University Corner

Fifty professors from 40 universities in 14 countries were recognized for innovative new curricula that address the global challenges of transportation, health care, water, energy and other systems. The new courses will prepare students for future leadership in a variety of industries by exposing them to Watson-like technologies in the classroom, sparking collaboration and innovation.

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This past July, IBM hosted the Columbia China Young Development Program (CCYDP) at Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York. The program selects approximately 100 high achieving students from top universities in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao, and other areas, to travel to the US for three weeks. The event is hosted by IBM Global University Recruitment twice a year.

Highlighting the program, keynote speaker and native of China Henry Hu, IBM Senior Lead of Financial Risk Assessment, provided an overview of IBM and shared his personal career advice with the students. Students then toured the Watson computing system, which was most recently highlighted as a key innovation for IBM in 2011.

The main goal of the event is to help students learn more about IBM, in hopes of creating interest in applying to the Blue Pathway Internship Program as well as learning more about full time career opportunities in Greater China.

Cindy Qu, summer 2010 participant, who recently joined IBM Hong Kong for a one year assignment after graduation noted: "I was really impressed by IBM's company culture, and IBMers' mindset of innovation, after the visit. I started to keep an eye on the progress of IBM and open opportunities. I'm really looking forward to a year-long assignment of learning and gaining a deeper understanding of IBM."

IBM's Extreme Blue global program recently completed its twelfth year of student engagement and success. This year, 54 projects spanning North America, Europe, India and China, gave more than 200 technical and management interns from top universities globally a chance to showcase their skills as young innovators for a Smarter Planet. Highlights include:

• IBM India's Extreme Blue Expo program finale, in Bangalore on July 29, featured 44 interns from IBM Software Group and Research Labs proudly presenting their 11 projects.
• The North American expo, held in Armonk, New York on August 8 and 9, included 48 interns from the US and Canada presenting their projects. The event was attended by IBM's Chairman and CEO Sam Palmisano, as well as senior executives, IBM Fellows and Distinguished Engineers.
• The China expo, to be held in September in Beijing, will feature eight student programs on display. The Europe expo, being held in Brussels September 13-15, will feature project results presented by interns from the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Germany.

Anchored by success from previous programs, efforts are underway to expand Extreme Blue to growth areas around the world. As with the current programs, the focus will be on attracting top student talent and building relations with regional universities.

Learn more about Extreme Blue

In their own words:

Extreme Blue 2011 interns talk more about their experiences, as part of IBM's "A Smarter Planet" Blog.

View Extreme Blue intern videos

• Jobs for India Software Lab

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• Academic Initiative University Tour

  Smarter Planet comes to you

Watch as Aya describes, in her own words, what was most valuable about her Extreme Blue experience.

View Aya's video in full screen

Watch as Jey describes, in his own words, what was most valuable about his Extreme Blue experience.

View Jey's video in full screen

Learn more