Last year, 75 students at a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) mentorship organization serving first-generation and low-income college students spent 4 hours building generative AI applications from scratch. They didn’t merely learn AI fundamentals, they developed business cases, presented functional prototypes, and left with portfolio projects ready for job interviews. That outcome didn’t happen by accident. It happened because we asked one question before designing a single slide: What do these students actually need?
That question is the foundation of how Amazon Web Services (AWS) approaches university collaborations. Technology companies visit campuses every week with standard presentations and product demos. Students sit through information sessions that don’t connect to their coursework, career goals, or lived experiences. Faculty miss opportunities to blend current industry practices with academic exploration. Universities…
