Punjab inks MOU with Amazon to develop cloud-ready job skills

Punjab Government established premier Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University (MRSPTU) and Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop cloud-ready job skills by providing access to the AWS Educate program.

Facts :

• The MoU was signed by Mr. Rahul Sharma, President - Public Sector, Amazon Internet Services Private Limited and Prof (Dr.) Mohan Paul Singh Ishar, Vice Chancellor, MRSPTU in the presence of the Punjab Technical Education and Industrial Training, Employment Generation, Minister Mr. Charanjit Singh Channi & Secretary Technical Education Mr. DK Tiwari.
• Amazon has collaborated with MRSPTU to enable its students to develop cloud computing skills, and practical expertise in new technologies that will empower the students and faculty, and benefit our future workforce.
• Under the terms of the MoU, MRSPTU gains access to the resources in AWS Educate program and curriculum designed for higher education institutions to incorporate in their courses.
• This collaboration will help accelerate cloud-related technical expertise for students, and boost their readiness as they prepare to undertake the industry-recognized AWS Certification.
• This MoU will help students develop technical proficiency in AWS Cloud skills and on advanced technologies before they graduate and in addition, students will also get information about jobs across the globe and can apply for the same.
• AWS Educate is a global program that provides a robust set of learning content, resources, and AWS Promotional Credits for students and educators to gain hands-on experience with AWS Cloud services.
• Students and educators gain access to instructor-led classes, on-demand training, self-paced labs, as well as ongoing technical assistance and support.
• Additionally, AWS Educate provides a Cloud Career Pathway framework that enables students to apply their cloud knowledge in practical use, with nearly 30 self-paced pathways across four overarching job families: Software Developer, Cloud Architect, Analytics and Big Data, and Operations Support Engineer.
• With the resources and tools provided by the global AWS Educate program, the educators and students in Punjab gain access to the latest and most innovative AWS Cloud services, along with open course content contributed by other top education institutions around the world.
• Students in India need to be at the forefront of technologies that are changing the way information technology and business impact is delivered, and their enablement is a critical cornerstone to India’s economic development.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) :

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com that provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies and governments, on a paid subscription basis. The technology allows subscribers to have at their disposal a virtual cluster of computers, available all the time, through the Internet. AWS's version of virtual computers emulate most of the attributes of a real computer including hardware (CPU(s) & GPU(s) for processing, local/RAM memory, hard-disk/SSD storage); a choice of operating systems; networking; and pre-loaded application software such as web servers, databases, CRM, etc.
• Each AWS system also virtualizes its console I/O (keyboard, display, and mouse), allowing AWS subscribers to connect to their AWS system using a modern browser. The browser acts as a window into the virtual computer, letting subscribers log-in, configure and use their virtual systems just as they would a real physical computer. They can choose to deploy their AWS systems to provide internet-based services for themselves and their customers. The AWS platform was launched in July 2002.

AWS Educate :

• AWS Educate is Amazon’s global initiative to provide students and educators with the resources needed to accelerate cloud-related learning.
• With the increasing demand for cloud employees, AWS Educate provides an academic gateway for the next generation of IT and cloud professionals.
• AWS in Education provides a set of programs that enable the academic community to easily leverage the benefits of Amazon Web Services for teaching and research. With AWS in Education, educators, academic researchers, and students worldwide can apply to obtain free usage credits to tap into the on-demand infrastructure of Amazon Web Services to teach advanced courses, tackle research endeavors and explore new projects – tasks that previously would have required expensive up-front and ongoing investments in infrastructure.
• Provide educators and students with resources for cloud-related learning. Those at member institutions receive twice as many AWS credits, demos and special on-campus programs.
• Professors, teaching assistants, and educators receive access to AWS technology, open source content for their courses, training resources, and a community of cloud evangelists.
• Students receive credits for hands-on experience with AWS technology, training, content, career pathways and the AWS Educate Job Board.
• The AWS Educate Job Board includes entry-level cloud jobs from global employers and companies. Students can search job requisitions that match their selected job family and skill set, and apply for positions directly in the Job Board. Features associated with the AWS Educate Job Board are available in all countries globally.

Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL) :

• Amazon Internet Services Private Limited (AISPL) is a local legal Indian entity that acts as a reseller for AWS services in India. Customers who provide an Indian address during the account creation process are automatically redirected to create an AISPL account instead.
• AISPL customers receive benefits of interest to customers in India, including the ability to pay in Indian Rupees (INR), the elimination of most foreign transactions and fees charged by banks and credit cards, and, if applicable, reduced tax withholding rates.

By: Harman Sandhu