AI Education: An Economic Imperative
Introductory Programs for Women & BIPOC Youth (ages 18+)
Now, more than ever, is the time to provide in-demand AI/ML skills, training and a connection to jobs that pay a living wage.
AWS Global AI Challenge – Why Not Change The World!
Our free annual event, The AWS Global AI Challenge, launched in 2019, has the potential to reach millions of marginalized women, higher ed students and entrepreneurs through our education, government and corporate partners. It is our goal to provide beginner-level women, BIPOC college/university students and entrepreneurs with free AI/ML education, live mentoring/coaching and access to scholarships, apprenticeships, job opportunities, startup accelerators, funding and more!
- Use AI/ML as a meaningful tool for improving people’s lives and solving some of society’s biggest challenges – addressing the 17 United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
- Put artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in the hands of women, underrepresented highered students and entrepreneurs.
- Help beginner-level female, BIPOC students and entrepreneurs find career training, mentorship, leadership development, networking opportunities, employment and funding in a tech industry that is predominantly male and white.
- Explore how companies and governments can collaborate with educators to prepare students for the #FutureOfWork and #Entrepreneurship.
- Increase youth civic participation and advance more inclusive education and economic policies for women and BIPOC youth.
- In rapid response to COVID-19, fuel progress in the area of economic opportunity and cloud education for global women and BIPOC youth, leveraging AWS.
- SDG 13 Climate Action
- SDG 5 Gender Equality
- SDG 4 Quality Education
- SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
AWS GLOBAL AI CHALLENGE KEYNOTE LIVE
2022 Global Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge MARCH 19 - MAY 7, 2022 (Saturdays)
Amplify Your Voice! Your Future. Your Country.
- Free virtual event for women, BIPOC college/university students and entrepreneurs (ages 18+)
- Innovate. Create. Explore a New Career Pathway.
- No AI Experience Required. Coding Experience Helpful.
Keynote Speaker: Myra Roldan
Myra is a talented technologist, a TEDx speaker, author, and an international public speaker. She is widely regarded as an important source of information about new and emerging technologies. She brings in a unique mix of technical, business, as well as, learning experience innovation in the field of adult education and competency development.
While she is well-respected for her innovative thinking and superior leadership abilities, Myra champions change within higher education as a digital transformation leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS) organizing around technical skill competencies to expand a global standard and foster diversity and inclusiveness, devising techniques for various types of academic programs at scale globally, and managing projects around the world’s largest educational network, driving success for learners and educators while creating a skilled and dynamic technical talent pipeline.
Keynote Speaker: Wadiya (Diya) Wynn
Sr. Practice Manager, Emerging Technologies & Intelligent Platforms (AWS)
Diya describes herself as an avid learner with a relentless drive for progress, endeavoring to make the people and places she engages better with every encounter. As a technologist, Diya has influenced products, scaled operations and delivered high-value customer engagements for more than two decades. In 2017 she started her journey at AWS focused on helping enterprises make the organizational changes to support their cloud journey, as well as driving change efforts in diversity, equity and inclusion inside and outside of the company. She has a passion for developing leaders; sharing opportunities STEM to the underrepresented; promoting HBCUs and being an agent of change. After spending years in technology-focused roles and separately pursuing passion projects in DEI, she now has a role marrying the best of both worlds leading a team helping customers build responsible and inclusive technology.
Learn to Build an Alexa Skill on AWS
Compete on multi-national teams to win scholarships toward AWS training and certification!– $20,500 (USD) in scholarships toward AWS training & exam certification will be awarded to winning teams! 9 top project teams from each competition level will be selected to deliver their fast-pitch demos at the Virtual Global Innovation Summit – AWS Demo Day, competing for the chance to win scholarships toward AWS training & certification exams (prizes must be used within 6 months of award).
Join Diverse Youth Innovators Tackling our World's Biggest Problems
2022 Schedule/Curriculum
Plan to spend 20+ hours using these lessons and working with your team to complete your project.
Designed to accommodate multiple time zones:
Online Training:
- Saturdays March 19 – Apr 9, 10:00am – 2:55pm ET | 3:00pm – 7:55pm WAT
Team Build Sessions:
- Saturdays Apr 16 – May 7, 10:00am – 11:55am ET | 3:00pm – 4:55pm WAT
- You will have these 4 weeks to work with your team/mentor to complete and submit your projects.
Office Hours:
- Saturdays Apr 16 – May 7, 12:00pm -1:55pm ET | 5:00pm – 6:55pm WAT
Final Project Submissions Due:
- Saturday Apr 30, 3:00pm ET | 8:00pm WAT – Code Freeze + Submit to the Alexa Skill Store
- Saturday May 7, 3:00pm ET | 8:00pm WAT – Video Fast-Pitch Demo
Labels: Required, Recommended, or Optional
Getting Started – Welcome!
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am-11:55am ET | 3:00pm-4:55pm WAT | Welcome Participants
Microsoft Teams Training |
Live / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 12:00pm – 1:55pm ET | 5:00pm – 6:55pm WAT |
CSW NY Parallel Event/KeynoteRegister to watch virtual keynotes! |
Live / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 2:00pm – 2:15pm ET | 7:00pm – 7:15pm WAT | Alexa Demo – Kabila Williams, Sr. Technical Curriculum Developer at Amazon
|
Live / Will Be Recorded
|
Required |
| 2:15pm – 2:30pm ET | 7:15pm – 7:30pm WAT | Create Your Game Plan & Open AWS Developer Account | Homework Assignment | Required |
Interaction Model Deep-Dive!
