In a new approach, seven higher education institutions in India will adopt cloud computing curricula from the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educate global initiative into their mainstream college syllabus to help develop the next generation of cloud professionals. The cloud computing content will be offered as part of undergraduate degree and postgraduate diploma programs starting in September, 2020.

The education institutions offering the newly-designed Bachelor of Technology degree programs in Information Technology (IT) and Computer Science are: Chitkara University, Punjab; Galgotias University, Uttar Pradesh; Manav Rachna University, Delhi and NCR; Noida Institute of Engineering and Technology, Uttar Pradesh; Sharda University, Delhi and NCR; and SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu. The ASM Institute of Management and Computer Studies in Maharashtra will offer syllabus combined with the AWS Educate cloud curricula for its Post Graduate Diploma in Management – Emerging Technology.

Cloud computing is a top workforce skill sought by companies, as reported by a LinkedIn study conducted annually over the last five years. This new effort to integrate cloud computing curricula in mainstream college education will help address the growing requirement for cloud skills in India by providing students with knowledge and competency-based credentials in skills such as cloud architecture, data analytics, cybersecurity, machine learning, and software development.

“Building a cloud-ready workforce is key to enabling technology-led growth in India that will drive innovation at speed and create impact at scale,” said Rahul Sharma, President, India and South Asia Public Sector, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited. “Integrating cloud curricula as part of mainstream college education represents a shift in the way the industry and academia can come together to build the next-generation of highly-skilled cloud professionals. We are honored to work with accredited education institutions in India to drive this change.”

All students participating in the degree and diploma programs will be enrolled in AWS Educate, Amazon’s global initiative to provide students comprehensive resources for building skills in the cloud, and provided with AWS Promotional Credits to gain real-world, hands-on experience using AWS cloud technology.

Supporting this effort is the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), a not-for-profit industry association and the apex body for the technology industry in India. NASSCOM will facilitate greater industry participation by engaging key employers in information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITES) segments in India, to build a talent pipeline equipped with cloud skills. Amit Aggarwal, CEO, IT-ITES sector skill council, NASSCOM and co-architect, NASSCOM FutureSkills added, “Including cloud curriculum in college syllabus is a significant catalyst in transforming the higher education system, and enabling a consistent supply of cloud computing and digital talent for the industry in India. We envision an accelerated path for India as a global hub for talent in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, blockchain, and big data. This new effort will help us build a future-ready workforce in IT. We hope to create a series of skilling programs that prepares students for the jobs of the future.”

ICT Academy, a not-for-profit society that works within the Government of India and collaborates with state governments and industry to train higher education teachers and industry-ready students, will also assist the education institutions with faculty development and curriculum alignment.

Also read: ASM Group of Institutes to adopt AWS Educate Cloud Computing curricula