IBM Launches Cloud-Powered Academic Initiative Worldwide
A new cloud service, a series of hackathons and women coder outreach are in the cards for IBM and higher ed.
IBM is empowering the next generation of developers with a new brand of cloud curricula.
IBM has made strides in the higher ed cloud. The company’s SmartCloud is a software-as-a-service offering that gives schools a cloud-based content-delivery system. IBM has rolled this service out in the French business school EMLYON and has similar plans for another cloud initiative.
The company announced this week that it was launching its Academic Initiative for Cloud, kicking off the development of curricula powered by IBM services in over 200 universities, reaching more than 20,000 students in 36 countries, according to a news release.
IBM also announced a series of hackathons, along with a set of diversity programs for female coders, designed to create "hands-on experiences that propel radical ideas and innovation in cloud application development."
At the center of these initiatives is IBM Bluemix, the company's cloud-based platform made for developers, providing access to more than 100 tools and services, including open-source technologies and IBM's Watson.
“Putting Bluemix in the hands of today’s and tomorrow’s innovators creates the opportunity to foster a new generation of talent in cloud application development,” said Sandy Carter, IBM’s general manager for cloud ecosystem and developers. “Our commitment to provide deep cloud expertise to programs aimed at future cloud developers from academics to professionals is necessary to sustain the growth our industry forecasts.”
More than 200 higher education institutions are creating courses with Bluemix, including Carnegie Mellon University; Northwestern University; University of California, Irvine; and the University of Southern California. These institutions will develop courses touching on computer science, information technology, analytics, data science and mobility.