In Autumn Semester 2019, the E&CE department joined AWS Academy, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) program that provides higher education institutions with a ready-to-teach cloud computing curriculum that helps prepare students for industry-recognized AWS Certifications and careers in the fast-growing cloud computing space.
The AWS Academy curriculum is developed and maintained by AWS subject matter experts, ensuring that it reflects current services and up-to-date best practices. Courses are taught by AWS Academy accredited educators who are trained by AWS to help students become proficient in AWS technology.
The first students to be able to take advantage of this opportunity in the department were the final year B.Sc. in Mobile Communications and Security (LM083) students as part of the E&CE Cloud Computing module (ET4077) in the Autumn Semester. This module has been taught since 2012 by Dr Jacqueline Walker,(pictured above), Lecturer in the E&CE department who for some years has used AWS to teach cloud computing to students. This year, the AWS Academy Cloud Foundations course was offered as a part of this module. Dr Jacqueline Walker completed the AWS Academy training and achieved her AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification prior to teaching the course. The AWS Academy course was attractive to Dr Walker because it gave the students access to up-to-date and AWS-developed course material and also provided students with hands-on learning through online lab practice. It also offered students the opportunity to receive a discount voucher for the certification exam and a free online practice exam.
Dr Walker said, “I am proud to make the AWS Academy curriculum available to our students. The rapid rise of cloud computing is creating a strong demand for the technical cloud skills that students develop through this program. This course will position them well for their future cloud careers.”