E-commerce giant Amazon is inviting school students to learn computer science under its Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) program. Admission is open for registration for the programme. Interested students can apply till 31st December. 500 students will be shortlisted to avail this.
AFE has also established around 70 laboratories where children learn to code and create live projects using physical computing components such as Raspberry Pi and sensors. These laboratories combined with digital assets enable schools to experiment with computers and technology. For AFE Scholars, Amazon offers an amount of Rs 1.6 lakh to each student over four years, along with mentoring from Amazonian and boot camp-style courses to build a successful technical career.
Girl students who have already secured admission in an engineering college through a central or state-level entrance test and whose total household annual income is Rs 3 lakh or less are eligible to apply for the scholarship.
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This is the second year of the programme. Under the first year of launch, 200 girls from low-income families were given scholarships to pursue computer science education. This year, the number of beneficiaries has been increased to 500 students.
“Amazon Future Engineer” was launched in India With a view to democratize computer science education so that every child has the potential to become not only a consumer of technology but a creator. Since the launch of AFE, we, along with our partner organisations, have been striving to support the systematic integration of computer science education in government schools across multiple states,” said Anita Kumar, Head – Amazon in the Community, CSR India and APAC.
Amazon claims to offer learning facilities in local languages as well, curated curriculum for schools, curriculum for teachers in CS, additional support individuals to teach CS, and bridging the infrastructure gap.
In addition to India, the AFE program is supporting computer science education for more than one million children and young adults from underrepresented communities in the United States, Britain, France and Canada.
AFE is enabling teachers to teach computer science in a more engaging way and build 21st century skills in their students. To facilitate this, AFE, in collaboration with various government bodies and nonprofits, offers training and coding courses to teachers who wish to take computer science into their classes.
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