AWS Education Credits: How Students and Educators Can Benefit
You may know that Amazon Web Services (AWS) offers a range of educational resources and credits that help students, educators, and institutions leverage cloud technologies for learning, research, and development.
AWS Education Credits provide an excellent opportunity for individuals in the academic community to gain hands-on experience with AWS services at no or minimal cost.
We’ll discuss how AWS education credits work, their benefits, and how students and educators can take full advantage of them.
What are AWS Education Credits?
AWS Education Credits are free credits provided by Amazon Web Services to help students, educators, and educational institutions use AWS cloud services. Credits can be used to pay for AWS services, allowing students to create projects, conduct research, and learn cloud computing skills without worrying about costs.
AWS education credits are primarily offered through two programs:
- AWS Educate
- AWS Academy
How Do AWS Education Credits Work?
AWS Education Credits function as a form of payment for services used on the AWS platform. The credits have a dollar value, which can be applied to the usage of various AWS services, such as computing, storage, machine learning, and databases. Students and educators can apply these credits towards their usage to avoid incurring charges, as long as their usage does not exceed the credit limit.
When the credits run out, the user will either need to pay for additional usage or request more credits through AWS programs (where applicable). Additionally, AWS may provide educational institutions with bulk credits, allowing them to distribute them among their students and faculty.
How Students Can Benefit from AWS Education Credits
For students, AWS Education Credits open the door to learning and experimenting with real-world cloud technology. Here’s how students can take advantage of these credits:
Learn Cloud Computing Skills
AWS is one of the most widely-used cloud platforms in the world, and having hands-on experience with its services can significantly boost a student’s resume. AWS Education Credits provide a free way to explore services like:
- Amazon EC2 (virtual servers)
- Amazon S3 (cloud storage)
- AWS Lambda (serverless computing)
- Amazon RDS (managed databases)
- AWS SageMaker (machine learning)
Build Projects and Portfolios
Students studying computer science, data science, or related fields can use AWS Education Credits to create cloud-based projects, such as:
- Web applications
- Machine learning models
- Data processing pipelines
- Mobile app backends
Building these projects on AWS not only enhances learning but also creates a portfolio of work that students can showcase to potential employers. Many employers look for candidates who can demonstrate practical experience with cloud technologies, making these projects a valuable addition to a resume.
Access to Free Training Resources
AWS Educate provides more than just credits. It offers access to various educational resources, including:
- Free cloud computing courses and tutorials
- AWS badges and certifications
- Cloud career pathways in AI, big data, software development, and more
These resources allow students to deepen their understanding of cloud computing and prepare for industry-recognized certifications like the AWS Certified Solutions Architect or AWS Certified Developer.
Prepare for AWS Certification Exams
Using AWS services and credits allows students to gain hands-on experience, which is crucial when preparing for AWS certification exams. Certifications demonstrate cloud expertise and can give students a competitive edge in the job market. The credits can be used for creating practical scenarios similar to what might appear in the exams.
Collaborate on Group Projects
Students often work on group projects for courses or hackathons. AWS Education Credits can support collaborative efforts by providing access to cloud infrastructure that can be used by multiple students. For example, a group working on a data science project can use Amazon Sage Maker to train models or Amazon RDS for a shared database.
How Educators Can Benefit from AWS Education Credits
For educators, AWS Education Credits and resources can enhance the teaching process and provide students with real-world learning experiences. Here’s how educators can use AWS Education Credits to their advantage:
Incorporate Cloud Computing into the Curriculum
Educators can incorporate AWS services into their course curriculum by using credits to set up lab exercises, cloud-based projects, or workshops. By doing so, students can gain practical skills in cloud computing, which is increasingly important in various fields such as software development, data analytics, and IT.
Access Free Teaching Resources
AWS Educate offers a variety of resources for educators, including:
- Teaching materials: Course content, slides, and guides to help educators incorporate cloud computing topics into their teaching.
- Training programs: Access to professional development resources to help educators become familiar with AWS services and cloud concepts.
- Cloud career pathways: Structured learning tracks that educators can use to guide students in their learning journey.
Create Hands-On Lab Experiences
AWS Education Credits enable educators to set up hands-on labs and real-world scenarios where students can work directly with cloud services. Whether it’s setting up a server, deploying a web app, or conducting data analysis, these experiences provide students with a much deeper understanding of the subject matter compared to traditional classroom methods.
Conduct Academic Research
For educators involved in academic research, AWS credits can help reduce the costs associated with computational tasks, data storage, or machine learning experiments. This can be particularly useful for research projects that require significant computing resources, such as genomic analysis, large-scale simulations, or data-intensive AI training.
Host Hackathons and Competitions
AWS Education Credits can be used to support student hackathons, coding competitions, or data challenges. Providing cloud resources for these events enables students to create innovative solutions in a short period of time, and also helps promote learning through practical application.
How to Get AWS Education Credits
AWS provides different pathways for students and educators to obtain education credits:
AWS Educate
AWS Educate is a free program designed to help students and educators learn about cloud technology. Here’s how to join:
- Sign up for AWS Educate using a valid email address from a recognized educational institution.
- Receive up to $100 in AWS credits, along with access to free cloud computing training and career resources.
- Apply for additional credits if needed for specific projects or classroom use.
AWS Academy
AWS Academy partners with educational institutions to provide cloud computing courses and certification programs. As a part of the AWS Academy curriculum, students may receive AWS Education Credits to use for course-related projects and hands-on labs.
Student Organizations and Clubs
Some universities have student organizations or cloud computing clubs that partner with AWS to provide students with credits and resources. Participating in these organizations can be an additional way to access AWS credits.
Competitions and Hackathons
AWS often sponsors coding competitions, data science challenges, and hackathons, where participants can earn AWS credits as prizes or for use during the events.
Best Practices for Using AWS Education Credits
- Plan Your Usage: Be strategic about how you use credits. Focus on essential services, limit unnecessary usage, and track your spending regularly.
- Use the AWS Free Tier: Take advantage of the AWS Free Tier services, which provide limited free usage of many services for the first 12 months.
- Monitor Your Credits: Keep an eye on your remaining credits and set up budgets and alerts in the AWS Console to avoid unexpected charges.
- Apply for More Credits if Needed: If you run out of credits, contact AWS Educate support or your institution’s AWS Academy coordinator for additional credit requests.
Conclusion
Whether you are a student looking to gain hands-on experience, build a project, or prepare for certifications, or an educator aiming to enrich the curriculum with practical cloud skills, AWS Education Credits can significantly enhance the learning process. Leveraging these credits effectively can open doors to career opportunities and empower students to become future cloud experts.