AWS GetIT

How does AWS GetIT work?

Frequently Asked Questions

• General information

  When does AWS GetIT begin?
  AWS GetIT follows the school academic year in the country where the program runs. The program may be delivered over a three or six-month period. Timelines and milestones respective to each country will be shared by each local collaborating organization on behalf of AWS GetIT.
  

  How much does AWS GetIT cost?
  The program is fully funded by AWS. There is no cost for schools, educators, or students to participate.

  How does AWS GetIT promote inclusion, diversity, and equity in the program?
  AWS GetIT is committed to building a culture of inclusion by intentionally featuring underrepresented in tech minority professionals as ambassadors, inclusive language throughout program materials, and recommendations on how students can ensure equitable collaboration as they design their app ideas.

  What is the difference between the program and competition?
  AWS GetIT includes program curriculum and optional competition. The program includes classroom curriculum that helps students explore cloud tech's role in everyday life, career opportunities in tech, and new skills to build an app idea in a team to help their school or community. After finishing the program curriculum, schools can submit two student app ideas created during the program to be considered for the competition. All schools, educators, and students who participate in the competition must complete the program portion during the same academic year.

  Where and in what languages is AWS GetIT offered?
  AWS GetIT is available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Israel, Greece, Australia, the United States, Mexico, Ukraine, and Poland. At the beginning of the program, educators will gain access to the AWS GetIT curriculum via AWS GetIT’s Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). Curriculum is available in 14 languages: English (US), English (UK), English (Australian), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (LATAM), German, Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, French (France), Greek, Welsh, Ukrainian, and Polish.
  

  Who are ambassadors and what is their role?
  AWS GetIT Ambassadors are women and non-binary tech professionals from Amazon or AWS teams who are passionate about inspiring the future generation of inclusive and diverse tech leaders. Each school participating in the program is paired with an AWS GetIT Ambassador. During the program, ambassadors introduce AWS GetIT to the students via a kickoff presentation and assist student teams during the app design process and competition submissions; providing various touchpoints to ensure educators and students get the most out of their experience.
  

  How can educators expand their cloud knowledge?  
  For educators interested in exploring additional cloud training resources, AWS has a variety of in-person or on-demand cloud training to support educators through their professional development:

  • AWS Educate - Hundreds of hours of self-paced training and resources for new-to-cloud learners—including hands-on labs in the AWS Management Console
  • AWS Cloud Quest - Learn AWS Cloud skills through interactive challenges, quizzes, and labs in a free game to help you get practical cloud experience and build in-demand skills
  • AWS Skill Builder - Learning plans and 500+ digital courses to help you own your career and achieve your goals on your schedule
  • Amazon Future Engineer - Computer science teacher training offerings
• Eligibility

  Who can participate in AWS GetIT?
  AWS GetIT encourages every school to ensure participation is inclusive and representative of the population at the school, with at least 50% of program participants being girls and underrepresented minorities. AWS GetIT welcomes all individuals to ensure promotion of equitable knowledge sharing of the opportunities in tech, and to challenge existing stereotypes in the industry.

  Can schools participate in AWS GetIT if we are already enrolled in other Amazon and AWS programs? 
  Yes! Any eligible school may participate in AWS GetIT while also participating in other Amazon or AWS education programs. Other programs may include, but are not limited to: AWS Spark and Amazon Future Engineer.
  

  If we are a Special Educational Needs school, can we still take part in AWS GetIT?
  Yes! The local AWS GetIT collaborating organizations can support your school by making adjustments and providing additional support via telephone calls and video calls during the program.
  

• Program curriculum

  How do educators access content?
  At the beginning of the program, educators will gain access to the AWS GetIT curriculum via AWS GetIT’s Canvas Learning Management System (LMS). Curriculum will be available in 14 languages: English (US), English (UK), English (Australian), Spanish (Spain), Spanish (LATAM), German, Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, French (France), Greek, Welsh, Ukrainian, and Polish.
  

  What skills do students learn?
  AWS GetIT shows students what it takes to create an app idea. During the program, students practice designing an app using the new concepts learned, such as elements of design thinking, proof of concept, storyboarding, and research methods for idea viability, while receiving guidance from their ambassador. They also explore issues in their community such as environmental and social issues. Students also build confidence as they grow their human skills through collaborating in teams, brainstorming new ideas, and presenting to groups. 

  What happens in each phase of the program?
  The program is divided into three sections: 

  Engage and Inspire: In the first section, students are introduced to the AWS GetIT program via an ambassador-led kickoff presentation and begin exploring the cloud’s role in everyday life, a variety of tech career opportunities, and the concept of design thinking.

  Learn and Play: In the second section, students form teams to start learning and practicing technical and human skills in bootcamps. In their teams, they will spend time designing an app idea to solve a problem in their school or community via hands-on interactive games, and simulations, while being supported by their ambassador.

  Design and Present: In the final section, students continue their work in teams to finalize their app ideas. Each school can submit up to two app ideas to be considered for the semi-finals and finals of their country’s AWS GetIT Competition. Teams in the semi-finals and finals present to a panel of industry experts. The length of this section depends on the outcome of the submitted app ideas in the competition.

  Are there any opportunities for the school, educators, and students after participating in AWS GetIT?
  Students that complete the program are considered AWS GetIT alumni. Alumni students and returning schools receive additional AWS GetIT opportunities and experiences to help foster students’ interest in a future career in tech. Alumni students are invited to attend mentoring events a year after they finish the program to receive continued mentorship opportunities from tech professionals. During the mentoring events, alumni students can ask tech professionals about how they started their career in tech.
  

• Competition information

  Are there costs associated with participating in the competition?
  There are no costs associated with teams participating the competition.
  

  How many ideas can a school submit for the AWS GetIT Competition? 
  Each school can to submit up to two app ideas to be considered for the semi-finals and finals of their country’s AWS GetIT Competition.