Miami Dade College

August 4, 2025

Miami Dade College

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Case Study

Dr. Diego Tibaquirá

Faculty, School of Engineering and Technology, Miami Dade College

Dr. Diego Tibaquirá teaches cloud computing, cybersecurity, and now AI—helping Miami Dade College students build skills that meet the demands of today’s workforce. A former Marine with industry experience at PepsiCo, the DoD, and NSA, he’s now leading efforts to bring applied AI into both cybersecurity and cloud courses. But scaling that vision with hands-on labs across multiple programs—and hundreds of students—presented a major challenge.

In this case study

Dr. Tibaquirá shares how Vocareum enabled him to bring hands-on AI and cloud security labs to hundreds of students at Miami Dade College. He highlighted Vocareum’s unified environment and LMS integration, which replaced a patchwork of tools and simplified lab delivery across associate and bachelor’s courses. He noted the platform’s impact on equity, giving all students access to advanced cloud and AI tools without relying on high-end personal hardware. With improved project quality and reduced setup time, Dr. Tibaquirá now supports more sections each term and is building new applied AI programs for cybersecurity and cloud, leveraging Vocareum’s scalability to meet growing demand.

Before Vocareum

Delivering real-world AI experiences required too many disconnected tools.
“We were using Google Colab for Python, juggling different environments for Jupyter, and manually setting things up to simulate hands-on experience,” said Dr. Tibaquirá. “It wasn’t sustainable. I needed something unified, scalable, and built for teaching.”

He also needed to ensure equity. Many of his students lacked access to high-end machines needed for running AI workloads. “If you don’t have the right laptop, you’re already behind—and that’s not acceptable.”

Why Vocareum

A unified platform for delivering live, policy-controlled cloud labs through the LMS.
“Vocareum changed the game. I can now deliver all my labs—whether for AI, cloud security, or solutions architecture—within one environment,” he said. “Everything just works, and I don’t have to worry about access, performance, or troubleshooting.”

Dr. Tibaquirá now uses Vocareum to support both associate and bachelor’s degree courses, many of which incorporate AWS Academy content. “I love the AWS Academy setup, and Vocareum makes it easier to bring that into the AI classroom without turning the course into ‘just an AWS class.’”

Vocareum changed the game. I can now deliver all my labs—whether for AI, cloud security, or solutions architecture—within one environment.

Impact

Vocareum allows Dr. Tibaquirá to focus on teaching advanced concepts—not setup.
“When students are learning anomaly detection or analyzing logs for false positives, they can do it directly in the cloud. They’re not wasting time installing dependencies or moving between tools.”

He’s also helped train faculty across disciplines on using generative AI in their teaching, including how to write AI-aware syllabi and integrate AI tools into coursework. “Everyone—from faculty to students to administrators—needs to understand how to use AI responsibly. It’s a tool, not a replacement.”

What’s Next

Building new programs in Applied AI for Cybersecurity and Applied AI in the Cloud.
“The AWS Academy content doesn’t fully cover what I want to teach yet—so I’m building it,” said Dr. Tibaquirá. “I want to teach students how to use AI as cybersecurity analysts and cloud architects. With Vocareum, I can actually do that at scale.”

Instructor Outcome

Simplified lab setup and delivery
Supports multiple cloud and AI courses in one environment
Scales lab access through the LMS with zero local install

Student Outcome

Equitable access to cloud and AI tools
Real-world skills in AI-driven cybersecurity and cloud automation
Faster, more impactful hands-on learning experiences

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