Oracle Press Release

New Report from Oracle Shows that Investment in Student Services Will Significantly Enhance the Educational Experience for College Students

Study Finds Only 19 Percent of Administrators Feel They Have a 360-Degree View of their Students; Technology Brings New Opportunities to Engage and Compete

Redwood Shores, Calif. – August 28, 2012

News Facts

Today Oracle announced the results of its “Making the Grade: Optimizing the Higher Education Student Experience” report, which surveyed more than 1,000 undergraduate students and 180 higher education administrators to examine where student services stand today, the impact those services have on overall student satisfaction and how higher education institutions can improve services and address opportunities like social media and mobile apps.

Oracle will host a Webcast on Wednesday, September 19 at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the study’s findings and provide real-world examples of how technology can improve student services. Panelists will include Bill Carter, vice chancellor of information technology, Houston Community College, and Cole Clark, global vice president, education and research industry, Oracle. To register for the Webcast, click here.

Key Findings

Student Services Matter: Sixty-six percent of students say the service they receive has a direct impact on their overall satisfaction with their school. Students who are satisfied with their school’s student services are significantly more likely than those who are not to recommend their school to other potential students and donate following graduation.

Lagging Behind the Top of the Class: Only 60 percent of students say their school meets their customer service expectations and 57 percent say their school treats them as valued customers.

Missing a Birds-Eye View: Only 19 percent of administrators feel they have a 360 degree view of their students. A majority of administrative respondents note they either have multiple views of students and have to piece that information together (31 percent), or have multiple views of students and find the information conflicting (20 percent).

Expanding Communication Frontier: New forms of communication offer additional avenues for schools to engage students. Currently, only 39 percent of students and 27 percent of administrators rank their student services’ mobile access as very good. In addition, just 15 percent of students and 10 percent of administrators say their school is very successful at leveraging social media to keep students informed.

Fundamental Focus: When asked which areas their school should focus on to improve services, 54 percent of students and 61 percent of administrators noted their schools should make it easier to determine where to go for answers. Other top responses included provide consistent information (24 percent of students and 49 percent of administrators) and improve response times (37 percent of students and 27 percent of administrators).

To access the full report – which highlights the importance of services on a student’s educational experience and how institutions can use technology to enhance those services –visit here.

Supporting Quotes

“While administering class registration or processing financial aid isn’t as headline grabbing as constructing a new building, the student services a school provides have a significant impact on a student’s educational experience.  This report demonstrates that investments in student services’ technology pay long-term dividends.  Schools that focus on the basics – such as ensuring information accessibility, providing multiple contact points for students and delivering consistent processes – and leverage mobile and social media platforms to engage students, will provide an unforgettable positive educational experience, and in turn, make institutions more competitive,” said Cole Clark, global vice president, education and research industry, Oracle.

Supporting Resources

Oracle in Higher Education

“Making the Grade: Optimizing the Higher Education Student Experience”

Optimizing the Higher Education Student Experience Webcast

Oracle Higher Education on Facebook

About Oracle

Oracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center.  For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL), visit www.oracle.com.

About Oracle in Industries

Oracle industry solutions leverage the company's best-in-class portfolio of products to address complex business processes relevant to the education and research industry, helping speed time to market, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.

Trademark
Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Toronto District School Board Calls on EMC's VNX, Data Domain to Advance Education Initiatives

EMC Press Release

Toronto District School Board Calls on EMC's VNX, Data Domain to Advance Education Initiatives

Canada's Largest School District Lowers Capacity Requirements by 32% and Boosts Performance for Microsoft Applications by 21%

HOPKINTON, Mass. - August 14, 2012

EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) today announced that The Toronto District School Board (TDSB), the largest school board in Canada and fourth largest district in North America, has transformed its 325-terabyte storage infrastructure with EMC® VNX® unified storage and EMC Data Domain® deduplication storage systems for backup and recovery with the help of EMC Residency Services. Through storage consolidation, Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization and a FLASH 1st strategy, TDSB, running the Microsoft Productivity Suite, is achieving dramatic improvements in performance and efficiency while enhancing student learning and teacher collaboration. Leveraging a, FLASH 1st strategy to combines a small amount of Flash capacity with the FAST Suite, has transformed the way TDSB configures its IT environment. As TDSB grows, it expects a 38% reduction in Flash tier costs with new storage efficiency enhancements.

