The Tech Council of Delaware announces Amazon sponsorship

On Oct. 26, the Tech Council of Delaware held its first Tech Ecosystem Conference in Wilmington. After all the talks and workshops, there came some pretty big news for the organization, which is still officially in its first year.

After about a year of being a corporate partner, Amazon is now officially a Tech Council sponsor.

Amazon currently has four fulfillment centers in Delaware, including a mega-warehouse on the site of the former General Motors Boxwood plant that opened in 2022. Since then, Amazon has become the state’s third-largest private employer with more than 7,00o employees.

The Tech Council and Amazon have also partnered for the Amazon Future Engineer Scholarship program, which annually rewards 400 high school seniors across the country with scholarships up to $40,000 and Amazon internship opportunities.

Last year, just two Delaware students were awarded.

“We said we’re going to change that,” Tech Council Executive Director Zakiyyah Ali said during the conference. “We’re in the process of contracting with a reputable consultant who does college applications support to provide that to approximately 10 or so students that are really committed to applying for the scholarship. We want to see that number go from two to hopefully 12 or 15.”

Interested students who are pursuing computer science or engineering should attend a virtual information session being held at 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 1.