Category: Public Sector

In July and August on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Fix This podcast, we heard from customers on their solutions for the classroom, in diagnostic research, for working from home, and in the great outdoors.

In June, Amazon Web Services (AWS) piloted AWS DigiHealth, an educational program designed for healthcare professionals in IT, digital health, and healthcare delivery to learn about cloud computing concepts. The program teaches participants about the value of the cloud, shares examples of how the cloud can be applied in healthcare, and reviews applicable available services through AWS. The pilot was eligible for working professionals in the health care sector who were interested in learning how the cloud can help them transform their organization and spur innovation.

This year, AWS is hosting the first IMAGINE: The New World of Education Webinar Series. In these webinars, we will feature conversations that provide best practices, guidance, and advice as millions of students and educators worldwide continue to adjust to remote teaching, learning, and working. You’ll hear from education industry leaders as well as subject matter experts on how the cloud has helped bridge the divide between campus or the classroom and remote learning and instruction.

Ecree, an AWS EdStart Member, was founded by educators who believed the way we teach students to write is broken. The volume of work a teacher is being asked to do means students don’t always get the necessary attention and feedback required to develop their writing skills. Ecree’s founding team set out to support teachers and students by creating the world’s first rules-based tool that assesses student writing in the same way a highly trained professor does, on-demand. The solution uses cloud technologies including machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and voice technology to help improve student writing.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies including machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) can transform the way government agencies operate and enable them to provide improved citizen services. AWS Partner Network Partners have been working with AWS to accelerate solutions development using AI and related technologies for our public sector customers. To further assist partners in the acceleration of AI and ML, AWS is launching a new partner initiative: the AI and ML Rapid Adoption Assistance Initiative.

Pearson delivers anywhere, anytime digital course material and learning opportunities for students globally using AWS. As a global company, Pearson turned to the cloud to deliver content globally, build agile, accessible solutions, and to power its digital transformation. With Revel and Pearson eText, Pearson provides flexible, digital learning solutions for students and instructors, including digitized textbooks with interactive, multimedia content, and assessment features. Building on AWS has helped Pearson to iterate quickly, innovate on behalf of students and educators, scale on demand, and reach learners globally.

Cancer Commons is a nonprofit network of patients, physicians, and scientists dedicated to helping patients identify and access the best personalized treatment options. Erika Vial Monteverdi, executive director of Cancer Commons, describes how the AWS compute infrastructure, combined with services like Amazon Comprehend Medical, enable physicians and patients to leverage the collective knowledge of the world’s top institutions. 

AWS Cloud Innovation Centers (CICs) focus on solving real-life societal challenges facing the public sector. These public-private partnerships between a public sector organization—like a university or local city—and AWS can help unlock innovation, faster. Through the CIC challenges, organizations and students work to solve societal problems through digital solutions and Amazon’s innovation processes while providing students a platform to learn. These solutions and results are published open source, so others can benefit from this innovative work. This past quarter, CICs worked on address Alzheimer’s, citizen services, and coronaviruses.

Launched in 2018 as a two-day in-person cloud education program for government officials, AWS has redesigned AWS DigiGov in a virtual format. AWS DigiGov is a two-day education program with curriculum based on the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner exam. Through lectures, cloud-based curriculum, and hands-on labs, participants representing federal, provincial, and municipal government learn to use the cloud within their environment and remove barriers to the cloud technology.

Research computing has come a long way from the mainframes of the 1960s. At the recent Practice and Experience in Advanced Research Computing (PEARC) conference, I noted four emerging themes that underscore how the field continues to evolve.