Amazon's bid to take Computer Science education to rural India

Amazon has launched a comprehensive childhood-to-career community program, aiming to deliver Computer Science studies to over 1 lakh students from 900 government and aided schools across seven states in India.

"At Amazon, we believe in the power of Computer Science (CS) to unleash creativity and unlock human potential. We also know that while talent and passion is spread across all young people, opportunity is not," Amazon said in a blog post.

To address the gap of students from underserved and underrepresented communities taking up computer science engineering in relatively small numbers, the Amazon Future Engineer program aims to bringing early exposure and access of CS education to students through in-person, online and blended learning formats.

In the first year of its launch, Amazon said it aims to enable and deliver CS learning opportunities to more than 1 lakh students from 900 government and aided schools across seven states in India.

“Students from underserved communities in India face disproportionate barriers to education, especially in the field of computer science. We are thrilled to bring the Amazon Future Engineer initiative to India, as we believe that all young people, irrespective of their backgrounds, should have the right exposure and accessibility to quality computer science education. We aim to bring the CS curriculum closer to these students in the languages of their comfort and choice, empower them with right skills and tools to be able to expand their career outlook," said Amit Agarwal, Global Senior VP and Country Head, Amazon India.

“We hope students emerge more confident and skilled to be responsible creators of technology solutions and build a better future for themselves, and communities around them," Amit added.

Amazon says it will partner with multiple education-focused non-profit organizations to take quality CS education to the students at government schools across the states of Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Telangana.

The initiative will primarily focus on students in grades 6-12, and will also train teachers and educators to teach computer science in a more engaging way.

Apart from enabling content and curriculum, Amazon says the Future Engineer program will also help students discover and explore the world of computer science through exciting interventions.