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am – 10:55am ET | 3:00pm – 3:55pm WAT |
Meet Your Trainer – Sam Rastovich, Software Developer, ThingLogix Interaction Model – Deep Dive |
Live Workshop / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 11:00am – 11:55am ET | 4:00pm – 4:55pm WAT | Innovation and Technology for Meeting the 2030 Agenda – Therese Baptiste (Cornelis), Former UN Ambassador | Live Workshop / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 12:00pm -1:55pm ET | 5:00pm – 6:55pm WAT | Lab/Office Hours | Live With Trainer | Optional |
| 2:00pm -2:55pm ET | 7:00pm – 7:55pm WAT | UX/UI Designing for Voice – Maria Dyshel, CEO Tangible AI | Live Workshop / Will Be Recorded | Required |
WEEK 3 – Saturday 4/2/22
Teams & Mentors Assigned
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am – 10:55am ET | 3:00pm – 3:55pm WAT |
Teams Announced! Team-building/Mind-mapping Activity |
Live Workshop / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 11:00am – 12:25pm ET | 4:00pm – 5:25pm WAT | Stanford Design Thinking Process & Kanban Activity | Live Workshop / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 12:30pm – 12:55pm ET | 5:30pm – 5:55pm WAT | Break | ||
| 1:00pm – 1:55pm ET | 6:00pm – 6:55pm WAT | Intro to Machine Learning/Putting Data Science into Action – Hayde Landa Martinez, Founder De Cero a Ciencia De Datos | Live Workshop / Will Be Recorded | Required |
WEEK 4 – Saturday 4/9/22
Application Logic & Publishing Your Skill
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am – 10:55am ET | 3:00pm – 3:55pm WAT | Application Logic | Live With Your Trainer / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 11:00am – 11:55am ET | 4:00pm – 4:55pm WAT | Publishing Your Skill | Live With Your Trainer / Will Be Recorded | Required |
| 12:00pm -12:25pm ET | 5:00pm – 5:25pm WAT | Break | ||
| 12:30pm -1:25pm ET | 5:30pm – 6:25pm WAT | Introduction to Cybersecurity – Niles Pyleshak, Cloud Security, Cisco | Live Workshop / Will Be Recorded | Required |
Let’s Build!
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am – 11:55am ET | 3:00pm – 4:55pm WAT | Team Build Sessions | Live With Your Mentor | Required |
| 12:00pm -1:55pm ET | 5:00pm – 6:55pm WAT | Office Hours | Live With Trainer |
Optional |
Project Build Continued
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am – 11:55am ET | 3:00pm – 4:55pm WAT | Team Build Sessions | Live With Your Mentor | Required |
| 12:00pm -1:55pm ET | 5:00pm – 6:55pm WAT | Office Hours | Live With Trainer | Optional |
Project Build Continued
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am – 11:55am ET | 3:00pm – 4:55pm WAT | Team Build Sessions | Live With Your Mentor | Required |
| 12:00pm -1:55pm ET | 5:00pm – 6:55pm WAT | Office Hours | Live With Trainer | Optional |
Project Build Continued
| Time | Topic | Format | Label |
| 10:00am – 11:55am ET | 3:00pm – 4:55pm WAT | Team Build Sessions | Live With Your Mentor | Required |
| 12:00pm -1:55pm ET | 5:00pm – 6:55pm WAT | Office Hours | Live With Trainer | Optional |
- Saturday Apr 30, 3:00pm ET | 8:00pm WAT – Code Freeze + Submit to the Alexa Skill Store
- Saturday May 7, 3:00pm ET | 8:00pm WAT – Video Fast-Pitch Demo
AWS DEMO DAY – Finale Event
The Global AI Challenge “Finale Event” showcases youth technology solutions to global problems, leveraging Amazon Web Services (AWS). $20,500 (USD) in scholarships toward AWS training & exam certification will be awarded to winning teams! Nine top project teams will be selected to deliver their fast-pitch demos at the Virtual AWS Demo Day, competing for the chance to win scholarships toward AWS training & certification exams (prizes must be used within 6 months of award).
- Saturday May 14, 10:30am – 1:30pm ET | 3:30pm – 6:30pm WAT
2021 Impact Highlights – Amazon Alexa Skills Challenge
(In partnership with Amazon Web Services and We Connect The Dots, Inc.)
2019 Impact Highlights – AWS Chatbot Challenge
(In partnership with Amazon Web Services and WomenOfAI.org)
- What technology can do for governments and our communities
- How employers, educators and governments can work together to ensure high school and college students receive a quality, affordable education and are prepared for digital transformation in the workplace
27 colleges and universities
Geography: Southern California and Mexico — we are making a cross-border impact!
Education level: High school grads, Associates and Baccalaureate degrees
AWS experience level: 96% Beginner/4% Intermediate
Mentors, Judges, Volunteers: 22 (local IT and tech professionals)
Future-Proof Your Career!
COVID-19 has caused historical job losses and spurred the #GreatReshuffle.
COVID-19 has intensified inequities by gender, race, ethnicity, and income worldwide.
There’s a high risk that gains in women’s and girls’ accumulation of human capital, economic empowerment, voice and agency built over the past decades will reverse.
Technological adoption and innovation have accelerated, and automation is perhaps now a bigger threat than it has ever been to low- and middle-income workers.
~100 million additional people have been forced into poverty with middle-income countries significantly effected.
Learn In-Demand Skills for FREE While Solving Some of Society’s Biggest Challenges!
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