Collect 21 badges to get an AWS certification… $500 million in support for university students’ AI and cloud learning – 벤처스퀘어

Online lectures are not the only requirement for students learning cloud and AI. To build and deploy actual services, a hands-on environment for using cloud resources is necessary, and at the employment stage, projects and certifications to demonstrate learning outcomes are also required. AWS has integrated educational content, cloud credits, developer community activities, and certification acquisition into a single process. It is investing over $500 million to enable university students worldwide to build their own projects and develop their skills into employment competencies while learning AI and cloud technologies.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched ‘Student Rewards,’ a cloud and AI competency enhancement program for university students, on the AWS Builder Center

Student Rewards is a program in which university students receive AWS credits, training passes, and certification exam vouchers based on their activities of learning and sharing projects and content at the AWS Builder Center. Through this program, AWS has allocated over $500 million in resources to provide educational content, cloud usage credits, and certification exam support to university students worldwide.

The $500 million represents not a cash investment paid to students, but the total value of the education, cloud, and certification resources provided through the program. AWS estimated that a single student who meets all participation requirements can receive benefits worth up to $579. According to the official AWS announcement, the total benefits consist of a 12-month subscription to AWS Skill Builder Premium worth $449, $30 in AWS credits, and access to a basic certification exam worth $100.

Eligibility is open to students aged 18 or older currently enrolled in regular courses for a degree or professional qualification at universities or two- to four-year higher education institutions. Participation is possible by verifying enrollment via SheerID and creating an AWS Builder Center profile. Korean university students are included, but support for SheerID enrollment verification may vary depending on the university and country, so this must be verified during the application process.

AWS Builder Center is an online community where developers can learn technology and share their work. Users can participate in hands-on workshops, read technical articles, or publish their own. It also provides features to register developed projects on public profiles and interact with other developers in community spaces categorized by technology and region

General users can access the Builder Center’s workshops, articles, project sharing, and community features without enrollment verification. Student Rewards is a program that adds educational, credit, and certification benefits—available only to students who have completed enrollment verification—to these basic features

Once a student completes enrollment verification and creates a Builder Center profile including a photo and self-introduction, they are immediately provided with an AWS Skill Builder Premium pass. The pass is valid for 12 months and provides access to over 900 courses, labs, certification exam preparation materials, and game-based learning content

The educational content includes learning courses related to AWS cloud infrastructure, data, security, machine learning, and generative AI. Students can go beyond simply taking online lectures to configure services and solve problems in hands-on environments, learning how cloud technologies work

From learning to projects and certifications… Expanded benefits with activity badges

Additional benefits are provided in stages based on the number of badges earned at the Builder Center. Students can earn badges through activities such as posting technical articles, leaving comments, and participating in the community

Earning 7 badges awards $10 in AWS credits. Collecting 14 badges earns an additional $20 in credits, allowing access to a total of $30 worth of AWS services. Students who earn 21 badges are provided with a $100 voucher that can be used for introductory AWS certification exams, such as ‘AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner’ or ‘AWS Certified AI Practitioner’

The amount of up to $579 per student is a potential benefit available when the conditions of all stages are met. The benefit provided simply by verifying enrollment and creating a profile is a Skill Builder pass worth $449, while AWS credits and certification exam access require earning the necessary badges. Credits can be used for AWS cloud service fees, while Skill Builder passes serve as a subscription for accessing educational content.

AWS included Builder Center activities as a reward condition to encourage students to explain what they have learned externally and organize it into projects. By accumulating technical articles and projects on their public profiles, students can present to recruiters not only their course completion history but also what skills they have mastered and what they have built

AWS also operates the ‘AWS Student Builder Group,’ which supports offline and online exchanges among students. Student-led communities have been formed at universities in over 60 countries to learn cloud technologies and share projects and development experiences. Student Rewards plays a role in connecting individual online learning, Builder Center activities, and developer communities within universities.

Students wishing to participate in the program simply need to log in to the AWS Builder Center and verify their enrollment status using their Shear ID. Verification is usually completed within minutes, and access to Skill Builders can be activated after creating a profile. Subsequently, sharing content and projects within the Builder Center and earning badges unlocks additional tiered benefits

“The best way to learn cloud and AI is to build something yourself,” said Rick Suttles, General Manager of the AWS Builder Center. “We provide credits, training, and opportunities to obtain certifications so that students do not stop learning and developing projects due to costs.”

Kim Majerus, AWS Vice President of Global Education and Local Government, said, “We will support students in transitioning from learning to development experience by utilizing hands-on workshops, cloud credits, and certification opportunities. We will accelerate the career entry process so that students who start out of curiosity can build projects and obtain certifications to acquire the practical skills required by the hiring industry.”

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