AWS Machine Learning University Launches Free AI Educator Program

  • By Kate Lucariello
  • 12/08/22

Starting in January 2023, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Machine Learning University (MLU) will offer a free AI educator enablement program prioritizing community colleges, minority-serving institutions (MSIs), and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States, to help these institutions prioritize teaching database, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) concepts to historically underserved students. The program will feature six educator bootcamps in 2023, based on the same content Amazon uses to train its own developers and data scientists.

The bootcamps will introduce educators to the program and will include lecture slides, hands-on coding exercises, exams, and instructor handbooks, based on feedback from school systems that piloted the early program. Educators who complete the program can get continuing education credits and an AWS stipend, along with year-round professional development, tech talks, Slack study groups, virtual study sessions moderated by AWS instructors, and regional events.

The idea was generated by Houston Community College professor Raymond Brown, who had adapted early MLU materials for his classes. He wrote to AWS, asking if they would consider helping to build an AI associate degree program. Other tech industry leaders also contributed, and the degree program was launched in fall 2020. Now HCC will be the first community college in the U.S. to offer a bachelor's degree in AI in fall 2023, pending final approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. AWS will provide free hands-on experience in a cloud-based sandbox for students to apply AI and ML concepts and experiment with a range of AWS services, data analytics, and ML cloud computing tools.

"Our goal in launching this program is to make database, AI, and ML education widely accessible to all community colleges and universities across the U.S. — not just elite institutions," said Swami Sivasubramanian, vice president of Databases, Analytics, and Machine Learning at AWS. "We need the best minds from all backgrounds entering these fields. The educator enablement program is designed to make it easier for any educational institution to start teaching advanced technologies by removing the barriers of cost and educator training." In 2021, AWS also launched the AI & ML Scholarship program which has helped more than 20,000 learners get hands-on with AI and ML technology.

Visit this page to learn more about the educator enablement program, register, and get notified about course content availability.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • open laptop in a college classroom with holographic AI icons like a brain and data charts rising from the screen

    4 Ways Universities Are Using Google AI Tools for Learning and Administration

    In a recent blog post, Google shared an array of education customer stories, showcasing ways institutions are using AI tools like Gemini and NotebookLM to transform both learning and administrative tasks.

  • illustration of a human head with a glowing neural network in the brain, connected to tech icons on a cool blue-gray background

    Meta Launches Stand-Alone AI App

    Meta Platforms has introduced a stand-alone artificial intelligence app built on its proprietary Llama 4 model, intensifying the competitive race in generative AI alongside OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and xAI.

  • three main icons—a cloud, a user profile, and a padlock—connected by circuit lines on a blue abstract background

    Report: Identity Has Become a Critical Security Perimeter for Cloud Services

    A new threat landscape report points to new cloud vulnerabilities. According to the 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report from Fortinet, while misconfigured cloud storage buckets were once a prime vector for cybersecurity exploits, other cloud missteps are gaining focus.

  • Stylized illustration showing cybersecurity elements like shields, padlocks, and secure cloud icons on a neutral, minimalist digital background

    Microsoft Announces Security Advancements

    Microsoft has announced major security advancements across its product portfolio and practices. The work is part of its Secure Future Initiative (SFI), a multiyear cybersecurity transformation the company calls the largest engineering project in company history.