IT Home October 11 news: On October 10, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the joint launch with the Beijing Yao Foundation Public Welfare Foundation (hereinafter referred to as the "Yao Foundation") of the"Cloud Basketball Blueprint" Sports × Technology Talent Development Program。
This public welfare program relies on the Yao Foundation's nationwide school network and experience in sports talent development, while drawing on AWS's Breaking Barriers global innovation initiative, as well as cloud and AI technology, a mentor team composed of senior solutions architects, and training and certification learning resources,It aims to cultivate more interdisciplinary talent with both AI literacy and sports professional capabilities, empowering China's sports industry to develop rapidly in the AI era.
Under this program, AWS will invest $1 million (IT Home note: approximately 6.706 million RMB at current exchange rates) in cash donations and cloud and AI technology resources. On one hand, this will support the implementation of Breaking Barriers in China, coveringprofessional talent training at universities, hands-on hackathon drills, and deployment and application of resultsthree stages; on the other hand, it will support the Yao Foundation Basketball Season, providing sports teaching, training, and event support for schools covered by the Yao Foundation.
In the "Cloud Basketball Blueprint" Sports × Technology Talent Development Program,AWS is bringing Breaking Barriers to China for the first time, supporting the cultivation of sports AI talent and promoting the practical application of AI teaching tools in grassroots physical education.
In the professional talent training stage, AWS will partner with the Yao Foundation to support 10 sports or technical colleges in conducting training. AWS will provide industry-leading cloud and AI learning resources and assemble a mentor team of senior solutions architects who, through workshops, face-to-face technical guidance, and skill certification support, will help students systematically master core skills in generative AI and data science.
In the hackathon hands-on drill stage, university students who participated in the earlier training will become "builders," creating AI teaching tools around real challenges from frontline grassroots physical education, such as an AI teaching assistant that automatically generates personalized training plans by combining students' physical fitness characteristics with limited facilities.
In the results deployment and application stage, AWS will further optimize the outstanding AI teaching tools incubated during the hackathon and pilot them in 100 grassroots schools covered by the Yao Foundation, providing grassroots physical education teachers with personalized training guidance and intelligent teaching support.
At the same time, AWS will also support the"Yao Foundation Basketball Season", providing basketball education, learning, and training in Yao Foundation-supported schools and supporting students in participating in national leagues, thereby promoting grassroots basketball development and helping grassroots youth enjoy sports and achieve healthy physical and mental development.
IT Home note: The Yao Foundation is a public welfare organization initiated by Yao Ming in 2008 under the framework of the China Youth Development Foundation and registered in 2018 with the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau. Guided by the principle of "helping people help themselves, educating through sports," it is dedicated to supporting education and promoting the healthy development of young people. Through youth development projects and public welfare platforms, the Yao Foundation draws more attention to young people in underdeveloped regions, helping them develop comprehensively in education, sports, psychology, and other areas. Its main projects include the Yao Foundation Basketball Season and the Yao Foundation Charity Game. By the end of 2025, the Yao Foundation's public welfare projects had cumulatively covered more than 6,700 rural schools across 550-plus counties (cities, districts) in 30 provinces nationwide, sent over 9,200 volunteer teachers, and trained more than 1,600 rural full-time and part-time physical education teachers.