AWS Academy

Empowering higher education institutions to prepare students for industry-recognized certifications and careers in the cloud

Bridging the gap between industry and academia

As cloud technologies continue to help organizations transform at a rapid pace, employees with the necessary cloud skills are in high demand. According to LinkedIn data, cloud computing is the number one hard skill companies need most.

AWS Academy provides higher education institutions with a free, ready-to-teach cloud computing curriculum that prepares students to pursue industry-recognized certifications and in-demand cloud jobs. Our curriculum helps educators stay at the forefront of AWS Cloud innovation so that they can equip students with the skills they need to get hired in one of the fastest-growing industries.

Program benefits

Institutions

  • Become a leader in cloud education
  • Develop and retain educators

Educators

  • Access innovative cloud courses
  • Receive complimentary AWS professional training
  • Receive 50% discounts on AWS Certification exams

Students

  • Land a well-paid job in one of the fastest-growing industries
  • Gain skills hiring managers value
  • Receive 50% discounts on AWS Certification exams
  • Exclusive access to the Emerging Talent Community upon course completion

Educator and Administrator Testimonials

"I teach AWS Academy Cloud Foundations to graduate students in some of the top programs in the world. I have found that AWS Academy material is ideal for students looking to get hands-on experience with cloud computing."

Noah Gift, Professor, Duke University

Educator and Administrator Testimonials

"AWS Academy provides well designed and professionally-developed learning materials for our students. Integration of AWS Academy course into our Business Analytics curriculum helps better prepare our students for internships and full time job placements. Students who completed the course have landed full-time jobs at Goldman Sachs, Visa, Bank of America, and many more."

Kyong Jin Shim, Professor, Singapore Management University

Educator and Administrator Testimonials

"With AWS Academy, we are helping both our students and the local community in Miami by creating the cloud workforce local businesses are looking for. We equip students with the skills and certifications they need to successfully launch careers in cloud computing and help connect them to local employers."

Antonio Delgado, Dean of Engineering, Technology and Design at Miami Dade College

Educator and Administrator Testimonials

"Cloud computing is one of the most important skills for my students to learn. With AWS Academy, students are able to learn the basic concepts of the cloud, and gain experience with AWS Cloud services in a systematic way."

Kenji Akae, Educator and Professional Systems Engineer, Toyama College of Business and IT

Educator and Administrator Testimonials

"We incorporated the AWS Academy curriculum into our cloud computing module and launched a summer program for students looking to study AWS. The courses and the AWS skills they teach help enhance the employability of our students. On a personal level, my work with AWS Academy is one of the main reasons I was promoted to Senior Lecturer at my institution."

Gokop Goteng, Queen Mary University of London

About the curriculum

AWS Academy offers courses and learning resources that enable students to develop a range of skills in the AWS Cloud. Approved educators have access all AWS Academy courses and AWS Academy Learner Lab.

  • Cloud Foundations

  • AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    This introductory course is intended for students who seek an overall understanding of cloud computing concepts, independent of specific technical roles. It provides a detailed overview of cloud concepts, AWS core services, security, architecture, pricing, and support.

    AWS Academy Introduction to Cloud: Semester 1

    In this introductory course, students will explore AWS services and technologies, and how they can support businesses across the globe. Students will also learn to build on the AWS Management Console, examine successful cloud implementations, and apply their knowledge to cloud-based scenarios.

    AWS Academy Introduction to Cloud: Semester 2

    Extending upon the concepts from AWS Academy Introduction to Cloud: Semester 1, students will continue to explore cloud computing services, applications, and use cases. Students will dive deeper into cloud computing best practices and learn how the cloud helps users develop a global infrastructure at scale by leveraging innovative technologies.

    Recommended progression option 1

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

    Recommended progression option 2

    Course

    AWS Academy Introduction to Cloud: Semester 1

    Course

    AWS Academy Introduction to Cloud: Semester 2

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

  • Developing

  • AWS Academy Cloud Developing

    This intermediate-level course will help students gain technical expertise in development with cloud technologies. It will also help them prepare for the AWS Certified Developer - Associate certification exam. Upon completion, students will be able to develop with the AWS SDK and identify best practices for building and deploying applications in the AWS Cloud. This course contains approximately 40 hours of content delivered through lectures and hands-on labs.

    We recommend that students take AWS Academy Cloud Foundations or equivalent before taking this course.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Developing

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Developer - Associate

  • Architecting

  • AWS Academy Cloud Architecting

    This intermediate-level course covers the fundamentals of building IT infrastructure on AWS and helps students gain the skills they need to pursue the AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate certification. This course contains approximately 40 hours of content delivered through lectures, hands-on labs, and project work.

    We recommend that students take AWS Academy Cloud Foundations or equivalent before taking this course.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Architecting

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate

  • Operations

  • AWS Academy Cloud Operations

    This intermediate-level course will prepare students to pursue in-demand DevOps, support, and cloud operations roles at the entry level. It will also help them prepare for the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator – Associate exam. Through case studies, demonstrations, and hands-on activities, students will learn how to troubleshoot various scenarios and automate deployments of networks and systems on AWS. This course contains approximately 40 hours of content delivered through lectures and hands-on labs.

    We recommend that students take AWS Academy Cloud Foundations or equivalent before taking this course.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Operations

    E x a m

    AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate

  • Machine Learning

  • AWS Academy Machine Learning Foundations

    This introductory course introduces students to the concepts and terminology of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). By the end of this course, students will be able to select and apply ML services to resolve business problems. They will also be able to label, build, train, and deploy a custom ML model. This course contains approximately 20 hours of content delivered through lectures, hands-on labs, and project work.

