IBM Opens Centers Of Excellence At Six Colleges In Maharashtra

IBM has announced new and extended collaborations with six engineering and technology colleges across the state of Maharashtra to provide a platform for development of software skills among the students. The collaboration has brought the establishment of a series of IBM Centers of Excellence (COE), creating an opportunity for students to learn new skill sets on the IBM software products – DB2, WebSphere, Lotus, Rational and Tivoli – as well as develop new solutions.

The COEs were launched at Sinhgad Institute of Technology (Pune), Walchand College of Engineering (Sangli), International Institute of Information Mgmt (Pune), Maharashtra Academy of Engineering (Pune), Sardar Patel Institute of Technology (Mumbai), and Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management and Engineering, NMIMS University (Mumbai).

IBM will follow a two-pronged approach: providing the colleges with access to technologies relevant to the market and with training faculty to ensure that the right skills are taught. Students can gain firsthand experience of the software products that are installed at the campus. Through this initiative, IBM will work closely with the colleges in the state of Maharashtra, leveraging the selected institutes as centres of learning.

Anil Menon, VP, Channel, Marketing & Ecosystem, IBM India/ South Asia, said, “The world of information technology is competitive and dynamic. This calls for constant upgrading of skills – high-value skills beyond simple programming or system administration. Students need to be trained not only in next-generation technologies but also be prepared to be able to drive innovation. Through the Centers of Excellence, IBM works closely with the educational institutions in India to give students the opportunity to put skills to test and allows innovation to take center stage. We are confident that the COEs will enable skill set development among students for the years to come.”

The colleges will provide infrastructure and high-end systems while IBM is providing the entire software suite free of charge.