Customer Benefits:

• Reduced Footprint & Energy Costs—As a result of server consolidation with Hyper-V and a transition from an all SAS configuration to a FLASH 1st  strategy, TDSB saw a reduction in capacity requirements by 32% and a decrease in energy expenses by 22%
• Better Performance for Microsoft Applications—TDSB's FLASH 1st strategy has resulted in an overall storage performance increase of 21%, powering faster Microsoft SQL transactions and improved collaboration among staff and students.
• Increased Backup Efficiency—Using EMC Data Domain deduplication storage systems, TDSB's data backup storage requirements have been decreased by over 90%.

Customer Challenges and Solution:

TDSB is comprised of 600+ schools, 250,000 students and 40,000 staff members. With tight budgets and rapid data growth, TDSB needed to lower its cost per terabyte and increase storage density without requiring additional data center space in order to continue to provide a high level of IT services to faculty, staff and students. TDSB faced challenges with its backup windows, which were running into school hours and impacting performance.

Residents from EMC Global Services provided skills support and knowledge transfer, enabling TDSB to transform its IT infrastructure with EMC VNX. Previous disparate Block-level and network-attached storage (NAS) were consolidated onto a single, unified VNX solution, running its mission-critical applications, including Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, Oracle, SharePoint, Office, OCS, and Dot Net Nuke (CMS) as well as SAP. EMC Residency Services helped speed time to value of TDSB's new technology implementation and improved the management and support of its information infrastructure.

By employing a FLASH 1st strategy on their VNX, TDSB has seen an increase in performance and a substantial improvement in storage efficiency. Previously, the IT team had to purchase an abundance of Fibre Channel drives, with some being underutilized while others were over-subscribed. With Fully Automated Storage Tiering for Virtual Pools (FAST VP) and FAST Cache along with a mix of Flash and high-capacity, cost effective disk drives, the data is automatically placed on the most appropriate drive type, saving valuable resource time and smoothing out unexpected bursts in activity. TDSB credits the FLASH 1st strategy and Hyper-V virtualization for the enhanced management simplicity and overall reduction in both CapEx and OpEx.

In addition, TDSB replaced its tape backup environment with EMC Data Domain deduplication storage systems, resulting in reduced backup times and a decrease in backup storage requirements by over 90%.

Customer Quotes:

Peter Singh, Senior Manager, IT Operations, Toronto District School Board

"EMC's VNX unified storage has the best performance and efficiency at a very cost-effective price. It integrates with Microsoft Hyper-V, which is crucial to our cloud strategy, and with its higher performance, automated storage tiering, and thin provisioning, VNX was a no-brainer."

"Implementing a 'FLASH 1st' strategy on VNX helped us attain a greener data center, reducing our storage space by 32% and decreasing our power cost by 22%. We actually received a rebate from our electric company because of the savings.”

"EMC's Residency offering was one of the best services we've used from any vendor. To have an EMC expert on site, working as an extension of our staff, was priceless. It allowed us to move forward with the project much more quickly than doing everything ourselves."

Zain Bhamjee, System Architect, Toronto District School Board

"With a storage infrastructure that's reached 325 terabytes and growing, we're always looking for ways to leverage our IT dollars to bring the most value to our teachers and students. EMC's comprehensive array of storage, software, and services are enabling us to transform and achieve the most efficiency, performance, and scalability we've seen yet. Additionally, the new features for the VNX family, including lower starting costs for Flash configurations, are exciting additions to these existing advantages--we're looking forward to reaping the cost and efficiency benefits of these new capabilities."

