OREANDA-NEWS. July 23, 2015. IBM (NYSE: IBM) is introducing a new commitment to enable the next generation of developers with the Academic Initiative for Cloud, aimed to mentor and energize them to innovate using IBM Cloud technologies. The new program will create cloud development curricula using Bluemix, IBM’s platform-as-a-service, in over 200 universities, reaching more than 20,000 students in 36 countries.

Additionally announced today, is a series of industry Hackathons reaching tens of thousands of new developers and a set of diversity programs for women coders, all based on Bluemix, aimed at creating innovative hands-on experiences that propel radical ideas and innovation in cloud application development.

By making the use of Bluemix available to these programs, IBM will help arm the developers of tomorrow with the latest capabilities and foster the necessary skills to join the workforce and create enterprise-class cloud applications at consumer scale. The developer-friendly, open-standards-based Bluemix catalog includes over 100 tools and services of the most prominent open-source technologies combined with IBM and third-party services like Watson, Internet of Things, Big Data & Analytics, and Mobile, among many others.

“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 IBM General Manager for Cloud Ecosystem and Developers, Sandy Carter. "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.”

Introducing the Academic Initiative for Cloud

IBM’s new Academic Initiative for Cloud will introduce students to the latest cloud technologies and solutions as they build the transferrable skills needed to launch their own businesses or become industry leaders in the workforce. This new program continues IBM’s leadership and commitment to closing the skills gap between higher education curricula and workforce needs, which already includes Big Data Analytics and Cognitive Computing academic programs.

Starting this fall, universities around the world will commence more than 250 courses and programs that will utilize educational materials, technologies and methodologies from IBM with a focus on using Bluemix in a variety of courses ranging from computer science, information technology, analytics and data science to mobile and entrepreneurship. The list of over 210 marquee institutions includes:

  • Ben-Gurion University (Israel)
  • Carnegie Mellon University
  • Imperial College of Science (England)
  • International Institute of Information Technology (India)
  • National College of Ireland
  • National University of Singapore
  • Northwestern University
  • University of California Irvine
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Southern California
  • University of Stuttgart
  • University of Tokyo

The use of Bluemix in the classroom will allow faculty to extend their teaching beyond theory and into practice. Enabling faculty to bring new hands-on experiences around cloud application development into their curricula, and not rely simply on lectures or demos of cognitive capabilities such as Watson Analytics or Internet of Things applications, but rather actually put these technologies into the hands of students.

Faculty members will receive 12 months of access to the Bluemix trial for themselves as well as up to six months access for students in their program. Both faculty and student accounts are renewable and do not require a credit card.

"Leaders in business and higher education must come together to foster a new generation of digital-savvy talent,” said Kevin Werbach, a professor and expert on gamification at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "It’s great that IBM is so committed to connecting with top universities like ours, and to giving students and faculty exposure to the latest cloud technologies and business concepts. This experience will help prepare our students as they enter the marketplace."

Additionally, IBM is launching a new Student Developer Community that helps students get started on their journey of cloud education, and provides quick access to learning resources and information on how students can join Bluemix U, where students can showcase their accomplishments and the impact of their real-world projects.

Supporting Girls Who Code and ReBoot Accelerator to Diversify the Tech Talent Pipeline

Diversity drives innovation. With only 14% of computer science graduates being women today, down from 37% in 1984, IBM is committed to innovation-driven cloud development by supporting programs that empower women in technology and address the lack of women in technology professions.

As such, IBM is working with Girls Who Code to introduce the next generation of women developers to cloud innovation by hosting a class of female high-school students in New York City for a seven-week summer immersion program. For 2016, IBM has committed to further expand its relationship with the organization to support additional programs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin, alongside continued support for the New York City summer immersion program.

IBM is also announcing a new collaboration with GSVlabs on the ReBoot Accelerator for Women, a program designed to help women become current, connected, and confident as they return to work after a multi-year sabbatical. IBM will host several instructional sessions that will focus on cloud development using Bluemix, aimed at demystifying coding and making it more approachable. IBM will also be providing mentorship and assistance with job placement strategies in hopes of attracting more women back to the workplace, including at IBM.

Expanding Enterprise Hackathons around the world

Hackathons have become the key way for individuals to use the latest cloud technologies, collaborate with peers and ultimately get real-world experiences that translate into innovation for the enterprise. As such, IBM has sponsored 25 of the AngelHack hackathons in the Eighth Global Hackathon Series, a series that will reach 10,000 developers, designers and entrepreneurs, connecting the world’s most vibrant communities of code creators to drive open innovation for products, platforms and brands. These events will showcase how Bluemix and Watson technologies are impacting various industries, including healthcare, travel, food and emergency responsiveness.

IBM is working closely to create programs for developers to help them transform industry and enterprise, including Cloud-based open source technology, industry hackathons, and developer training programs. Learn more at developer.ibm.com/start.