Amazon pledges $100 million in 'cloud credit' for underserved students
Amazon is helping global educational organizations afford to build or scale digital learning solutions.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), the hosted cloud division of Amazon, is committing up to $100 million in cloud credits over the next five years to provide recipients with cloud credits, which essentially act like cash that organizations can use to offset the costs of using AWS's cloud services.
Recipients can then leverage AWS's portfolio of cloud technology and AI services to create solutions such as AI assistants, coding curriculums, connectivity tools, student learning platforms, mobile apps, chatbots and other technology-based learning experiences.
They can also get technical expertise from AWS solution architects, who will provide architectural guidance, best practices for responsible AI implementation, and ongoing optimization support. This program is being offered as part of the AWS Education Equity Initiative.
AWS says it is already working with more than 50 organizations from 10 countries, enabling them to use advanced technologies to bring digital learning solutions to underserved and underrepresented communities. See a list of examples here.
Amazon supports technology education
This initiative the latest of many efforts Amazon has launched over the years to help promote technology learning and literacy. In the past year, more than 2 million students have received over 17 million hours of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), literacy, and career development courses through Amazon Future Engineer, childhood-to-career program dedicated to increasing access to computer science education for students from underserved and underrepresented groups.
Other examples include beating a deadline to provide free cloud computing skills training to 29 million people around the world by more than a year in July 2024, the "AI Ready" initiative to provide free AI skills training to 2 million people globally by 2025, and a program called “AWS SimuLearn,” based on the proprietary Amazon Bedrock generative AI platform, which provides an immersive learning experience that pairs generative AI-powered simulations with hands-on training in solving business problems.
[READ MORE: Amazon to invest $25 million in AI research]
"With the addition of the AWS Education Equity Initiative, AWS will be able to help nonprofits, education technology companies, social enterprises, governments, and corporate social responsibility teams expand access to learning and development opportunities to underrepresented and underserved communities," said Amazon.
