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MCP for Beginners (Model Context Protocol)

Developers who want to connect LLMs to external tools, data, and services in a standard way. Automation engineers and DevOps specialists rolling out AI agents in their workflows. Architects evaluating MCP for enterprise integrations (Azure, Microsoft Foundry, Entra ID).

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Course preview

What you will learn

Explore the full curriculum before you enrol. Lessons unlock after purchase or free enrolment.

01

Introduction to MCP

Topics covered

  • Understand what the Model Context Protocol (MCP) is and what problem it solves.
  • Get familiar with the host-client-server architecture and the role each component plays.
  • See where MCP fits in the ecosystem of AI applications and agents.
1 lesson10 questions~25 min
02

Core Concepts and Security

Topics covered

  • Take a close look at the protocol's primitives: Tools, Resources, Prompts, Sampling, Roots, Elicitation.
  • Understand the connection lifecycle (initialization, capability negotiation, message exchange).
  • Learn MCP's main security threats and the typical mitigations.
1 lesson10 questions~25 min
03

Your First Server and Client

Topics covered

  • Build your first working MCP server in the language of your choice.
  • Write a client that connects to the server, plus a client with an LLM integrated.
  • Connect the server to VS Code and other hosts (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Cline).
1 lesson10 questions~25 min
04

Hands-On Development and SDKs

Topics covered

  • Get comfortable with the official MCP SDKs (C#, Java, TypeScript, Python, etc.) for building full-featured servers.
  • Implement all three server primitives: Tools, Resources, Prompts.
  • Learn to test MCP servers and work with the stdio and streamable-HTTP transports.
1 lesson10 questions~25 min
05

Advanced Topics

Topics covered

  • Get comfortable with advanced protocol features: sampling, root contexts, progress notifications, request cancellation.
  • Understand routing and scaling strategies for MCP in high-load scenarios.
  • Learn enterprise integration: OAuth2, Entra ID, Azure, Microsoft Foundry.
1 lesson10 questions~25 min
06

Community Contribution and Case Studies

Topics covered

  • Learn how to contribute to the open MCP ecosystem: servers, SDKs, documentation.
  • Study lessons from early adopters and Microsoft's MCP server ecosystem.
  • Break down real-world case studies: tracker automation, API Management, a travel agent, documentation.
1 lesson10 questions~25 min
07

Best Practices

Topics covered

  • Systematize MCP server design practices: performance, resilience, reliability.
  • Learn error-handling, retry, and degradation patterns.
  • Build a production-readiness checklist for a server.
1 lesson10 questions~25 min
08

Final Exam

Final exam
35 questions~60 min