Amazon Future Engineer completes one year in India providing computer science education and career exposure to more than 4.5 Lakh students
The company has opened registrations for 2023 AFE Scholarships, a 1.6 Lakh financial assistance per student, which will be awarded to 500 girl students from low-income families
Amazon Future Engineer (AFE), a global computer science education program by Amazon, has completed one year in India. Amazon has supported more than 4.5 Lakh students from over 3000 government schools across 11 states to explore and learn computer science through interactive digital and in-person learning interventions. These students in grades 3 to 12, are primarily from low-income families and lack the resources to study computer science or to get exposed to careers that exist in the technology industry. To support girl students from low-income families to pursue a career in computer science, AFE provided 200 scholarships in 2021.
To facilitate the learning journey of students, Amazon facilitates students to learn computer science through interactive content which is delivered to students and their educators by AFE partner non-profits. AFE has also set up around 70 AFE labs where children don’t just learn to code but also to build live projects using physical computing components like raspberry PIs and sensors. These labs combined with digital assets enable schools to provide a holistic learning experience to their students by experimenting with computers and technology. For AFE Scholars, Amazon provides a sum of INR 1.6 lakh over four years along with mentorship from Amazonians and Bootcamp-style courses to build a successful tech career.
“Amazon Future Engineer was launched in India with the aim of democratizing computer science education so that every child has the potential to become creators and not just consumers of technology. Since the launch of AFE, we have been striving, along with our partner organizations, to support systemic integration of computer science education in government schools in multiple states,” says Anita Kumar, Head – Amazon in the Community, CSR India & APAC.
Akshay Kashyap Head – Amazon Future Engineer, India says “We provide computer science learning avenues which include interactive learning content based on real world application of CS in local languages, curated curriculum for schools, courses for teachers in CS, additional recourse people to teach CS and bridge infrastructure gaps where possible. Through these initiatives, we believe that we will be able to inspire young people to build their best future through quality computer science education , while building a diverse and inclusive tech industry,”
Amazon has now started registrations for 2023 scholarship. In its second year, a number of scholarships has now been increased to 500 with the last date to submit the scholarship application being 31st December 2022. Girl students who have already gained admission into an Engineering college through a central or state level entrance exam and have the total household annual income of INR 3 Lakh or less, are eligible to apply for the scholarship.
Apart from India, AFE program has been supporting computer science education for more than a million children and young adults from underrepresented communities in USA, the UK, France and Canada. The program follows a multi-pronged approach of creating an enabling ecosystem by focusing on building the capacities of the students as well as teachers along with developing the infrastructure of the schools.
AFE provides Computer Science Explore activities such as ‘Hour-of-Code’ and ‘Amazon Cyber Robotics challenge’ to introduce students to basics of computer science in an interactive and fun way. The students are also offered deeper computer science learning opportunities like ‘Code-a-Thon’ – a project-based structured boot camp for learning hands-on coding as well as advanced courses on Robotics, Computer-Aided Design, and Web Design. AFE is also creating digital computer science learning apps like ‘code-Mitra’ and ‘Meraki’ that enable students to learn computer science on mobile devices, often without the internet, in their own languages. To expose students to the wide variety of careers available in the tech industry, Amazon offers Class Chats to the students. Amazon employees deliver Class Chats to spark inquisitiveness among school students, by discussing their careers and learning from their journey, and help students understand various careers in the tech industry and how to get there.
AFE is also enabling educators to teach computer science in a more engaging way and build 21st-century skills in their students. To facilitate this, AFE, in collaboration with various government bodies and non-profits, offers training and coding courses to teachers who want to take computer science to their classrooms.
Participating in one such teacher training session, Surekha Kunjir, Teacher, Pimple Nilakh School, Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC), Pune, Maharashtra, said, “Earlier, I knew little about the concepts like algorithms and sequencing. This teacher training course has provided me with a broader lens to understand how these concepts are extremely useful for students and can help students to learn coding in creative ways. Apart from learning to code, the idea is to develop logical thinking and design thinking in students which is emphasized by the technology industry as well. This teacher training course has helped me in understanding these concepts to code and I am integrating these into my subjects. My apprehension about coding is now fading away and even the students are thoroughly enjoying and benefiting from this learning experience.”
Amazon Future Engineer is a computer science education program that allows all young people to explore their potential and build a better world for us all. Amazon Future Engineer is a childhood-to-career program, offering programming that starts with primary school and continues through secondary into a career. Throughout, Amazon partners with organizations that share its mission and create opportunities for students to discover the richness of computer science through intersections with self-expression, social justice, sustainability, and more.
Amazon introduced the AFE in India in 2021 and it has partnered with several education-focused non-profit organizations including Leadership for Equity (LFE), Learning Links Foundation (LLF), Pi Jam Foundation, American India Foundation, Code.org, Educational Initiatives, Peepul, The Innovation Story, NavGurukul and Foundation for Excellence to engage with students and provide them with learning opportunities. Through an extensive network of these partners, Amazon has also engaged with key government bodies, policymakers, teachers, and the management of various schools to implement the AFE program in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
Amazon Future Engineer
Amazon Future Engineer is Amazon’s signature computer science education program designed to offer all young people the chance to build their best future, inspiring and educating millions of students globally. Students explore computer science through school curriculum and project-based learning using code to make music, program robots, and solve problems. Through the program, Amazon reaches millions of students from historically underrepresented communities globally through Amazon Future Engineer with real-world inspired virtual and hands-on computer science project learning. The program is available in the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, and India.
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