On March 13 and 15, 2017, BUILD-IT and the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educate program co-organized two one-day workshops in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang respectively with the participation of 87 faculty members from seven higher education institutions in Vietnam.
According to Amazon trainers, AWS Technology was the most sought skill on LinkedIn in 2016. As such, the workshops were designed to equip faculty with fundamental proficiency in AWS Technology as well as knowledge of how to integrate the technology into their curriculum. These workshops are part of BUILD-IT’s continuous effort to prepare workforce ready graduates with high quality programs, as well as their strategic goal of enabling university and private sector collaborations.
AWS Educate program manager, Sam Harris (second from left), watches as a participant explains the last session ot the class.
The workshop in Ho Chi Minh City was hosted at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education (HCMUTE) with 46 participants from the six BUILD-IT academic partners. The workshop in Danang was hosted at Danang University of Science and Technology (DUT) with 21 participants from two BUILD-IT academic and industry partners.
In each workshop, trainers from the AWS Educate program (Sam Harris, AWS Educate Program Manager, and Julian Lau, Principal Solutions Architect, ASEAN) presented the benefits of cloud computing and its various uses in education, enterprise and startups. Workshop participants not only learned to leverage the AWS Educate program to prepare students with cloud technology, but also gained access to lessons and curriculum on cloud topics including security, big data, internet of things and developing on cloud. Through knowledge presented via presentations and a practical case study at the end of the workshop, participants understood the core concepts of cloud computing and different attributes such as reliability, fault tolerance, elasticity, scalability and pay-as-you-go pricing.
The workshop was informative and interactive. Participants were gathered in groups to determine how they can implement AWS technology in their classrooms.
In addition to the practical curriculum, participants also found the AWS pricing model very affordable. With the free AWS credit awarded for instructors, professors can explore and experience various AWS technology. One participant from DUT mentioned that the AWS internet of things SMS texting scheme could be used by the school as a basis notification system for students via SMS, as many students do not check their email regularly. Many lecturers also shared that utilizing AWS was a more cost effective option for universities than investing in the infrastructure needed to set up a high performance computing facilities.
Participants of the AWS Educate workshop all gave positive feedback. They look forward to integrating the technology into their curriculum.
At the end of the workshops, participants were given the opportunity to sign up for the AWS Educate Instructor Scheme. The workshops have opened up exciting opportunities for BUILD-IT partners to a world of advanced technology and inspired them to apply as well as integrate the technology into their curriculum to produce generations of cloud-ready graduates.
BY CRISTAL NGO & TAM NGO