Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, has announced partnership with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), to equip and train students in cutting-edge cloud-based technologies. This collaboration reinforces Alibaba Cloud’s commitment to empowering local digital talents in Thailand.

The partnership commenced with a series of weekly public lectures in August designed to provide foundational cloud computing knowledge to university students, faculty, and staff. The inaugural session on the history of cloud computing started in late August. Beginning in late September, the program will offer advanced courses for computer engineering students, focusing on deployment and management skills related to Alibaba Cloud’s core products and architecture, with certification opportunities available. Additionally, the duo are planning to incorporate the training materials into an elective course on cloud computing for engineering students. This partnership aims to benefit hundreds of students in KMUTT’s Computer Engineering Department, preparing them to meet future demands in the digital workforce.

“As cloud computing transforms industries and reshapes our work environments, we are excited to collaborate with Alibaba Cloud to empower KMUTT’s students as vital contributors to our economy and national development. Our objective is to seamlessly integrate this cutting-edge expertise into the university’s curriculum, ensuring our students are well-prepared for the rapidly evolving labor market shaped by emerging technologies,” said Asst. Prof. Dr. Santitham Prom-on, Director of the Big Data Experience Center and Head of the Computer Engineering Department at KMUTT.

The Alibaba Cloud Academic Empowerment Program (AAEP) collaborates directly with accredited educational institutions to provide resources for students, educators, and researchers. Member educators will benefit from free training, opportunities to connect with global cloud industry leaders, and access to hands-on labs for practical knowledge application. Alibaba Cloud has partnered with more than 80 universities across 16 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland, empowering future talents with cloud computing learning resources.

“Alibaba Cloud is dedicated to bringing digital intelligence to academic institutions worldwide including Thailand through our academic empowerment program. The program empowers students with online training in cloud computing with certification opportunities. We are excited to partner with KMUTT, a prominent institution known for its exceptional technological expertise. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our efforts to cultivate a skilled digital workforce that meets the evolving demands of the labor market,” said Selina Yuan, President of International Business at Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

Globally, Gartner has highlighted Platform Engineering as a key trend for 2024, forecasting that by 2026, 80% of software engineering organizations will establish in-house platform teams.

According to an independent cloud survey Alibaba Cloud released in 2023, 95% majority of Thai businesses expected a sizeable increase in cloud investment, leading the pack of 8 surveyed Asian markets including Indonesia, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Santitham noted that the demand for cloud computing in Thailand is notably surging as businesses seek to migrate workloads to the cloud, benefiting from its flexibility, scalability, security, and cost-effectiveness. However, challenges such as legacy systems and vendor dependencies must be navigated carefully, necessitating a trusted technology partner for seamless migration. KMUTT, with its comprehensive IT facilities, is well-positioned to leverage cloud systems, opening new opportunities for projects requiring extensive online engagement.

The partnership offers a hybrid learning model with varying entry-level setups. The first phase, which started in late August, 2024, includes three sessions of public lectures led by an Alibaba Cloud Academy tutor with in-depth cloud computing expertise. These lectures introduce the history of cloud computing, key cloud computing technologies, and the economic aspects of cloud adoption. They are open for registration to all KMUTT students and faculty members. The first lecture kicked off on August 26^th with a full house of more than 130 attendees. 

Following this, the second phase will launch from September to November with regular sessions focused on helping computer engineering students learn to deploy and manage Alibaba Cloud’s main cloud computing products such as elastic computing and storage and cloud architectures know-how. Students will be able to earn Alibaba Cloud certifications upon successfully passing the exams.

Alibaba Cloud Academy, the training and certification division of Alibaba Cloud, offers over 300 online and offline certification courses, 17 professional certifications, and 250 online hands-on labs with over 300 associated partners worldwide. Computer engineering students from KMUTT will have membership access to the online training resources to hone their skills in cloud computing, big data analytics, and artificial intelligence.