“Students from underserved communities in India face disproportionate barriers to education, especially in the field of computer science”- Amit Agarwal, Global Senior VP and Country Head, Amazon India.
The announcement
 Amazon is expanding its IT Future Engineer program to India, making the world’s second-largest internet market the fifth in which the company offers the Community Childhood to Career program.
In a virtual conference on Tuesday, the company announced that it would provide multiple teaching materials, scholarships, internships, and mentors to students in India to teach computer science courses.
The areas it covers, such as robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, also make resources available for teachers. Â
Through Future Engineer, the company works with developers like Code.org to provide computer education opportunities to underserved and underrepresented children and young adults. According to Amazon, the program aims at students in grades 6-12. Â
In the first year after its introduction, Amazon plans to provide computer science learning opportunities to more than 1 lakh of students from 900 state and charter schools in seven states of India.
Amazon says it will partner with several non-profits focused on education to provide quality computer education to students in Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Telangana. Â
One step forward
Amazon created the Indian teacher and student community curriculum in state schools with local nuances in mind.
It provides students with programming basics and future-oriented technology courses such as intelligence artificial, machine learning and natural language processing (language technology) in Indian languages.
The initiatives include Class Chats, where students meet Amazon to understand careers in technology, and the Amazon Cyber Robotics Challenge, where students learn programming basics while programming and discovering robots.
Amazon uses robotics to deliver millions of products worldwide. Amazon has invested more than $ 6.5 billion in India to date and is looking to enter the lucrative Indian education sector. It has already launched an Amazon Academy. Â
This new IT initiative is a further step toward education for Amazon. Significantly, Amazon’s press release alluded to the fact that the penetration of smartphones in India is considerably higher than the availability of computers, but “most of the existing computer learning modules and online content are not compatible with mobile devices “. Â
Hearing from the leaders
“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.
The start
Amazon could therefore develop modules for smartphones. Amazon said its Future Engineer program aims to fill that gap by providing students with early exposure and access to computer science education through in-person, online and blended learning formats. Â
A few years ago, Amazon launched the “Amazon Future Engineer” program in the United States, a broad community foray into schools through computer classes.Â
In the coming years, Amazon India will continue to expand the program and expand the range of IT-related educational offerings in India.
AFE will also increase its support of students through scholarships, internships, problem-solving hackathon events, and specific tutoring programs.Â
