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What the Lab Does
The lab gives students hands-on experience in applying AWS cloud technologies and AI tools to tasks such as archival preservation and digital infrastructure development for cultural-heritage collections.
Projects include using machine learning to parse and query archival video footage (for example, old television news archives) and building frameworks to test digital preservation solutions.
The initiative will produce open-source solutions, documentation and demonstrations — allowing the wider library and digital-preservation sector to benefit from the work.
Amazon Web Services, Inc.
Strategic Partnership & Context
The lab is part of a broader collaboration: Vanderbilt Libraries, AWS, and the Nashville Innovation Alliance are aligning in response to workforce and innovation goals in Middle Tennessee, especially around cloud and AI skills. The region is among the first in this AWS “Skills to Jobs Tech Alliance.”
Vanderbilt’s focus on digital preservation (e.g., the Vanderbilt Television News Archive) makes this a natural fit: the lab builds on the university’s expertise in archiving and in applying new technologies to library science.
Amazon Web Services, Inc.
Student Experience & Skills Development
Students in the inaugural cohort (largely majoring in computer science) described how their work combines technical tools with the domain of cultural heritage:
“We have hundreds and hundreds of hours of backlog of video … Instead, we can automate the whole process, which saves so much time.”
— Student participant
“What really intrigues us … is how we’re able to use cloud computing and technology to connect it to the concept of TV … how to help automate the efficiency with that as well.”
— Student participant
The Vanderbilt Hustler
Why It Matters
For libraries and cultural-heritage institutions, the lab represents a concrete model for how to merge archival expertise with advanced cloud/AI technologies to address large-scale digitisation and preservation challenges.
For students and workforce development, it creates a pipeline of talent skilled in cloud, AI and digital preservation — a domain increasingly relevant in academic, cultural and commercial contexts.
For the region (Middle Tennessee/Nashville), the initiative ties into broader economic and innovation goals: building tech capacity, strengthening collaborations between academia and industry, and aligning education with real-world job skills.
Implications for India & Similar Contexts
Although this is a U.S. initiative, there are lessons worth noting for Indian libraries, universities and cultural institutions:
Interdisciplinary projects matter: combining technology (cloud/AI) with domain expertise (archives, heritage) amplifies impact.
Open-source and shared solutions: generating solutions beyond one institution helps scale benefits and reduce cost/redundancy.
Skills and workforce alignment: training students in real-world, project-based work helps bridge the gap between academic learning and job-market needs.
Institutional collaboration: partnerships between universities, industry (cloud providers) and regional innovation ecosystems can catalyse infrastructure and capacity in new ways.
Digitisation & preservation urgency: Many Indian libraries/archives face large backlogs of analogue materials; leveraging cloud + AI for efficiency gains is increasingly feasible.
