IDRIS-AWS Research Day: Engaging with Rutgers University – Newark Students and Faculty 

IDRIS-AWS Research Day: Engaging with Rutgers University – Newark Students and Faculty 

 By: Laura Bierstedt

AWS leaders held office hours for Rutgers scholars across all stages of their career. To create a space for more tailored, personalized conversations, separate sessions were held for students from undergraduates to PhD candidates, post docs, and faculty members looking to engage more with AWS research and teaching tools. It was inspiring to see so much enthusiasm and curiosity, especially from our undergraduates. AWS leaders provided invaluable insights with the following three takeaways: 

• Being open to new experiences and unexpected pathways to reach your goals that can lead to personal and professional growth in surprising areas. One panel member described his own, “Year of Yes” after graduating, where he took all opportunities presented to him.  

• If you are considering transitioning to a company like Amazon but are unsure if you are the “right” kind of person because your background is non-technical, there are likely several roles that would fit your interests and highlight your strengths. For example, across the people and commercial sectors, clients range from government agencies and Netflix to 911 workers.  

• Across groups, AWS emphasized the value of persistent curiosity, and not letting failure prevent you from trying. Instead, ask questions, absorb as much information as you can, and remember, if a door opens for you, you can always walk back out. Just try. 

The AWS team addressed questions and noted data-oriented careers are evolving to include: 

• AI enablement in supply chain 

• Machine learning  

• Data engineering 

• Data science 

• Agentic AI 

It was an exciting time with AWS!  We look forward to more to come with IDRIS and AWS!