IBM Poland and University of Silesia in Katowice signed an agreement under the terms of which the university will broaden its curriculum with classes using the latest IBM technology and solutions for the development of smarter cities. The agreement also covers extra-curriculum education of students, post-graduates and faculty as to boost the institution’s competitiveness on the higher education market.
The agreement enables IBM to provide, for educational and research purposes, IBM software used all over the world for the design of the premise of a smarter city, as well as experts in the implementation of these solutions for the academic supervision over the curriculum. The smarter cities programme will include modules teaching about the development of software for the management of urban infrastructure, including an anti-crisis center, urban monitoring, etc.
The list of cities already using the smarter cities model designed by IBM includes: San Francisco, Dallas, Washington, and Chicago in the USA, Oslo, London, Bordeaux, Amsterdam, and Stockholm in Europe.
The University of Silesia will add to its courses the latest software and educational materials from IBM and will enable selected faculty to acquire IBM certificates. The best students will be offered an internships at IBM. The university’s students will be able to take up the first offer of virtual internships using the current leading IT trend of cloud computing from 16th of October onwards.
“Cooperation with IBM will not only provide our students with an opportunity to learn state-of-the-art software and undergo trainings. We are also expecting to execute common research projects dedicated not only to develop new solutions but also to identify the innovative deployment potential of the already functioning solutions. The Academic Initiative is a driving force behind the innovative undertakings that suit well both local and global applications. Signing the agreement marks another step to a mutual transfer of technology and know-how that will benefit all parties involved” – said Rector of the University of Silesia, Professor Wiesław Banyś.
„When supporting strategic development of metropolis’ and designing city command centers all over the world, our target is to provide a better quality of life to citizens” – Romuald Gacka, Director of the IBM’s Regional Branch Office in Katowice said. „Through our cooperation with higher learning institutions we offer contact with actually used IT solutions” – he added. „In its mission the University of Silesia, a place where tradition and the modern world come together, emphasizes the contemporary combined with a certain manner of thinking and action. We believe that the education programme we offer will bolster the institution’s academic level”.
Signing the agreement with the University of Silesia is yet another step, following the opening of the Regional Branch Office in Katowice this year, to expand and strengthen the company’s structures and initiatives in Upper Silesia. The linking of knowledge with practice is also to be furthered by IBM participation in the Smarter Metropolis cluster for the region.
In 2011, IBM celebrated its centenary. The company offers a wide range of consulting and IT services, software as well as IT systems and technologies. In the announced business strategy to 2015, the company focuses on business analytics, cloud computing, an increase in the share of emerging markets (including Poland) in its revenues and the agenda for building Smarter Planet.