Amazon is expanding its childhood-to-career computer science education program to provide access to 2 million students across 8,000 U.S. schools by 2022.
Amazon hopes to encourage millions of students from underserved and historically underrepresented communities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through Amazon Future Engineer. In order to prepare students for jobs that will be in high demand in the near future, the programme helps students develop their coding and computer science skills.
Amazon is expanding its childhood-to-career computer science education program to provide access to 2 million students across 8,000 U.S. schools by 2022.
All Amazon Future Engineer schools serve a student body with a significant percentage of students from historically underrepresented communities in the technology industry, and more than 80% are Title I eligible, indicating a high percentage of students come from families who need financial assistance.
Janet T. Phan, a senior technical product manager for Project Kuiper, shares how to navigate your own path to a career in tech. Studies show that only about half of U.S. high schools offer computer science courses, particularly in rural, urban, and economically disadvantaged schools. Amazon is committed to creating a diverse pipeline of tech students and hiring homegrown talent to help keep communities strong for years to come.
Students can learn about computer science by engaging in practical experiences through Amazon Future Engineer Class Chats. There are three ways that Amazon Future Engineer broadens student access to computer science education: invests in professional development for teachers and top-notch computer science instruction to assist school districts in putting long-term K–12 computer science initiatives into action.
Amazon is supporting the creation of specialised curricula as part of this initiative in order to take into account the distinctive cultural perspectives, interests, and experiences of Black, Latino, and Native American (BLNA) students.
Amazon Future Engineer, for example, has pledged $2.25 million to assist Indigenous schools in gaining access to culturally responsive computer science curricula.
Virtual class chats, career tours, and project-based learning modules are available to help students explore computer science through real-world experiences. Provides college scholarships, paid internships, and industry mentors to help students envision their future in the industry.
“Our collaboration with Amazon represents a shared commitment to expanding access to equity-driven initiatives that will help close digital learning gaps by ensuring computer science opportunities for students in all communities,” said Lien Diaz, interim executive director and board member of BootUp PD, a nonprofit professional development provider specialising in elementary school education.
“It is the first ongoing national sponsorship aimed at implementing long-term, district-wide computer science.” We’re thrilled to be a part of something that will have a tangible, positive impact for decades to come.”
Students learn how to write code in order to create music, programme robots, and solve problems. Amazon Future Engineer is currently available in Canada, France, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
By 2022, the programme will have reached 3.2 million students from underrepresented communities around the world through virtual and hands-on computer science project learning.