Category: Higher education

Higher education institutions that hadn’t previously considered the cloud prior to the pandemic are now investigating how to begin their cloud journey. In this blog post, we highlight some strategies and first projects to help higher education institutions get started with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud simply and efficiently. 

To solve some of the most pressing water and energy challenges, scientists and engineers need access to robust, reliable data that is often sensitive and protected. Data providers, researchers, and host institutions need to adhere to strict requirements for protecting and securing this data. The Center for Water-Energy Efficiency (CWEE) at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) used AWS to create a centralized, secure data repository that streamlines data sharing.

The Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) uses email as their main communication method, with over 800 email accounts using up to 50GB of storage space each. IHVN used AWS to migrate their email to Amazon WorkMail to reduce the cost of each mailbox by 64 percent, allowing their IT team to easily manage the corporate email infrastructure and get enterprise grade security.

At the AWS Summit Online – Americas fireside chat hosted by Max Peterson, vice president of AWS worldwide public sector, three public sector leaders discussed recovery and digital transformation across education and healthcare in the Americas following the COVID-19 pandemic. The fireside chat panelists experienced firsthand the need to scale rapidly due to the pandemic and their stories illustrate the transformational power of the cloud to drive impact in the public sector.

According to EdTech Magazine, at the height of the pandemic, 94 percent of educators agreed that students will need increased social and emotional support throughout the school year. There’s a renewed focus on social-emotional learning (SEL) support in the classroom, with educators looking for additional ways to help students be healthy and engaged in class. Four AWS EdStart Members are addressing different aspects of SEL and helping to positively impact the student experience.

Our global network of Cloud Innovation Centers (CICs) powered by AWS and in collaboration with our CIC sponsors, who host and run the centers, aim to empower public sector organizations to quickly create and test new ideas using Amazon’s innovation methodology and cloud technology. Check out some stories of digital prototypes the CICs have published over the last few months that focus on improving public safety, adapting to the pandemic, and innovating through voice and video technology.

College exams are stressful enough without a pandemic. Singapore University of Social Sciences wanted a remote contact center solution to make it easier for students and faculty to get support during remote learning and examinations. They turned to Amazon Connect to create a streamlined, accessible, and equitable solution for their community.

Students’ educational achievements—including academic transcripts, work history, and skill credentialing—are often scattered across multiple institutions and disparate IT systems. EdTechs are adopting blockchain technology to simplify this process, with credential portability, data privacy, simplified workflows, and added data security.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, educational institutions that operated on in-person model shifted many of their traditionally in-person operations and activities—including grading, assessments and testing, and admissions—to a virtual format, where many had never been before. Educational technology (EdTech) companies around the world used the cloud to help quickly create and scale to meet the needs of these academic institutions while maintaining a consistent and smooth student experience.

Moving to AWS helped The University of the West Indies, Open Campus (UWIOC) improve performance of systems and operational efficiency while optimizing costs. Learn how UWIOC migrated more than 70 virtual machines, 10 applications, and five networks, plus their Moodle learning management system (LMS) and the UWIOC website, while saving 50 percent total cost of ownership along the way.