Author: AWS Public Sector Blog Team

At re:Invent 2020, Teresa Carlson, vice president and leader of AWS public sector and industry business units, shared stories of how cloud technology has proven critical for organizations to move fast and respond to a new reality shaped by COVID-19. Teresa also welcomed customers UK Biobank, Capella Space, and Wefarm to share their own experiences with solving some of the world’s most pressing challenges using the cloud. Here are 10 key takeaways that show what’s next for the public sector.

Finding a cure for Type 1 Diabetes, fostering citizenship through public media, discovering our legacies through handwriting transcription, protecting the biodiversity of our planet, strengthening the arts and culture sector, championing pro bono legal advocacy for nonprofits and NGOs across the globe, and so much more. This year’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) Imagine Grant recipients are developing solutions for sector-wide challenges and serving as force multipliers for good in their fields. Learn the 2020-2021 AWS Imagine Grant winners and runners-up.

AWS re:Invent is back for 2020, and for the first time it’s all virtual and free. AWS re:Invent has become the world’s premier cloud learning event, and this year, we’ll feature sessions focused on how public sector organizations are using the cloud to improve the lives of constituents, patients, customers, and more. The event, kicking off on November 30 and lasting three weeks through December 18, will feature keynotes, leadership sessions, lightning talks, and core sessions tailored for the public sector. To help you make the most of re:Invent 2020, we created the AWS re:Invent Public Sector Virtual Attendee Guide, and the latest episode of The Brief.

As the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe in the initial months of 2020, colleges and universities saw their regular learning plans upended. In many instances, in only a week, higher education institutions reconfigured their pedagogical infrastructure for hundreds or thousands of students with widely varying requirements and learning environments. Given the circumstances and the tight timeframe, it was natural for many schools to rely on their existing learning management systems (LMS) in order to transition to fully online learning. Learn how Simpson College went several steps further, leveraging its Moodle LMS not only to provide its courses but also to fuel success for students and the institution, and set up a new way of operating beyond the pandemic.      

Today, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced Service Workbench on AWS, a web portal for researchers to deploy domain-specific data and tools on secure IT environments in minutes not months. Customers can accelerate research while promoting repeatability, multi-site collaboration, and cost transparency in the research process. Tailored for researchers, Service Workbench helps quickly and securely stand up research environments for their work, allowing them to focus on the research not the technology.

In a world where data is produced and handled at unprecedented speeds and quantities, the need for effective methods to securely store, analyze, and interpret this data is more important now than ever. As agencies within the U.S. Department of Defense and Intelligence Community turn to cloud adoption, they are able to bring new capabilities closer to the tactical edge and accelerate their digital transformation. Agencies can effectively leverage these new technologies such as AI, ML, and data analytics to free up time and resources for warfighters and analysts to focus on mission critical tasks.

In celebration of Veterans Day, we connected with Marla Bradbury, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) employee, Veteran, and former United States Army pilot. Read on to learn about her military career and what led her to Amazon as well as advice for transitioning military.

Thank you to all active and retired military members for your service. At Amazon Web Services (AWS), we are honored to work together with our nation’s Veterans—from helping transitioning Veterans begin their pathway in the cloud to hiring military spouses to supporting military families. In celebration of this year’s Veterans Day, check out some of our new resources and additional programs dedicated to serving this community.

This year, AWS is a gold sponsor of AI for Good, the action-oriented technology-education platform hosted by the United Nations (UN). The organization is delivering a webinar series to provide best practices around how to adopt AI and ML technologies. With less than 10 years remaining to achieve the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, organizations all over the world are using AWS services to deliver various AI and ML-enabled solutions—from delivering disaster-relief services at the edge to reconnecting telecommunications after a hurricane. We are also helping organizations adopt AI and ML technologies more readily in the areas of computer vision, automatic speech recognition, and natural language process to solve ongoing global challenges.

Western Governors University (WGU) announced the launch of critical updates to its Bachelor of Science Cloud Computing (BSCC) degree program, in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The degree program is designed to prepare students with the skills they need to succeed in today’s economy and meet the demands of employers seeking cloud professionals.