Eleven partners from five different member states have been working together since November 2019 to increase the skills level in cloud technologies and the possibilities for cloud-based innovations in Europe.

First Students Completed the Study Path

Dihub courses may be studied one-by-one, or the student may complete the entire path which includes several cloud technologies related courses and thereafter a company project. The aim of the studies is to provide theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills on cloud technologies as well as an experience of applying the knowledge and skills to business cases provided by companies.

Especially the foundational courses such as AWS (Amazon Web Services) Foundations have been popular (Ahola and Aunimo, 2020) and the total number of students involved in courses at Haaga-Helia is well over 100.

In fall 2021, the first students completed the entire path. One of them is Sami Tekce, a student in business information technology. He completed the course on AWS Cloud Architecting and landed a job as a public cloud software developer. According to him, the knowledge and skills gained in the Dihub courses helped him to get the job.

Another student who has completed the Dihub study path and who has been employed in a team of software developers is Ming Xiong. She has studied business information technology in English and completed the course AWS Cloud Architecting.

Learning Cloud Technologies at the Workplace

In addition to learning new skills and acquiring ECTS credits by completing courses, students may also develop competences and learn new skills by working in projects where cloud technologies are applied. In these cases, the acquired competences can be recognized in the form of ECTS credits by the so called RPL process (Recognition of Prior Learning).

Haaga-Helia’s curricula also include a compulsory 30 ECTS work placement module, where students gain working life experience and deepen their competences by working as interns or trainees at a company. By taking an internship on areas related to cloud services, students can further develop their competences.

The Path is a Result of Co-Creation

The Dihub study path has been created together with the European Dihub project partners (including students), cloud service providers and businesses. Course contents and learning environments have been built in cooperation with the cloud service technology partners AWS and Microsoft (Azure).

In both cases, Haaga-Helia set agreements to become a partner of their academic programmes: AWS Academy and Microsoft Learn for Educators. A requirement for these programmes is that lecturers delivering related courses obtain the corresponding certifications. For example, to deliver courses related to AWS foundations, the lecturer must obtain the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification.

After completing Dihub courses, students have the necessary skills to attempt the certifications exams, too. By becoming certified, students strengthen the evidence of their competences and therefore will have better chances to obtain jobs where expertise on cloud technologies is required.

The Dihub study path clearly provides an answer to the stringent demand of cloud skills on the job market. The Dihub project will end in spring 2022 but the cloud services related study paths, networks, knowledge and skills will stay in the participating organizations and beyond.

References:

Harri Ahola and Lili Aunimo. 2020. The Pilot course on cloud foundations was a success. Dihub.

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