Amazon is one of the largest multinational corporations in the world, and other than being a leader in e-commerce, Amazon also has a focus on cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Since its inception, Amazon has grown at a remarkable pace, becoming a global phenomenon, and has been called “one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world”.
India is one of the biggest markets in the world, and Amazon has created a space for itself in the Indian commerce sphere as well. Along with its customer-friendly services and a plethora of e-commerce offerings, one of the main reasons behind Amazon’s growth is definitely the various initiatives to uplift the communities it serves. In that spirit, in 2021, Amazon launched its “Future Engineer Program” in India.
Amazon’s Future Engineer Program
Amazon’s Future Engineer Program is an initiative by the company to promote awareness and knowledge of computer science and technology to unprivileged school children to learn and develop their skills in the discipline. It is Amazon’s effort to prepare the youth for the rising and well-paying job opportunities that the world of computer technology offers.
The head of Amazon in the community, CSR India, and APAC Anita Kumar stated “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,”.
She also added, “We provide computer science learning avenues which include interactive learning content based on real-world application of Computer Science (CS) in local languages, curated curriculum for schools, courses for teachers in CS, additional resource person 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,”.
The initiative is Amazon’s signature computer-science education program aimed to inspire and educate millions of kids globally and provide them with the opportunity to make a bright future for themselves and their families. Amazon already had active programs in several other countries like the UK, America, Canada, and France, and it launched the program in India in 2021.
Children are our future, and the efforts to equip these leaders of tomorrow with tools to realize their potential are the need of underprivileged communities globally. Amazon has taken this step to address that problem. This initiative is also well in line with SDG 4 (Sustainable development Goal 4) by the UN (September 2015), which is 4th in the 17 goals established, and is to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.
Main goals of the programme
The programme’s goals are many. In essence, it aims to provide quality education to deserving students globally. Here are the main objectives that the initiative accomplishes:
a.) Spreading Computer- science education and opportunities to students
Amazon’s Future engineer program aims to spread quality computer science education to deserving students globally and prepare them to utilize their inherent potential in the field. Amazon’s initiative also aims to break any educational barriers that many students have to face. In today’s world, computer education is essential for a productive future. This programme aims to make quality computer education accessible.
b.) Providing support and opportunity to underprivileged children
Amazon Future Engineer program aims to support children who come from underprivileged backgrounds and struggle to get good education and opportunities. Amazon has partnered with several education-focused, non-profit organizations. These include – Leadership for Equity, Learning Links Foundation, Pi Jam Foundation, American India Foundation, Code.org, Educational Initiatives, Peepul, The Innovation Story, NavGurukul and Foundation for Excellence. With this, Amazon is positively affecting the communities.
c.) Inculcating logical, design-based thinking
By providing bright students with quality computer science education, Amazon aims to promote logical, design-based thinking in students and prepare them for a bright tomorrow. Amazon is working along several key government bodies, policymakers, teachers, and schools management of several government institutions to execute the AFE program in states: Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana.
What do students do in AFEP?
Amazon’s future engineering program offers many absorbing learning opportunities to students through which they develop their potential. It introduces students to the basics of computer engineering through interactive, fun activities such as “Hour-of-Code” and “Amazon Cyber Robotics Challenge”.
Students also benefit from in-depth learning opportunities like Code-a-Thon’, a project-based structured boot camp that offers students hands-on coding- experience along with advanced courses on Robotics, Computer-Aided Design, and Web Design.
AFEP is also creating computer science learning apps like “Meraki”, and “Code-Mitra”, which let the students learn coding, often without the internet.
Another great activity is “Class Chats”, which provides students with the opportunity to discuss their career aspirations and let them know about various opportunities available to them in terms of their careers. These chats are delivered by Amazon employees and aim to spark curiosity amongst school students.
AFEP also helps educators be more hands-on in their approach to teaching computer science to their students. In collaboration with various government entities, AFEP offers teachers the opportunity to learn through training programs, and helps them take the subject to their class and teach it in an interesting way.
Eligibility For the program
To be eligible for the program, here are the eligibility criteria for this program by Amazon:
a.) Government school students who typically do not have the opportunity to learn computer science are eligible for the program. Partnering with code.org and several reputed educational organizations supporting around 900 schools across seven states, AFEP brings CS education to school children.
b.) Tech aspirants and teachers interested in learning about the subject and bringing value to the classrooms can also benefit from several learning activities organized by the company.
c.) Girl students who come from an underprivileged background and are interested in pursuing careers in computer science can avail of scholarships and mentorship to learn from experts.
About AFEP 2023
Amazon opened registrations for the AEFP 2023, and this year the number of financial scholarships has improved and will be provided to 500 girls from low-income families. Through the last program, Amazon supported more than 4.5 lakh students (classes 3-12) from over 3000 government schools across 11 states. In this program, 200 girls from low-income families got financial scholarships. For AFEP 2023, the last date to submit scholarship applications is 31st December 2022.
Conclusion
AFEP currently has around 70 labs dedicated to helping children learn coding and building live projects using physical computing components like raspberry PIs and sensors. Schools use these labs and digital assets to provide a highly- conductive CS learning environment for the students. Amazon’s future engineer program is a remarkable initiative by the company, and it’ll be interesting to see how it will expand its approach to benefit students in building careers in technology.
