A New Home For Young Builders – Amazon’s Think Big Program

This is the Amazon Think Big Program, a community learning lab that provides a place beyond the classroom for students to explore and cultivate an interest in STEM-related careers.

At the launch, guest-of-honor Dr. Janil Puthucheary—Member of Parliament for Punggol GRC and Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment—officiated the unveiling and bantered with the students as they presented their robots to him. “What excites me about programs like Amazon Think Big isn’t just the hands-on learning—it’s what happens when individuals realize they can build the future they want to see. When a student assembles a robot, they’re not learning a skill in isolation. They’re discovering that technology isn’t something that happens to them—it’s something they can shape, command, and use to solve problems that matter to them,” said Dr. Janil.

Caption: Dr. Janil Puthucheary and Elsie Tan, Country Manager, Worldwide Public Sector, Singapore, Amazon Web Services interacting with students and their robot creations

How the Amazon Think Big Program works
Amazon sponsors the program curriculum and facilitator training, ensuring students have access to high-quality, industry-relevant learning experiences designed by technology professionals. The program is designed to make technology learning approachable, relevant, and accessible to the wider community. The Singapore model takes place in a library setting, making it easier to offer regular workshops in a familiar community space.

With four sessions each month per library, the pilot will begin in Punggol Library till June before moving to Jurong Library from July till December 2026, allowing the program to progressively extend its reach across Singapore over time.

These are project-based and organized around four focus areas: coding, robotics, AI and cloud computing. In the coding workshops, students learn computational thinking by building games, websites and interactive programs. Robotics sessions have them constructing working gadgets and robots using Stick ‘Em Kits, a Singapore-based STEAM education technology start-up, whose modular system pairs wooden chopsticks and geometric connectors with motors, sensors and programmable controllers. Students are engaged with open-ended challenges ranging from robot soccer to disaster-rescue scenarios, such as engineering a rotating crane that lifts and lowers objects for rescue operations. The AI workshops introduce foundational concepts of machine learning and large language models, through creative projects, developing an understanding of ethical principles and responsible technology use, while cloud computing sessions give a glimpse into how data centers support the applications they use.

Students aged 9 to 16 are welcome to attend, opening the opportunity for more tech-curious youth to try something new—even those who may be encountering STEM for the first time. Each session is facilitated by professional Vivita instructors as well as Amazon volunteers, whose involvement adds a mentorship dimension and gives students a chance to connect with experts who can bring classroom concepts to life. Signing up is simple and can be done from the NLB website.

“We are happy to support Amazon’s Think Big Program in bringing free, accessible STEM education to underserved communities through engaging hands-on workshops at our libraries. By providing a welcoming space where students can explore, tinker and create using both digital and physical tools, libraries can help connect reading with discovery and skills development. This creates more opportunities for students to build digital confidence, experiment with new technologies, and bring their ideas to life,” said Ong Bee Lee, Assistant Chief Executive, Content & Services Group, NLB.

A partnership across sectors
The Think Big program in Singapore is sponsored by Amazon in partnership with NLB and Vivita Singapore, the local chapter of a global non-profit which empowers children through creative and technology-focused learning. Vivita, an AWS community partner, co-developed the workshop curriculum and provides the trainers for the sessions, delivered together with Amazon volunteers.

Ms Doreen Tan, Assistant Chief Executive of Strategic Planning and Digital Readiness at IMDA, said: “AWS has been a partner of the national Digital for Life (DfL) movement since 2022. DfL is about helping Singaporeans thrive with digital and ensuring that no one is left behind. What makes this inaugural launch of Think Big Program in Asia, starting with Singapore, so aligned with the movement is the new opportunities it creates. This partnership enables young Singaporeans to build digital confidence and skills through hands-on learning, regardless of their academic or family background. This is all happening right here in their local communities.”

Opening doors for all including underserved communities
In its first year, the program aims to reach approximately 1,200 students through 60 workshops. Some 960 students will participate through workshops at NLB’s libraries and this includes 200 students referred through community partners like Suncare SG, Chinese Development Assistance Council, Eurasian Association Singapore, Self Help Group Student Care to help broaden access for underserved groups. An additional 240 students will be engaged through South East Community Development Council, as part of an expanded collaboration to bring digital skills and Think Big workshops to underserved communities.

Part of a broader AWS commitment
To date, Amazon has supported more than 100,000 students through 116 Think Big Spaces across 12 countries. In Singapore, the Think Big Program adds a new chapter to that story: one rooted in partnership with public institutions and community organizations, and shaped by the belief that every student deserves the opportunity to explore, create, and think big.

Think Big is just one initiative within a wider set of AWS investments in Singapore. We’ve also trained over 300,000 workers in AI and cloud skills since 2017 and made local investments that are projected to contribute S$23.7 billion to Singapore’s GDP by 2028.