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Final week, what excited me most was the launch of the 2026 AWS AI & ML Students program by Swami Sivasubramanian, VP of AWS Agentic AI, to supply free AI schooling to as much as 100,000 learners worldwide. This system has two phases: a Problem part the place you’ll be taught foundational generative AI abilities, adopted by a totally funded three-month Udacity Nanodegree for the highest 4,500 performers. Anybody 18 or older can apply, with no prior AI or ML expertise required. Functions shut on June 24, 2026. Go to the AWS AI & ML Students webpage to be taught extra and apply.
I’m additionally excited concerning the begin of AWS Summit season, kicking off with AWS Summit Paris on April 1, adopted by London on April 22. AWS Summits are free in-person occasions the place builders and innovators can find out about Cloud and AI, suppose large, and make new connections. Discover the AWS Summits close to you and be a part of us in particular person.
Now, let’s dive into this week’s AWS information…
Final week’s launches
Listed here are final week’s launches that caught my consideration:
- Saying Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL serverless database creation in seconds — Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL now affords specific configuration, a streamlined setup with preconfigured defaults that helps creating and connecting to a database in seconds. With simply two clicks, you’ll be able to launch an Aurora PostgreSQL serverless database. You possibly can modify sure settings throughout or after creation.
- Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL now accessible with the AWS Free Tier — Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL is now accessible on the AWS Free Tier. If you happen to’re new to AWS, you obtain $100 in AWS credit upon sign-up and might earn an extra $100 in credit through the use of companies like Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS).
- Saying Agent Plugin for AWS Serverless — With the brand new Agent Plugin for AWS Serverless, you’ll be able to simply construct, deploy, troubleshoot, and handle serverless functions utilizing AI coding assistants like Kiro, Claude Code, and Cursor. This plugin extends AI assistants with structured capabilities by packaging abilities, sub-agents, and Mannequin Context Protocol (MCP) servers into one modular unit. It routinely hundreds the steering and experience you want all through improvement to construct production-ready serverless functions on AWS.
- Amazon SageMaker Studio now helps Kiro and Cursor IDEs as distant IDEs — Now you can remotely join from Kiro and Cursor IDEs to Amazon SageMaker Studio. This allows you to use your present Kiro and Cursor setup, together with spec-driven improvement, conversational coding, and automatic function era, whereas accessing the scalable compute assets of Amazon SageMaker Studio.
- Introducing visible customization functionality in AWS Administration Console — Now you can customise your AWS Administration Console with visible settings like account shade and management which areas and companies you see. Hiding unused areas and companies helps you focus higher and work quicker by decreasing cognitive load and pointless scrolling.
- Saying Aurora DSQL connector to simplify constructing Ruby functions — Now you can use the Aurora DSQL Connector for Ruby (pg gem) to simply construct Ruby functions on Aurora DSQL. The Ruby Connector simplifies authentication and improves safety by routinely producing tokens for every connection, eliminating the dangers of conventional passwords whereas sustaining full compatibility with present pg gem options.
- AWS Lambda will increase the file descriptor restrict for features operating on Lambda Managed Cases — AWS Lambda will increase the file descriptor restrict from 1,024 to 4,096, a 4x improve, for features operating on Lambda Managed Cases (LMI). Now you can run I/O intensive workloads comparable to high-concurrency internet companies and file-heavy information processing pipelines with out operating into file descriptor limits.
- AWS Lambda now helps as much as 32 GB of reminiscence and 16 vCPUs for Lambda Managed Cases — AWS Lambda features on Lambda Managed Cases now assist as much as 32 GB of reminiscence and 16 vCPUs. You possibly can run compute-intensive workloads like information processing, media transcoding, and scientific simulations with out managing infrastructure. Plus, you’ll be able to regulate the memory-to-vCPU ratio (2:1, 4:1, or 8:1) to suit your workload.
- Saying Bidirectional Streaming API for Amazon Polly — Conventional text-to-speech APIs use a request-response sample. The brand new Bidirectional Streaming API for Amazon Polly is designed for conversational AI functions that generate textual content or audio incrementally, like massive language mannequin (LLM) responses. This allows you to begin synthesizing audio earlier than the complete textual content is obtainable.
For a full checklist of AWS bulletins, make sure to control our Information Weblog channel and the What’s New with AWS web page.
Upcoming AWS occasions
Test your calendar and join upcoming AWS occasions:
- AWS Summits — As I discussed earlier, be a part of AWS Summits in 2026 without cost in-person occasions the place you’ll be able to discover rising cloud and AI applied sciences, be taught finest practices, and community with business friends and specialists. Upcoming Summits embody Paris (April 1), London (April 22), Bengaluru (April 23–24), Singapore (Might 6), Tel Aviv (Might 6), and Stockholm (Might 7).
- AWS Group Days — Group-led conferences the place content material is deliberate, sourced, and delivered by group leaders, that includes technical discussions, workshops, and hands-on labs. Upcoming occasions embody San Francisco (April 10) and Romania (April 23–24).
Be part of the AWS Builder Middle to attach with builders, share options, and entry content material that helps your improvement. Browse the AWS Occasions and Webinars for upcoming AWS-led in-person and digital occasions and developer-focused occasions.
That’s all for this week. Test again subsequent Monday for one more Weekly Roundup!
— Prasad
This publish is a part of our Weekly Roundup sequence. Test again every week for a fast roundup of attention-grabbing information and bulletins from AWS!