Industry guide: Education
This guide highlights sessions at re:Invent 2024 that put computing muscle behind research initiatives, play a leading role in workforce development, and inspire education organizations to incorporate advanced technologies like generative AI and machine learning into their organizations.
Kim Majerus
Vice President of Global Education and US State and Local Government, AWS
As always, there’s an abundance of captivating content for AWS customers and AWS Partners at re:Invent. Yet, with more than 2,000 sessions, planning your schedule and deciding how to spend your time can be a challenge, which is why we’ve curated a list of education-specific breakout sessions, chalk talks, and a builders’ session to help make your decisions a little easier.
Alongside cloud enthusiasts from around the world, you’ll hear some amazing AWS customer stories, meet AWS experts, and leave Las Vegas with new connections and fresh ideas. Whether you’re interested in learning more about generative AI, incorporating transformative new technology into research initiatives, or helping mold and develop the next generation of tech workers, there’s something for you at re:Invent.
In the meantime, be sure to keep an eye out for education-related re:Invent updates on the AWS Public Sector Blog as well as on LinkedIn and X.
Innovation talks
WPS202-INT | Igniting public sector innovation for a better tomorrow
The public sector landscape is rapidly shifting, presenting organizations with complex hurdles that demand unprecedented and transformative approaches. Join Dave Levy, Vice President of Worldwide Public Sector at AWS, where he explores how cutting-edge AI and ML solutions are revolutionizing the space. Gain insights from real-world examples and uncover the boundless potential to drive change and forge a brighter future for citizens, constituents, students, service members, patients, and beyond.
Breakout session
API313-NEW | [NEW LAUNCH] Private API integration for Amazon EventBridge and AWS Step Functions
For organizations migrating and modernizing workloads on private networks, integrating disparate systems while securing sensitive data is a major challenge. This session explores how Amazon EventBridge and AWS Step Functions with AWS PrivateLink and Amazon VPC Lattice allow seamless integration and orchestration across public and private environments. Learn to build event-driven architectures (EDAs) connecting to private container workloads like Amazon ECS and Amazon EKS—all without custom code. Explore best practices for securely exposing private endpoints, improving developer productivity by unifying application architectures that combine AWS services and internal applications. Gain insights into reducing development overhead by integrating workloads across containerized, monolithic, and heterogeneous environments with secure connectivity during migration and modernization initiatives.
BIZ226 | Amazon Just Walk Out: Streamlining autonomous checkout with RFID
In this session, get an in-depth look at how RFID-powered autonomous checkout works and the tangible benefits it can deliver for your business. Learn how the latest RFID advancements enable a frictionless, lightning-fast self-checkout experience for customers; reduce labor costs and shrink; and streamline inventory management. Whether you're looking to enhance the shopper experience, boost profitability, or optimize operations, this session provides you with both a practical understanding of how autonomous checkout can transform your retail operations, as well as a roadmap for implementation.
IDE201 | AWS Amplify-hosted frontend for higher ed: Enhance student experiences
In partnership with Deloitte and AWS, UNCF launched HBCUv, a comprehensive virtual learning platform and ecosystem for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). This session explores how the HBCUv project empowered frontend developers by leveraging AWS technologies like Amplify, AWS Glue DataBrew, Amazon DynamoDB, and AWS Step Functions. Learn about the strategy and innovative methods used to create a resilient, event-driven cloud infrastructure that enhances the frontend web development experience and supports a scalable, efficient higher education platform. Gain insights into Deloitte's strategic AWS alliance and the transformative potential of cloud technologies in higher education.
WPS201 | Boost fundraising with hyper-personalization powered by Amazon Bedrock
Join this session to discover how the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management used AWS and Anthropic's Claude 3 Sonnet LLM to revolutionize their alumni engagement strategy in partnership with Slalom. Donation conversion increased by 86% and donation size by 26%, improving dollars raised by a staggering 132%. Learn about the architecture that seamlessly integrated customized content with donor data to strategically deliver emails at optimal times, significantly boosting open rates, and maximized outreach effectiveness.
DEV201 | Build Amazon Q apps to scale and drive community engagement
In this session, discover how AI services, including Amazon Q Business, can help to scale and improve community engagement, streamline events planning, and handle everyday tasks as an event organizer. Dive into technical insights with a demo as we share practical ideas and offer guidance on getting started. Learn how to use AI and services like Amazon S3 and AWS Lambda. Building and growing communities is crucial. Whether you’re organizing monthly meetups or full-scale events, learn how to use these tools to work smarter and more efficiently.
