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Community Support

IBM strongly believes that companies, like individuals, have a responsibility to put something back into the community in which they live and work.

An important focus of our efforts is in the education sector. IBM has a long history of supporting projects which are designed to strengthen education levels and quality throughout the world. Our reason for this focus is simply that we believe a company can only be successful when it operates in a successful community ... and communities can only be successful when they have a well-educated population.

In Australia, IBM has found that we can be most effective by sharing our technology and expertise to provide solutions for specific challenges in education -- such as providing ongoing skills development for teachers.

Current projects include:

Victorian Teachers Wire Up for Success

In a partnership with the Victorian Department of Education, Employment and Training, IBM provides technology and program support to teachers, who in turn share their skills with other teachers. There is a strong emphasis on using information technology to expand learning opportunities for student.

This partnership began with a team of dedicated teachers at Moonee Ponds Central School, with assistance from trainee teachers at the Victoria University of Technology, along with IBM education experts. It is currently being expanded to reach teachers and schools from other districts in Victoria, using IBM's Learning Village education solution. The Learning Village will allow teachers to confer with one another and share ideas. Using this web-based solution, parents will be able to keep in touch with their children's progress and communicate electronically with their teachers via any PC if they cannot make regular visits to the school.
 

A Powerhouse of Learning

At the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, IBM has provided a lab of multimedia computers so that teachers can bring their classes to the museum for the study of various subjects including history, decorative arts and English literature and then move into the lab to learn about using the Internet for research and for producing newsletters and other material.
 

Outback comes closer

A partnership between IBM, Victoria University and DEETYA Northern Territory is providing remote aboriginal communities with access to technology and literacy programs. The project involves trainee teachers, together with trained teachers, visiting the outback during their holidays to spend time with aboriginal children who would otherwise not have access to current technology or learning methods.

Young Achievers

IBM has been a major supporter of Young Achievement Business skills program for many years. IBM employees volunteer time and skills to mentor year 11 students in the setting up of a business, making and marketing a product and running a business. The project allows students to gain an understanding of the workplace, and the various roles and skills needed to run a successful business.

In Touch with Culture

As part of IBM's commitment to culture and education, our research labs developed a number of solutions which are designed to give students, art fans and the general community greater access to cultural heritage. One example of this is IBM's contribution to the recent Art Gallery of New South Wales exhibition, from Michelangelo to Matisse -- Drawing the Figure (20 November 1999 - 27 February 2000). In a uniquely modern recreation, IBM researchers have collaborated with eminent art historian, Jack Wasserman, to use computerised digital technology to transform the 2.5 metre high marble sculpture into more than two billion bits of data. The result is a virtual 3-Dimensional replica of one of the most important pieces of work from the Renaissance era.

Another example is a virtual art museum established by the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg Russia.

A World of Science

Australian science students and enthusiasts are also set to benefit from an IBM project with the New York Hall of Science. An education website is being developed to link to major science centres around the world, providing a hothouse of ideas, facts and exploration for science teachers and students alike.

Preschoolers Jump-start on Education

IBM KidSmart Early Learning Program, an innovative childhood learning initiative designed to provide pre-kindergarten youngsters with fun, interactive learning, and access to new technology, will be provided to selected not-for-profit preschools in the coming months.

The all-in-one computing solution combines a powerful IBM network-ready computer, a 14” colour monitor, durable creative furniture designed by Little Tykes and award winning educational software from Eduquest.