"Tasks that once took five clicks now get done in one with Unisphere. We're supporting our 325-terabyte storage environment with less than one and a half FTEs. Most shops would need three to five FTEs to manage an infrastructure our size."

Additional Resources:

• Customer Profile: Toronto District School Board
• Analyst Paper: Saving Time and Money with Savvy Use of Flash in Automated Storage Tiering
• White Paper: EMC Multisite Disaster Recovery for Microsoft SQL Server 2012
• Learn more about EMC VNX and Data Domain
• Connect with EMC via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and ECN

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing.  Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.

Tampa Educators, Students to Benefit From New Microsoft Digital Education Initiative With City, Hillsborough County Public Schools

Press release:

Tampa Educators, Students to Benefit From New Microsoft Digital Education Initiative With City, Hillsborough County Public Schools

Aug. 10, 2012

Tampa Mayor Buckhorn designates Aug. 11 “Back to School With Microsoft” Day; technology training for 500 educators to support student success.

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TAMPA, Fla. — Aug. 10, 2012 — With the goal of preparing local students for the opportunities of tomorrow’s economy, Microsoft Corp. is working with the City of Tampa and Hillsborough County Public Schools (HCPS) to implement a strategic digital education initiative across the region. On Saturday, Aug. 11, a “Back to School With Microsoft” event will kick off the activities to train more than 500 local educators as part of the effort to modernize in-classroom teaching with Microsoft technologies, boost students’ technology skills, and emphasize the value of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning in preparation for 21st century careers. 

“As one of the largest school districts in the nation, Hillsborough County is taking a leading role in extending high-tech skills training and new educational tools to its community of teachers and students,” said Florida Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson. “This strategic relationship with Microsoft will help us equip future generations with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in tomorrow’s economy as we roll out Microsoft IT Academy Program offerings to more than 214 schools throughout our state.”

This collaboration with the City of Tampa and HCPS is part of Microsoft’s efforts to help prepare youth for the jobs of tomorrow. In the current economy, science and technology continue to drive innovation while creating jobs, yet a growing number of today’s students face an opportunity divide — a growing gap between those who have the access, skills and opportunities to be successful and those who do not.

Florida’s First Districtwide IT Academy

HCPS is participating in Florida’s pilot implementation of the Microsoft IT Academy Program,which provides a complete IT education solution that bridges the world of education with the world of work. Together with Microsoft and the Florida Department of Education, HCPS will roll out the IT Academy Program across its 27 high schools and 18 middle schools as a STEM-focused elective for students in the upcoming 2012–2013 school year. 

“The Microsoft IT Academy fits perfectly with our goal of preparing our students for careers in the 21st century,” said MaryEllen Elia, Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent. “This is a wonderful partnership that will benefit our teachers and our students, and I’m grateful to Microsoft and the City of Tampa for their commitment.”

Beginning with the Aug. 11 “Back to School With Microsoft” technology showcase, more than 500 HCPS teachers in attendance will have access to 60 professional development sessions that show how Microsoft technologies can be used to support education goals and interactive learning in the classroom. Development sessions range from using Kinect for Xbox 360 in education to supporting rapid e-learning.

With the IT Academy training, educators get professional development so they can stay abreast of the latest Microsoft technologies and easily integrate these technologies into their existing curriculum and lesson plans to meet the individual learning needs of their students. Educators can build their own success, as well as earn certifications ranging from becoming a Microsoft Innovative Educator to the ITA certifications that dive more deeply in specific Microsoft technologies taught through the IT Academy courses. 

Through the IT Academy Program, students will have access to hundreds of Web-based e-learning courses and receive hands-on experience with the latest Microsoft software and programs, giving them an edge to gaining job-ready skills and industry credentials while still in school. 