    AWS Academy Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing

    This intermediate-level course is designed for students who are pursuing careers that require machine learning knowledge. Students will learn how to describe the terms in the natural language processing (NLP) ecosystem; identify how to use NLP in business; and indicate the range of problems, tasks, and solutions with NLP.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Machine Learning Foundations

    Course

    AWS Academy Machine Learning for Natural Language Processing

    Resources

    AWS Resources and additional hands-on experience

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Machine Learning - Specialty

  • Data Analytics

  • AWS Academy Data Analytics

    These lab exercises teach students how to conduct Big Data analysis with practical, real-world examples. The labs and learning resources are designed to supplement an institution's existing data analytics courses and provide students with hands-on experience working with data at scale. Geared toward students interested in pursuing careers in data analysis, AWS Academy Data Analytics requires a strong foundation in IT concepts and skills, and it contains seven-and-a-half hours of content.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

    Labs

    AWS Academy Data Analytics

  • Data Centers

  • AWS Academy Engineering Operations Technicians (EOT)

    This course provides an overview of the fundamental concepts and skills required for the Engineering Operations Technician role in a Data Center environment. Students will learn about topics such as data center basics, data center physical infrastructure, electrical fundamentals, and data center batteries and generators.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    Course

    AWS Academy Engineering Operations Technicians (EOT)

    AWS Academy Data Center Technician (DCT)

    This course is designed to help students develop technical expertise in data center operations. Although this is a foundational course, students should possess a general knowledge of mechanical and electrical engineering concepts.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    Course

    AWS Academy Data Center Technician (DCT)

  • Security

  • AWS Academy Cloud Security Foundations

    This course is designed to help students gain a foundational knowledge of cybersecurity principles and services for cloud computing through a guided hands-on approach. This course includes demonstrations, instructional guides, and real-life scenarios.

    Recommended progression

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Foundations

    E x a m

    AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

    Course

    AWS Academy Cloud Security Foundations

  • Learner Labs

  • AWS Academy Learner Labs

    Long-running hands-on lab environments where educators can bring their own assignments and invite their students to get experience using select AWS Services.

    What can you do with AWS Academy Learner Labs?

    • Create a class for your students
    • Invite your students
    • Assign your own projects
    • View a student's workspace
    • View analytics including time and money spent
    • Includes access to over 100 AWS services
    • Available to all AWS Academy educators that complete the Getting started with AWS Academy course

How to join

Participation criteria

AWS Academy membership begins at the institution level. Institutions that meet following criteria can apply:

  • Institution offers accredited degree, diploma, certificate, or continuing education programs.
  • Applicant is authorized to act as the Central Point of Contact (CPOC) for the institution they represent or can provide the name and contact information of someone who can act in this capacity.

Getting started

Once the application is accepted, the institution:

  • Accepts program Terms & Conditions
  • Central Point of Contact will nominate one or more educators to teach AWS Academy courses
  • Proposes a class delivery plan

AWS Academy Member Institutions

Explore the list of active AWS Academy member institutions around the world.

Explore the list »

Student Spotlight

"AWS has given me a competitive advantage in terms of employment. Cloud computing skills are becoming more and more crucial to many industries, so having to experiment with services offered by the biggest cloud computing service provider was key to my success."

Steve Muland, Graduate, Durban University of Technology in South Africa

Student Spotlight

"My current project is securing the Internet of Things, and it includes artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques. The next step is to implement these techniques in the cloud. Taking an AWS Academy course was really helpful in putting all the knowledge together. It gave me hands-on experience and a better understanding of cloud computing, so I could see the big picture when designing and improving my algorithm." -

Hadeel Saleh Alrubayy, PhD Candidate, Queen Mary University of London in the United Kingdom

Student Spotlight

"Completing the AWS Academy Cloud Operations course not only helped me prepare for the AWS Certified SysOps Administrator - Associate, but it also helped raise my confidence in my ability to architect, automate, and optimize cloud environments. The labs included with the program were an invaluable resource, and I attribute my success on the exam to the hands-on experience gained from those labs. With more and more systems transitioning to cloud models, it's imperative to learn the world's most ubiquitous cloud computing platform, and AWS Academy will jump start your learning and set you up for success!"

Sky Resendez, Western Governors University

AWS Academy Insights

Dr. Michael Soltys, California State University, Channel Islands

Dr. Sanjay Bansal, Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research, India

Dr. José C. Martínez, University of Houston, USA

Juli Hart, Richland College, USA

Dr. Fernando Perez Tellez, Technological University Dublin, Ireland

Jason Tam, eCloudvalley, Taiwan

Dr. Mazen Ali, University of Bahrain, Bahrain

Eric Leung, Vice President ICG, Hong Kong

Huai-Sheng Huang, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei, Taiwan

Dr. John Burns, Technological University Dublin, Ireland

Employers

Interested in hiring entry-level cloud talent? Find AWS Academy graduates for your open roles.

The Latest from AWS Academy

AWS Academy's big bet on higher education

The challenges of higher education around the world are widely known and lamented: rising tuition costs that reduce the perceived return on investment, challenges with equity and accessibility, and the growing gap between the needs of employers and the skills of graduates.

by Kevin Kelly | 18 MAR 2020

Read more »

AWS Academy educators support students globally in the shift to online learning

To protect the health and safety of their students and faculty, higher education institutions around the world have made a quick and essential shift from in-person to online classes.

by Scott McKinley | 12 MAY 2020

Read more »

5 Dos and 5 Don'ts for teaching online

We are in an exciting era of higher education. Digital native students are arriving in our classrooms armed with deep and broad experience with technology. And now, the COVID crisis is pushing us all to teach online, giving us a chance to think big and bold about what we view as the future of education in the modern era.

by Andrew Schwarz | 11 JUNE 2020

Read more »

Do you have questions?

For more information, please visit the FAQ or contact us directly.