Build Your First MCP Server From Scratch

Hosted by Aki Wijesundara and Manu Jayawardana

Sat, Jun 27, 2026

9:00 PM UTC (30 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

Free to join

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AI Engineering Bootcamp & Certificate
Aki Wijesundara, PhD and Manu Jayawardana
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What you'll learn

The minimum a server needs

The smallest shape of a working MCP server, so it stops feeling like a big project.

Expose one tool, end to end

Define a single tool in your server and watch Claude discover and call it in real time.

Test it without guesswork

How to confirm Claude is actually hitting your tool and how to read it when it does not.

Why this topic matters

Connecting an existing MCP server is one thing, building your own is where it gets interesting, because then Claude can use your tools, your data, your internal API. In this free 30 minute session you write a tiny MCP server from an empty file, expose one tool, and watch Claude call it live in the same sitting. We keep it small and real: one server, one working tool, end to end. You leave able to stand up your own MCP server and expose a function Claude can actually use.

You'll learn from

Aki Wijesundara

AI Advisor | Educator | Google AI Accelerator Alum

Aki Wijesundara is an AI leader with a PhD in Machine Learning and extensive experience mentoring startups at Google’s AI Accelerator. With a career spanning both research and applied AI, Aki has taught 5,000+ students worldwide how to design and deploy production-ready AI systems.

He has worked across cutting-edge areas of applied AI, from LangChain and RAG pipelines to observability and large-scale deployment. As a researcher and educator, Aki bridges the gap between theory and practice, making complex systems approachable and actionable for engineers, founders, and product leaders.

Aki is also a frequent speaker and advisor to organizations adopting AI, helping them transition from experimentation to production at scale.

Manu Jayawardana

AI Founder | Co-Founder & CEO at Krybe | Co-Founder of Snapdrum

Manu Jayawardana is a serial entrepreneur with multiple AI startup successes.

He is also the Co-Founder of Snapdrum, an AI consultancy helping companies integrate and automate their businesses using AI. Through Snapdrum, Manu has worked with top startups and enterprises across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, advising on automation, product development, and AI strategy.

Currently, Manu is the Co-Founder & CEO of Krybe, an AI voice agent startup in London transforming how businesses automate customer interactions. His experience spans fundraising, scaling products, and leading teams to deliver production-grade AI solutions adopted globally.

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