AWS Educate (Amazon Web Services) – AWS is one of the top cloud platforms used worldwide by both businesses and students. AWS Educate provides students with access to AWS cloud services free of charge to help them learn new skills through hands-on experience. With AWS, students can build anything from mobile apps and websites to data processing pipelines and AI/ML models. AWS offers a wide range of services including Amazon EC2, S3, Lambda, DynamoDB, RDS, and many more. Many higher education institutions partner with AWS Educate to provide students free credits and learning resources.
Google Cloud Platform (GCP) – GCP is another major cloud provider frequently adopted by universities in computer science and engineering programs. GCP offers students $300 in free credits for 12 months to explore services like Compute Engine, App Engine, BigQuery, Cloud Storage, and many others. GCP focuses on automation, security, and open source flexibility. Students can build AI/ML projects using services like Vertex AI, Computer Vision API, and Tensorflow. GCP also provides learning resources like hands-on labs and codelabs to help students quickly learn cloud native development.
Microsoft Azure – Microsoft Azure provides $100 in free credits for 12 months for students through the Azure Student pack. This allows students to explore cloud services like Azure Virtual Machines, App Service, SQL Database, Storage, and more. Azure focuses on seamlessly integrating popular developer tools with its platform. Students can host their projects on Azure web/mobile apps, develop backend APIs, and store data in databases. They can also leverage Azure Cognitive Services like Face API, Form Recognizer, and Azure Machine Learning for AI projects.
Beyond the big three, students also adopt smaller cloud platforms based on projects and learning objectives. For example –
IBM Cloud – IBM Cloud offers $200 in free credits for students through IBM Academic Initiative. Students can use it to build blockchain projects using Hyperledger Fabric, host AI/ML models with Watson Studio, or deploy web apps on Cloud Foundry.
Oracle Cloud – Ideal for students interested in learning Oracle database and middleware technologies at scale. Hands-on learning with Oracle VM VirtualBox, Cloud Infrastructure, Autonomous Database and more. Offers sustained free tier access for learning.
Salesforce Customer 360 – Useful platform for students focused on learning CRM and business process automation. Provides hands-on guidance to build customized apps, integrate data sources and automate workflows for scenarios like marketing, sales or customer service use cases.
VMWare Cloud – An educational cloud providing access to VMware products like vSphere, NSX-T and vRealize which are widely adopted in the enterprise. Students can get hands-on building hybrid cloud infrastructure and understanding VM management at a large scale.
Cloud platforms like AWS, GCP and Azure are considered top choices for capstone projects and hands-on learning due to their widespread industry usage, educational tools, and generous free tiers for students. Based on specific learning needs, some specialized platforms are also adopted which provide expertise in certain domains like databases, blockchain, CRM etc. Hands-on experience with even a single cloud platform during education helps graduates stand out when entering the job market.
Andrew Stroud