Thanks to our partnership with Amazon Web Services, Tuskegee University aims to change the curriculum to better position graduates of technology careers, including industry-grade artificial intelligence tools and training.
Starting this year, students in courses such as artificial intelligence, data networking, and cloud computing will work with large-scale language models and popular AI modules built into classwork. Teachers will also receive training in how materials are delivered.
The curriculum extension is part of Tuskegee's participation in the AWS Machine Learning University Editablement Program (MLU-EEP). The national initiative, which started in 2022 and currently includes 35 universities, focuses on increasing AI and machine learning capabilities at community colleges, minority institutions, and historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), according to a news release released in 2022.
At the time, AWS emphasized that black and Latino students earned a disproportionately low rate of bachelor's degree in computer science, a common entry point for AI careers, accounting for less than 11% of computer science degrees awarded.
“However, research shows that skilled practitioners and diverse perspectives across the AI/ML lifecycle contribute to the development of safe, reliable, and less biased AI/ML systems,” the AWS announcement states.
The AWS program was configured to reduce these barriers by providing off-the-shelf industry parallel curriculum, hands-on instructor boot camps and free cloud computing credits to students.
Through the partnership, Tuskegee Computer Science faculty will take part in these AWS training boot camps and employ modules developed by AWS for classroom use. Educators will receive lecture slides, labs, exams and instructor guides developed from the same courses AWS uses internally to train engineers. We will also participate in professional development cohorts that include tech talk, networking events and relaxed research sessions.
“By incorporating AWS-powered learning directly into the program, students are equipped with the skills, adaptability and confidence to thrive as innovators and leaders in the rapidly evolving technology situation,” Tuskegee's Provost Tier said in a public statement.
Tuskegee's involvement is based on existing strengths in technical education. The school's cybersecurity program was ranked second in 2024 by the Cybersecurity Guide. The new partnership extends its foundations to AI and links Tuskegee to a larger network of schools involved in MLU-Eep. This includes other HBCUs such as Morgan State University and Morehouse College.
While the Tuskegee-aws partnership expands access to advanced tools and training, experts warn that organizations must keep in mind independence and sustainability in mind. According to Deloitte, organizations should avoid “vendor lock-in” or overreliance on a single company's platform or plan.