DEV306 | Build multimodal ASL avatars with bidirectional translation
Learn how multimodal large language models (LLMs) and 3D pose estimation algorithms can generate realistic human-like American Sign Language (ASL) avatars that can convey the emotions and expressions of sign language, improving accuracy and creating more authentic communication experiences. This session provides an introduction to bidirectional translation capabilities, enabling users to seamlessly translate ASL videos into spoken and written English, as well as spoken and written English into ASL videos. These features open up possibilities for builders seeking to create inclusive applications that cater to diverse audiences. Dive into the future of inclusive communication and see the power of generative AI in action.
DEV305 | Building an educational startup on AWS: A heroic journey
Gather 'round for the tale of two AWS heroes on their journey through the world of cloud. The goal: build and deploy an educational platform for AWS, on AWS. They will guide you over the hills & down the valleys of developing with MFA in Amazon Cognito, working with AWS Amplify, securing with AWS WAF, persisting users in Amazon DynamoDB, handling requests with Amazon API Gateway, and building with AWS Lambda and Powertools. Come see if our adventurers succeeded in their quest or end up at the last "Outpost."
IDE102 | Dentsu and AWS: “Easy Reading” books for developmentally disabled
Dentsu Creative launched the pioneering AI tool “Easy Reading” to make reading more accessible for millions with intellectual disabilities. Developed using AWS, Easy Reading can translate any text into the internationally recognized Easy-to-Read format. Dentsu has partnered with Visit Portugal, an organization dedicated to literature, to allow people to “visit” the country through its literary classics. Using Easy Reading, Visit Portugal is providing free access to three renowned Portuguese works on easyreadingportugal.com. The program will be celebrated in Lisbon in April, with a campaign across Visit Portugal’s digital channels to promote the accessible reading platform.
BIZ222-S | HBCUv: Reimagine online higher education experience & data management (sponsored by Deloitte)
HBCUv is a new educational platform built with AWS that combines multi-institutional registration, a centralized learning management system, comprehensive analytical models, and a student engagement platform for multiple UNCF institutions. Learn how HBCUv is reimagining the legacy, community, and culture of HBCUs into a virtual experience that is accessible, equitable, and connected, by bringing the on-campus experience to a virtual environment. New data models that capture engagement, registration, and learning insights can help institutions provide better support and pave the way for a shared services model in the future. This presentation is brought to you by Deloitte, an AWS Partner.
IMP102 | Unlocking education equity with AI
Learn how AI is powering equitable education around the world in this inspiring session. Discover how AWS AI/ML services enable educators and learners to reclaim agency by automating routine tasks, personalizing learning, and providing data-driven insights. Explore real-world use cases from trailblazers Code.org and Scratch about cutting-edge AI solutions that tailor learning experiences to the unique needs of educators and learners. Reimagine the possibilities and unleash AI's potential to create equitable, personalized learning experiences that empower learners.
Chalk talk
DEV322 | A YouTuber's magic wand: Converting videos to blogs
As former bloggers turned YouTubers, we automated blog creation from video transcripts to boost productivity and explore business potential. This session covers our journey using serverless automation and generative AI to transform transcripts into engaging posts. We'll share automation techniques, AI integration for transcription, and AWS deployment strategies, providing tools to streamline content creation and maximize audience reach efficiently.
WPS307 | New ways of educating with generative AI
Join this interactive chalk talk to dive deep on design patterns for implementing generative AI in education. Learn how to use large language models and agents to create solutions that improve learner outcomes as well as reduce administrative time across the education sector, allowing teachers to focus on delivering excellent content and interacting with learners. Explore topics such as lecture summation, virtual tutoring, question and answer generation and evaluation, and curriculum planning support.
Workshop
WPS303 | Education revolutionized with generative AI
Imagine a world where learning is no longer a one-size-fits-all experience but a personalized journey tailored to each individual’s needs. Learn how to harness the power of generative AI and AWS services to revolutionize the education space. In this workshop, see how generative AI can aid with different learning styles, productivity, and accessibility for students. Get ready to be inspired by the art of the possible in leveraging technology to transform the way people learn. You must bring your laptop to participate.