Congressional App Challenge Winners Awarded up to $150,000 in AWS Credits from AWS Educate
Washington, D.C. – The Congressional App Challenge is again teaming up with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Educate program to provide $250 in AWS credits to each of the student winners of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge. These credits provide students access to hands-on experience with AWS technology, training, content, and pathways to cloud computing careers.
AWS Educate has collaborated with the Congressional App Challenge since 2016 to help build a diverse pipeline of computer science talent in every corner of the nation. As a global initiative, AWS Educate is in a unique position to provide winners with an opportunity to accelerate their STEM and computer science journey on a cloud platform used by millions of customers across the world.
This contribution is part of a larger AWS Educate effort to provide computer science opportunities to underserved and underrepresented communities in the United States. AWS Educate was recently named a “Transformative Partner” by Project Lead the Way Foundation (PLTW). Through this collaborative initiative, AWS Educate and PLTW are helping to ensure students across the United States have access to enhanced learning environments by building infrastructure for low-tech schools to access app streams and other education programs that integrate technology.
Over 10,000 students registered for the 2019 Congressional App Challenge. These students created and submitted 2,177 functioning apps, marking the end of the most successful Congressional App Challenge to date. In addition, 304 Members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 48 states, Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands, and Washington, D.C.
About the Congressional App Challenge
The Congressional App Challenge is an initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle and high school students, encouraging and inspiring the next generation of tech professionals to pursue careers in computer science. The nonprofit Internet Education Foundation provides the Congressional App Challenge with supplemental staffing and support. In the five years of the Congressional App Challenge, the program has yielded 1,134 App Challenges across 48 states. Thousands of functional apps have been created by over 25,000 students, and participant demographics surpass all industry diversity metrics.
About AWS Educate
AWS Educate is Amazon’s global initiative to provide students comprehensive resources for building cloud technology skills. With a focus on real-world, applied learning experiences, AWS Educate offers learners access to self-paced content designed to introduce cloud computing technologies that drive innovation in fields such as artificial intelligence; voice and facial recognition; gaming; medical advancements; and more. Additionally, AWS Educate provides access to the AWS Educate Job Board, a feature that allows students to search and apply for thousands of cloud jobs and internship opportunities from Amazon and other companies around the world.