Upskilling to Meet Cloud Talent Needs

Miami Dade College, based on demands in the workforce, has focused on creating emerging technology education, particularly Cloud technology. Business Cloud migration has accelerated over the last several years, and companies around the world are investing in their future with the cloud. With the increased demand for cloud-skilled professionals the last four years, we launched a cloud literacy initiative to meet cloud talent needs. This initiative aims to provide our students in the computing/IT fields with the knowledge, abilities and skills needed to accelerate their cloud-related learning. With the support of NSF ATE, we collaborated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to create a new pathway for the next generation of cloud computing professionals. The course sequence was designed in conjunction with an AWS Educate team assisting in the design of course sequencing and degree plans to leverage their educational experience in teaching cloud technologies. The core curriculum designed for the cloud literacy initiative leveraged an existing pathway for an associate degree in networking technology, and then partially pulled classes from the design of the bachelor's in information systems technology degree. The classes identified, used current offerings across our programs and included a focus on the supporting infrastructure of cloud systems: Databases, Linux OS, and Networking. With these three foundational classes that were cloudified, three cloud-focused courses based on industry certifications were developed: Cloud Essentials for AWS Cloud Practitioner and Cloud Infrastructure and Services for AWS Solutions Architect certifications with a capstone class completing the academic pathway. This new curriculum includes pedagogical changes to utilize project-based learning by incorporating resources and learning from multiple sources to best mimic real-world application, data, and design attributes. In addition to the associate degree, a college credit certificate in cloud computing was created to strengthen (re-)entering students in the workforce and dual enrollment students with credentials and employability skills by using high impact educational practices. Our cloud curriculum incorporates project-based learning approach, a real-world experience using the cloud technology. This poster shares strategies and pedagogical tools for teaching a cloud-focused curriculum for broader impact and student success.