Amazon Web Services Inc. today announced the launch of a new program that will help institutions serving historically underserved and underrepresented students access artificial intelligence courses. 

The program, which was detailed at AWS re:Invent in Las Vegas, will be provided through AWS’ Machine Learning University. Machine Learning University is a platform that offers access to virtual AI courses and other educational resources developed by the cloud giant. AWS uses the platform internally to equip its developers with AI skills. 

The new program announced today will help educators at community colleges, minority-serving institutions and historically Black colleges and universities teach AI concepts. The program also covers related topics such as databases. As part of the program, AWS will host educator enablement bootcamps as well as provide curriculum resources that it has developed with feedback from multiple school systems.

“It helps us by bringing these technologies to a wider base of people,” Mike Miller, general manager of AWS AI devices, told SiliconANGLE in an interview. The overall aim is to democratize the use of AI and machine learning, he added.

AWS plans to host the first educator bootcamps next year. They will be delivered in a virtual format and are set to include live instructor-led lectures as well as hands-on projects, the cloud giant detailed. Participants will receive continuing education credits, an AWS stipend and professional development resources ranging from regional events to study sessions.

Educators who participate in the program will also receive course materials including lecture slides, coding exercises, exams and instructor handbooks. According to AWS, the materials were developed with input from multiple school systems and are designed to meet the requirements of college-level, for-credit courses. 

To support educators’ work, AWS plans to provide free cloud infrastructure for students. Students can use the Amazon.com Inc. unit’s platform to practice AI concepts and gain experience with cloud tools that companies use to build machine learning software. 

“Our goal in launching this program is to make database, AI and ML education widely accessible to all community colleges and universities across the U.S. — not just elite institutions,” said Swami Sivasubramanian, vice president of databases, analytics and machine learning at AWS. “We need the best minds from all backgrounds entering these fields.”

AWS’ educator enablement program was sparked by a letter that Houston Community College professor Raymond Brown sent to Bree Al-Rashid, the Machine Learning University lead at AWS. Next fall, HCC is set to become the first community college in the U.S. to offer a bachelor’s degree in AI.

AWS will make its educator enablement program available for free. The educator bootcamps that the cloud giant is set to provide as part of the program will begin in January, while the AI curriculum materials AWS has developed are set to become available in the fall. 

Photo: Tony Webster/Flickr