Shaping Tampa’s Future

Microsoft is committed to the Tampa Bay region, particularly to support efforts that will help youth realize new opportunities. Through Microsoft’s long-term work with the people and organizations of the Tampa Bay region, a number of training, education and community programs are surfacing, which include these:

• A pilot program that will feature the use of Kinect consoles in a dozen HCPS classrooms which will establish the use of interactive, gesture-based learning.
• The DigiGirlz education program will provide local middle and high school girls with the opportunity to learn about careers in technology, connect with Microsoft employees, and participate in hands-on computer and technology workshops. Over the past 12 years, DigiGirlz has reached 19,000 girls in more than 20 states and 17 countries.
• Kodu programming and game-development technology will be incorporated into the HCPS curriculum, helping students develop IT skills by creating games on the PC and Xbox using the simple, visual programming language designed for use by children.

“We’re thrilled to work with the City of Tampa and HCPS to bring the best technologies to area educators to help students realize their full potential,” said Marietta Davis, general manager for Microsoft’s Southeast District. “This is yet another important partnership we’ve formed as part of our commitment to help create positive and lasting impacts in the metropolitan areas in which we live and work. In the Tampa region, our commitment starts with schools and students.”

In addition to Microsoft’s work with Tampa on these education and community outreach initiatives, Microsoft has also worked with the city on a variety of other programs aimed at making a real impact in the region. Notably, Microsoft recently teamed up with the Tampa Police Department on a jointly funded public safety initiative aimed at modernizing the department’s systems used for crime analysis, reporting and reduction, which included an investment in Microsoft SharePoint and SQL Server technologies. 

Microsoft has also joined the board of the Tampa Bay Partnership, a public-private organization supporting economic growth and development in the region, and recently made a $25,000 commitment to the organization and its programs.

Youth Engagement at National Political Conventions

Microsoft is also working with National Journal and The Atlantic to host a “Conversations With the Next Generation” town hall on Wednesday, Aug. 29, at The Improv Theater in Ybor. The one-of-a-kind event will feature political leaders, policy experts and journalists who will engage in a dialogue with younger Americans and students about the critical issues they face. 

Notable Tampa participants include Superintendent Elia and youth leaders such as Brian Goff, student body president, University of South Florida-Tampa. National participants include Chelsea Clinton, George P. Bush and Rep. Aaron Schock, R-Ill. Microsoft will also sponsor a sister event at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.

These conversations are part of Microsoft’s commitment to help people and businesses throughout the world realize their full potential. Microsoft’s citizenship mission is to globally serve the needs of communities and fulfill its responsibilities to the public. Microsoft programs have a focus on helping youth and young adults around the world obtain the skills they need, and connect them to greater opportunities for education, employment and entrepreneurship. Microsoft has the unique ability, through technology and partnerships, to make education and learning more accessible and more engaging for these young people.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

Networks Improve Healthcare in China

Networks Improve Healthcare in China

Rapid Adoption of Microsoft Dynamics Continues Across U.S. Government, Education and Health Organizations

News Press Release
Rapid Adoption of Microsoft Dynamics Continues Across U.S. Government, Education and Health Organizations

New customers turn to Microsoft Dynamics to reduce operating costs, boost efficiency and improve citizen service delivery.

