Amazon and Turinglab are providing access to Python coding courses to upskill young people in Milton Keynes.
The team at Amazon in Milton Keynes is teaming up with Amazon Future Engineer and Turinglab to bring coding lessons to classrooms and students in Milton Keynes for free, removing financial barriers for schools.
Turinglab is an online platform that teaches Python, one of the most widely used programming languages globally, in a fun, engaging and accessible way for students, primarily aimed at key stage 3 and 4.
The courses take learners from absolute beginners to understanding core concepts such as sequence, selection, iteration, functions and more.
“An understanding of technology is an essential life skill for young people – it helps to develop students’ independence, their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well as improving persistence, communication, and creativity,” said Lauren Kisser, Technology Director at Amazon and UK Ambassador for Amazon Future Engineer
“But we know that not all schools have access to the resources needed to teach technology skills. By providing students in Milton Keynes with free access to Turinglab’s fun, and engaging coding courses, we hope they gain the knowledge and confidence to prepare them for the future world of work.”
With a gradual approach and gamified elements, Turinglab’s lessons are ideal for students of all abilities. The platform has features like auto-marking, progress tracking and built-in theory to ease lesson preparation and admin tasks for teachers. Its diverse and theme-based content is engaging for all, including special educational needs and lower ability students, encouraging engagement and critical skills development.
In addition to the coding courses, Amazon has launched virtual school trips for primary and secondary school students to go behind the scenes at an Amazon fulfilment centre, exploring the technologies that power Amazon’s operations and inspiring students to learn more about jobs of the future.
During the tour, students travel to different “tour stops” to learn how Amazon delivers products from your online shopping cart, directly to your door. Computer science concepts like algorithms, cloud computing, efficiency, databases, quality control, machine learning, hardware and software are all introduced and explained in real-life context. The secondary school tour, recommended for ages 11+, dives even deeper on the computer science, robotics and machine learning involved in Amazon’s fulfilment process.
The virtual experience is flexible, so teachers can choose either a tour for primary or secondary students, and which way to take part; a full tour (45 - 60 min) or split in half to tour over multiple days (25 - 30 min each day).
Students can even compete against their classmates as they explore the technology and careers of the future. The tours are part of the Amazon Future Engineer programme.
