AWS Certifications and Cloud Skills for Students at Parul University

Cloud computing has moved from a specialist skill to a baseline expectation across technology roles. At Parul University, students build these skills through the AWS Student Builder Group, a student-led community supported by Tinkering Hub and mentored by Dr. Vaibhav Gandhi, its chief mentor.

The group’s leader, Manish Kudtarkar, places the growth of cloud inside a larger Indian story. According to him, the demand for cloud skills continues to increase with companies increasingly shifting their infrastructure to the cloud for cost and sustainability benefits, and as India strives to become a 2047 nation. The former is his interpretation of the market, not an institutional forecast, but consistent with a clear trend in the industry.

The community’s teaching starts from a practical question: how does a student show their work to the world? The answer is deployment. The worked example is the portfolio, the central piece of work for a developer, designer, or engineer, deployed at a low-cost, cost-efficient scale. The portfolio is the main part of the work of a developer, designer, or engineer, deployed at a low-cost, cost-efficient scale; it is the worked example. The core emphasis remains on fundamentals. AWS offers approximately 200 services, but the students don’t have to learn all of them. They begin with the fundamentals like S3 storage and EC2 compute services.

Members work towards recognised AWS credentials, with practical preparation and hands-on Skill Builder labs that give students a full AWS console to practice on, followed by assessments.

An entry-level, scenario-based certification. Its questions put a student in a real working situation: a client with a problem and a developer who has to solve it, and ask how the problem is faced and how the client is satisfied. It is a strong first credential for students new to the cloud.

A certification aligned to the growing use of artificial intelligence and machine learning services on the cloud, suited to students pairing cloud skills with AI interests.

A more advanced certification focused on designing and deploying systems on AWS, suited to students who want to go deeper. By the group’s account, about 100 students have earned AWS certifications through its learning initiatives, and some hold several.

The community’s leader is clear that a certification complements a degree rather than replacing it. His argument is about proof. In a market with a great many engineering graduates, a certification is harder to come by and demonstrates applied skill, which is why it can carry weight with recruiters and give a student the confidence to speak up about what they can do.

In today’s age, not everyone believes what you say. The question is what proof you have. Certification is that proof.

Read together, the degree is the foundation, and the certification is the evidence on top of it. For a student, the practical takeaway is to treat both as part of the same plan rather than a choice between them. Build your future in cloud computing and artificial intelligence with Parul University’s B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering in Cloud Computing, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology in Cloud Computing, or Master of Computer Applications in Cloud Computing. Develop industry-relevant skills and prepare for exciting career opportunities in cloud technology.

Students who want to build cloud skills can join the AWS Student Builder Group at Parul University and explore programs in engineering and computer science.

Engineering and Technology: paruluniversity.ac.in/faculty/engineering-technology

All programs: paruluniversity.ac.in/all-programs

• Manish Kudtarkar, Leader, AWS Student Builder Group at Parul University
• Dr. Vaibhav Gandhi, Director, Tinkering Hub, and Chief Mentor
• Amazon Web Services, Cloud computing platform and certification provider
• Tinkering Hub, Parul University, supports student-led technical communities