A special event hosted by Amazon saw students from colleges in Cambridge learn more about computer science, AI, and machine learning at the local Amazon Development Centre.
Students from two Cambridge colleges swapped the classroom for the Amazon Development Centre in the city when they took part in a special STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) event.
The event, hosted by Amazon and held in partnership with Cambridge Launchpad, saw 28 students from Impington Village College and Linton Village College get a behind the scenes tour at the local Amazon Development Centre, where they learnt more about how computer science, including AI and Machine Learning, are used to make some of Amazon’s most innovative products and services.
During the tour, the students had the opportunity to meet teams from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alexa and Ring, including current apprentices, to hear about their career paths and gain insight into STEM careers that could be available in the future.
Following the meet and greet with the Amazon teams, the students worked in groups to create music through coding as part of the day’s challenges. Using the EarSketch platform, students worked together to build a music track through coding before presenting their one-minute song to the wider group.
The aim of the visit to Amazon in Cambridge is to engage young people in STEM subjects and showcase the range of opportunities open to them in Cambridge and beyond once they finish education.
“By getting hands on with our coding challenges and meeting the people who work on some of Amazon’s most innovative products and services, we hope to inspire a passion for computer science, including AI and Machine Learning, and open up a world of career opportunities for young people to consider in the future.” Craig Saunders Director at the Amazon Development Centre, Cambridge
“Together with Cambridge Launchpad, we are proud to support the skills development of young people in our community and we enjoyed welcoming local students to our centre,” added Craig Saunders, Director at the Amazon Development Centre, Cambridge. “By getting hands on with our coding challenges and meeting the people who work on some of Amazon’s most innovative products and services, we hope to inspire a passion for computer science, including AI and Machine Learning, and open up a world of career opportunities for young people to consider in the future.”
Free coding lessons in Cambridge
Alongside the coding event, the team at Amazon in Cambridge is teaming up with Turinglab, as part of the Amazon Future Engineer programme, to bring coding lessons to classrooms and students in Cambridge for free, removing financial barriers for schools. Turinglab is an online platform that teaches Python, one of the most widely used programming languages globally, in a fun, engaging and accessible way for students, primarily aimed at key stages 3 and 4.
The courses take learners from absolute beginners to understanding core concepts such as sequence, selection, iteration, functions and more.
Reproduced courtesy of the Amazon