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HOUSTON — March 19, 2012 — At Convergence 2012 today Microsoft Corp. announced 11 new Microsoft Dynamics customers from across the government, education and healthcare markets. These customers, including the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter, and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, join more than 1,000 public-sector organizations across every state in the U.S. that have adopted Microsoft Dynamics ERP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM to drive transformative cost savings and efficiencies. “Government, education and healthcare organizations are facing increasing constituent demand for services in the face of harsh budget realities,” said Amir Capriles, senior director, Dynamics U.S. Public Sector at Microsoft. “Given these common challenges, our public-sector customers are turning to Microsoft Dynamics offerings to maximize resources and make more effective use of mission-critical data.” Microsoft Dynamics capabilities serve a range of needs unique to the government, education and healthcare industries, from finance and human resources applications to information management tools designed to help streamline social services delivery, grants management, student recruitment, telemedicine and many other public-sector missions. The Microsoft Dynamics platform also allows organizations to realize these benefits using familiar, easy-to-use tools, equipped with interoperable collaboration assets that improve communications with colleagues, students, customers and constituents. The following public-sector organizations have recently implemented Microsoft Dynamics solutions for cost and efficiency benefits: Government and Healthcare • Orange County Sheriff’s Department. Focusing on the proactive career development of their sworn officers, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department in California has secured Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to develop a commendations and complaints tracking solution. Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 is enabling sheriff personnel to effectively capture and respond to both commendations and complaints received as part of the Personnel history Index initiative within the department. • Riverside County Economic Development Agency. In an effort to reduce ongoing system maintenance costs, the agency is leveraging Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 to deliver a facilities management solution. The solution will manage all county buildings and will enable county employees to submit service request tickets that will be routed to the appropriate technicians based on service areas and skillsets to help ensure that requests are handled properly and according to county standards. • Sound Transit. Created to provide safe and reliable bus and train service in the Puget Sound area, Sound Transit selected Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to manage its customer service, community outreach and communications activities. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online enables Sound Transit to leverage existing cloud investments and will effectively track information about customers and projects to help ensure all members of the organization are informed about customer interactions. • Bureau of Indian Affairs. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM, social workers at the Bureau of Indian Affairs will be able to deliver programs more effectively than before in some of the most isolated and economically depressed areas of the United States. The impact goes far beyond business efficiency to deliver an enhanced welfare and benefits program experience. • USCIS. Microsoft Dynamics CRM was selected as the platform to modernize USCIS due to its flexibility and rapid time-to-value, which is critical to the success of the USCIS’s immigration verification program. The overall USCIS strategy leverages information, talent, process and technology to understand, better serve and manage the verification program’s constituents. Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a critical component to making the program successful. • California Department of Financial Institutions. By deploying a cloud-based solution running on Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the California Department of Financial Institutions can now provide greater focus on serving the constituents in California with its public records tracker. Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, many processes have been streamlined and the department has become a much more productive organization than before. Staff members are very confident that they are able to complete their work more efficiently. • Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). The IDOC leverages Microsoft Dynamics CRM as an enterprise offender management solution to provide a comprehensive, cost-effective set of tools and technologies to help improve coordination and management of information and services within the department. The solution is built on existing investments and provides a connected, scalable platform to combine data from multiple sources and create an electronic master file to provide a single, departmentwide view of inmates. • Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. The county has implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM and configured the solution to meet the needs of vehicle inspection, nurse workload and communicable disease tracking, as well as the labeling of prescriptions. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM it now takes nurses only two days to learn the system versus the six months that it used to take. The result has sharply increased productivity and the county’s ability to rapidly deliver care. With the built-in audit trails in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the department can capture a record of every instance someone looks at or changes a patient case record, which helps the county easily comply with HIPAA. • New York State Office For People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD). OPWDD’s new case management solution, built on Microsoft Dynamics CRM and in partnership with Mid-America Consulting Group, allows people with disabilities and their families to be more proactive in their service decisions by creating an electronic record for private and public-sector agencies to share case-specific information in real time. The ability to link directly into legacy systems and leverage existing platforms is significant in integrating information from both old and new systems. In addition to the ability to support better decisions about services that people need, the solution improves business practices with enhanced audit and accounting abilities. The solution is a critical component in transforming the way the department conducts business. Education • LSU AgCenter. The LSU AgCenter, tasked with providing citizens with research-based educational information on agriculture, wanted an easier and more efficient way to report on business practices and help demonstrate compliance with government requirements. In addition, the university needed a lower-cost, less burdensome solution to assess the effectiveness of its outreach programs. To address this challenge, the LSU AgCenter deployed Microsoft Dynamics CRM and tailored the solution to the needs of its outreach programs. Now, with one system in place, the LSU AgCenter has eased government reporting, providing reports on an as-needed basis; improved business insight; and eased its development and IT support requirements. • National Heritage Academies. National Heritage Academies is making significant progress in helping children fulfill their promise and potential. At the foundation of that progress is Microsoft Dynamics CRM. National Heritage Academies is now better able to foster more meaningful, substantive conversations around ways to enhance student learning experiences. Using Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the organization is using data to track teacher activities and performance, resulting in analyses that help guide the future performance of teachers and programs. Its process now has a platform to change the analysis from a qualitative, subjective evaluation to relevant, actionable insights. With this information, National Heritage Academies is achieving a higher level of accountability, linking all its activities directly to student achievement. More information about Microsoft Dynamics and how it can help organizations achieve their goals can be found by visiting the dedicated solution websites for government, education and healthcareorganizations.

