IBM completes satellite based learning phase

IBM on Thursday announced that it has successfully delivered Phase-3 of EDU-SAT satellite-based education programme comprising over 100 hours of live lectures transmitted to over 120 schools in Karnataka.

Organised in collaboration with Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum (VTU), these sessions were attended by close to 15,000 engineering students.

The programme was an effort to enhance the technical knowledge and skills of post-graduate university students, giving them the market-driven knowledge that better positions them for jobs in the ICT market, IBM said in a release.

The course module, easily adaptable and integrated into ongoing lectures, covered technologies and skills such as System Z, Java, Web 2.0, Eclipse, Cell Architecture, SOA, high performance computing, Linux, DB2, autonomic computing, rational, AIX and enterprise applications.

Kalpana Margabandhu, director "" WebSphere Development said, "In today's global economy, the ability to apply advanced technology, engineering and business thinking skills to a job is a prerequisite for success. These programmes enable students to acquire a fresh perspective to the technology underpinnings and equip them with the necessary knowledge for devising innovative winning solutions."

Elaborating on the session, M S Shivkumar, registrar, VTU, said, "Over the last few years, distance education has come to be the mainstay. The integration of satellite technology and education has become an exceptional medium for sharing knowledge through useful contact across national and international borders."

In an effort to assist India's growing IT ecosystem, IBM has launched a series of initiatives, inviting hundreds of faculty members from universities. IBM's University Relations teams have been partnering academia to drive evolving open standards-based IT skills, essentially "in demand" skills for an "on demand world".

Some of the other activities under the University Relations Initiative include: developing linkages with universities and colleges; assisting colleges with curriculum development and instructional material; helping colleges develop curricula for leading and emerging technologies; promoting high quality education by providing support from IBM; evangelising Open Standards technologies, critical for the future of IT industry.