Azure for Students – Can I access Azure Databricks?

Question

Hello, I am a student using the Azure for Students subscription. I want to learn and practice Azure Databricks, but it seems I cannot create a workspace under this plan. I cannot afford to upgrade right now. Could you please confirm if Databricks can be enabled, or if there are alternative options for students to practice Databricks?

Answer 1

Nikhil Kumar - Thanks for the question and using MS Q&A platform.

Here's a clear summary of your options as a student wanting to use Azure Databricks:

• ❌ Azure for Students does not support Azure Databricks due to billing limitations.
• ✅ You can use the Databricks Free Edition instead — it’s ideal for students and includes notebooks, SQL, and AI tools.
• 💡 No Azure subscription is needed for the Free Edition.

❌ Azure for Students Subscription Limitations:

Unfortunately, Azure for Students does not support creating Azure Databricks workspaces. This is due to the way Databricks billing works (it requires a Pay-As-You-Go subscription for Databricks Units) Even if you try to create a cluster, you may encounter errors like:

• "Cloud provider launch failure"
• "SkuNotAvailable"
• Quota or IP limitations2

✅ Alternative: Databricks Free Edition:

The good news is that Databricks offers a Free Edition that is specifically designed for students, educators, and hobbyists. It includes:

• A serverless, quota-limited environment
• Access to shared notebooks, SQL editor, Genie dashboards, and Databricks Assistant
• Ability to build AI apps, explore datasets, and collaborate on ML projects

You can sign up here: 👉 Databricks Free Edition – Microsoft Learn and Free Edition | Replacing Databricks Community Edition

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any further questions or need additional assistance. Also, if these answers your query, do click the "Upvote" and click "Accept the answer" of which might be beneficial to other community members reading this thread.

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