News Release from CA Technologies - Mainframe Academy Scholarships

CA Technologies First Mainframe Academy Scholarships Support Next-Generation Management Talent

Global Recipients Recognized For Dedication to Mastering Mainframe Skills

ISLANDIA, N.Y., March 12, 2012 – CA Technologies (NASDAQ: CA) today announced the first five recipients of scholarships to its Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies, an accelerated educational curriculum that helps promising young technologists expand their skills and fill potential talent gaps in future mainframe management.

CA Technologies announced the scholarship program* last March as part of its workforce education effort, promising over $1 million in grants to attend the Mainframe Academy through 2016.  Recipients are selected by SHARE representatives, who award  scholarships to applicants that demonstrate a desire to master mainframe programming skills.

“With the mainframe continuing to play a vital role in their IT strategies, many of our global customers are looking at ways to proactively address the skills gap as senior staff approaches retirement age,” said Dayton Semerjian, general manager, Mainframe, CA Technologies. “We created the Mainframe Academy to help address this requirement and help some of the best young talent get a jump-start to a career in IT.”

The recipients include an IBM intern based in the U.S., a systems analyst for BRQ IT in Brazil, a University of Kentucky graduate interning at General Electric, and two system programmers from Garanti Technology in Turkey -- all of whom are looking to expand their mainframe knowledge.

“CA Technologies is providing a great opportunity with its Mainframe Academy scholarship program,” said Janet Sun, President, SHARE Inc.  “We are pleased to participate in the selection process and to support the growth and development of the next-generation of mainframe talent.  This aligns with our zNextGen program and is supported by the research we have done regarding the Mainframe Skills Gap.”

The Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies is an 8-week, vendor-agnostic, immersion program that blends instructor-led classroom activity with virtual and self-paced learning designed to provide core skills to manage the mainframe environment.   Young IT professionals enrolled in high school, undergraduate and graduate university programs, or recent graduates are eligible for the scholarship.

CA Technologies will issue three additional scholarships at the SHARE Conference in August.  Applications are being accepted through May 31, 2012 at the program website.

*Scholarships are awarded in the amount of $35,000.00 USD per winner and are payable solely as a credit for publically scheduled Mainframe Academy with CA Technologies education courses; scholarships will not be paid in cash or subject to refund, in whole or part.  Scholarship credits must be used within 12-months from the award date. Application submission requirements and rules apply. Applicants are obligated to ensure that they are eligible to apply for or accept the potential scholarship award consistent with the applicable rules of their employer, including without limitation, a code of conduct or similar conduct policies.  This Scholarship offer may not be available to any employee or official of any governmental or quasi-governmental entity. Mainframe Academywith CA Technologies education courses and training is subject to standard CA Technologies terms and conditions.

