHub Copilot Dev Days to KwaZulu-Natal for the first time, ran two tracks side by side, and the room rated the day 6.55 out of 7. Add AI Unplugged selling out, The Maskandi Sessions selling out in under 48 hours, and four sold-out events in 2025, and the pattern is clear: this community shows up.

Which is exactly why the seats go fast. More on that below.

What to Expect

A full day of 50-minute deep dives and 20-minute lightning talks, delivered by experts, architects, engineers, and Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs). We open together, then the day splits across two stages.

* The Mains — Data & AI Community Day Durban

Our core community track, running the full length of the day. Agents, LLMs, RAG, Model Context Protocol (MCP), Microsoft Fabric, streaming and real-time analytics, and database development (because SQL is not dead, and we'll fight anyone who says otherwise), alongside the work that keeps it all standing up: testing AI systems, guardrails, and responsible AI. Plus the human side of the industry: careers, breaking into tech, and building something of your own right here in KZN.

* The Backline — .NET Conf 2026 Community Edition South Africa

The gear the whole band plays through. A dedicated .NET Conf track running alongside The Mains: what's new in .NET 11 and C#, cloud-native .NET, building AI-powered apps, agents, and MCP servers in .NET, web development, performance, architecture, and the developer tooling that makes your day better. Whether you're a seasoned .NET developer or just starting out, there's something here for you.

Topics You'll Love:

- AI Agents & Agentic AI: multi-agent systems, orchestration, and real-world implementations

- Generative AI: LLMs, prompt engineering, RAG, and what's actually production-ready

- Model Context Protocol (MCP): servers, clients, integrations, and use cases

- .NET 11 & C#: what's new, what's changed, and what it means for the code you ship

- Cloud-Native .NET: building, deploying, and running .NET in the cloud

- AI in .NET: building AI-powered applications and agents with .NET

- Testing & Evaluating AI: how you know the thing works before your users find out it doesn't

- Responsible AI: bias, fairness, ethics, and governance — the stuff that actually matters

- AI for Africa: unique use cases, challenges, and opportunities on our continent

- Microsoft Fabric & Analytics: data engineering, OneLake, lakehouses, and business intelligence

- Database Development: performance tuning, architecture, and modern database tech

- Streaming Data & Real-Time Analytics: Kafka, Event Hubs, Spark, Flink, and data in motion

- Developer Productivity: tooling, AI-assisted development, and the workflows that make your day better

- Career & Community: because great engineers think beyond the code

And yes, by popular demand (and a touch of infamy), the legendary panel discussion returns. This is where you get to ask our speakers the hard questions live on stage. Bring your spiciest ones and watch the sparks fly.

Why Attend?

- Two events, one registration: Data & AI Community Day Durban and .NET Conf, same day, same venue

- Actionable content: no fluffy slides, just proven patterns, code, and architectures

- .NET Conf in Durban: for only the second time ever, and the first stop on the national roadshow

- Local + global voices: Microsoft MVPs, architects, thought leaders, and community experts

- Real community: Durban's friendliest tech crowd, a buzzing hallway track, and plenty of time to network

- Free event: world-class content, zero cost

Whether you're a seasoned developer, a data wrangler, a .NET engineer, a business analyst, a student, or just starting out and curious about the fuss, this event is for YOU.

Event Details

Date: Saturday, November 21, 2026

Time: Registration starts at 08:00, with Welcome & Introduction at 08:20. We expect to finish at ~16:30. The full agenda will be published on the event webpage.

Location: Richfield College, Umhlanga Campus

Address: Centenary Boulevard, Park Square, 5-9 Park Avenue, Umhlanga (The campus is inside the Park Square complex. Take the elevator in Block C to the first floor — you can't miss it!)

Event Webpage: https://aimldatadurban.org/events/2026/encore/

A massive thank you to Richfield College for graciously hosting us at their Umhlanga Campus!

A Community-Driven Event

The Azure, AI/ML & Data Community Durban is built on one simple idea: by the community, for the community. We're here to share, learn, and innovate together, using Azure, AI/ML, and Data to solve real-world problems and make a difference.

Our Mission: To empower and create heroes of society through Azure, AI/ML, and Data. We Do Positive Things through innovation and passion.

.NET Conf 2026 Community Edition South Africa is brought to you by MSDUG, the Microsoft technology-focused developer community, and in Durban, in partnership with the Azure, AI/ML & Data Community Durban.

Important Ticket Information

After you register, you'll receive an email with your ticket attached. Please bring the email with you to the event, as it will make the sign-in process much smoother. Thank you!

Secure your spot now. Space is limited; it's two events in one, and if our track record is anything to go by, this one will sell out fast.

We unplugged. We played the Maskandi Sessions. We plugged in. Now the crowd wants one more, and so do we. One day, two events, one last set for 2026. See you on November 21!