Amazon’s new Bengaluru facility aims to empower underserved students with advanced technological skills Premium

Despite computer education being increasingly integrated into the formal education system, the latest Multiple Indication Survey in India (2020-2021) shows a stark difference between the basic computer skills of urban and rural populations. The divide only gets wider when it comes to advanced technological skills such as AI, ML, Robotics and so on as many of the public educational institutions lack the necessary infrastructure and qualified faculties to provide training for the students. 

In a 2023 report, the World Economic Forum identified that the majority of the fastest-growing roles are technology-related.  However, in India access to technology literacy has not been uniform.  

Despite computer education being increasingly integrated into the formal education system, the latest Multiple Indication Survey in India (2020-2021) shows a stark difference between the basic computer skills of urban and rural populations. The divide only gets wider when it comes to advanced technological skills such as AI, ML, Robotics and so on as many of the public educational institutions lack the necessary infrastructure and qualified faculties to provide training for the students. 

Amazon Future Engineer Program, a philanthropic initiative by the tech giant, was launched in 2021 with the idea of contributing to bridge this gap.

November 12it announced a free-of-cost facility in Bengaluru in partnership with The Innovation Story aimed to empower underserved student communities with hands-on learning in robotics, AI, and 3D printing. Called the Amazon Future Engineer Makerspace, this is Amazon’s first such initiative in the country.  

“The idea is to provide different hands-on immersive learning opportunities to students from grade 5 to 12 in advanced technologies,” says Akshay Kashyap, India Lead at Amazon Future Engineer Program.  

“It’s a physical space where we hope to support up to 4,000 kids by 2025. It is equipped with state-of-the-art tools like 3D printers, power tools, lathes.. basically everything that you need to build something that is physical and functioning such as robots, drones, and so on. It’s also equipped with fantastic quality trainers who can teach the kids,” he explains.  

Makerspace offers short programmes for beginners, longer programmes for those who want to explore advanced topics such as advanced robotics, programming, prototyping, and design, and multi-month programmes for the most advanced.