IBL News | New York
AWS (Amazon Web Services) continues to expand its partnerships with schools to offer associate and bachelor’s degree specialization in cloud computing.
Its latest move points out to Virginia, where, given the booming tech sector and with Amazon’s new operations – it is launching its second headquarters in Arlington, VA – employees are in a growing need for workers with cloud computing skills.
Since September 2016, job postings requiring these skills in Virginia have increased from approximately 5,000 to 20,000 per month, according to official data.
Last week, Virginia’s state officials said the deepening partnership with AWS will create more job opportunities for students. More specifically, Virginia’s Governor Ralph Northam [in the picture] announced a new collaboration between AWS, the Virginia Community College System (VCCS), four-year universities and select K-12 schools.
Participating academic institutions will incorporate the AWS Educate program into high school STEM curriculum as well as associate and bachelor degree programs.
George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College were two of the first higher education institutions in the country to offer cloud computing degrees. Starting in fall 2020, students will be able to pursue a degree path in cloud computing from the two-year program at NOVA to the four-year one at George Mason. The 63-credit program initially enrolled 30 students and has grown to 200.
Now, as a result of this new collaboration, these programs will be replicated at other community colleges and four-year institutions, and high school students will have the opportunity to receive college credit through dual enrollment and early college models.
These are the institutions committed to implementing the cloud computing degree program in Virginia:
K-12
- Fairfax County Public Schools
- Loudoun County Public Schools
- Alexandria City Public Schools
- Arlington Public Schools
Community Colleges
- Northern Virginia Community College
- J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
- John Tyler Community College
- Thomas Nelson Community College
- Blue Ridge Community College
- Patrick Henry Community College
- Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
- Tidewater Community College
- New River Community College
- Lord Fairfax Community College
Universities
- George Mason University
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Virginia Commonwealth University
- Old Dominion University
- Hampton University
- Virginia State University
The subsidiary of the tech giant Amazon has teamed up so far with over 2,400 educational organizations, including K-12 schools, two-year colleges, and universities. Today, AWS’s running programs are located in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and the State of Louisiana.
Other large companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Facebook are also becoming more involved in providing alternative credential programs.