News Release from Lenovo - STEM Funding

Lenovo Funding to Globalize The Center for STEM Education for Girls

Partnership with The Harpeth Hall School to advance girls education in science, technology, engineering and math

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – March 08, 2012: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced that it is expanding its relationship with The Harpeth Hall School for girls in Nashville, Tennessee through a contribution that will elevate The Center for STEM Education for Girls to an international scale. This partnership will provide the needed resources to collect and disseminate research in best practices in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) classrooms at the secondary level, to attract international researchers and educators to an annual STEM conference, and to provide scholarship funds for both educators and students to participate in the Center’s STEM Think Tank and Conference and Summer Institute.

Lenovo’s $50,000 commitment is the latest of the company’s efforts to increase participation in STEM studies and to encourage students to aspire to careers in related fields.

A September 2011 U.S. Department of Congress report, “Women in STEM: A Gender Gap to Innovation,” revealed that: “although women fill close to half of all jobs in the U.S. economy, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs,” that “women hold a disproportionately low share of STEM undergraduate degrees, particularly in engineering,” and that “women with a STEM degree are less likely than their male counterparts to work in a STEM occupation.” 

With this situation in mind, building upon the strength of Harpeth Hall’s existing STEM program for girls, the global program will champion the educational needs of girls as a group currently underrepresented in core STEM majors in college and in STEM careers.

The Harpeth Hall School has long been a leader in girls’ education, with a record of success as one of the nation’s top STEM education programs at the middle and high school level. Lenovo’s contributions will expand the program and create a global clearinghouse of best practices and discussions on curricula such as lesson plans and rubrics. 

In connection with International Women’s Day, this contribution, focused on creating educational opportunities for girls, builds on Lenovo’s partnerships with institutions including St. Mary's School (Memphis, TN), Meredith College (Raleigh, NC), and Dubai Women’s College (Dubai, UAE).

Jian (Gina) Qiao, senior vice president of human resources for Lenovo, noted, “STEM education for women and girls is a passion of ours at Lenovo and is critical not only to the success of our business, but to the technology industry as a whole. There’s nothing better than opening the eyes of students to a world of opportunity and teaching the next generation the skills to succeed— and we believe this partnership will help girls and women to do just that.” She continued, “In 2007, we launched WILL (Women in Lenovo Leadership) in connection with International Women’s Day. Five years later, we’re proud to continue this legacy and partner with The Harpeth Hall School on The Center for STEM Education for Girls.”

The globalization of The Center for STEM Education for Girls will culminate at The Think Tank & Conference, hosted on the campus of the Harpeth Hall School July 18-20, 2012. Under the theme “Changing the Paradigm: Lessons Up & Down the Pipeline – K12 to university to corporate,” the conference will cover topics including best practices in curriculum and teaching for girls; girls in coed schools; getting started in STEM; what message we need to send girls on STEM; and how schools can engage in community outreach to give girls hands-on experiences and access to STEM careers.

Dr. Stacy Klein-Gardner, Director of the Center for STEM Education for Girls, added, “We know that solutions to modern problems and the ongoing success of our nation are dependent upon the discoveries of well-trained scientists, engineers, computer programmers, and mathematicians; the inclusion of women in designing those solutions is essential to reaching the best outcomes. Through the Center for STEM Education for Girls at the Harpeth Hall School, we hope to have a transformative impact on the educational opportunities for girls by helping to increase participation by girls in science, technology, engineering, and math studies in high school and college and to encourage them to aspire to STEM careers. We are fortunate that corporate global partners, such as Lenovo, share our commitment to creating positive STEM environments for young women to succeed. "

To ensure the Center for STEM Education for Girls is successful, Lenovo is leveraging its already strong global partnerships in the STEM learning arena, including with the Brookings Institution Post-Primary Education Collaborative, United Nations Global Partnership for Education, the Global Compact on Learning, the National Academy Foundation, and a recent SpaceLab initiative in conjunction with YouTube.

Social Media Boot Camp for Business

IBM Launches Global Boot Camps to Help Small and Midsize Businesses Build Social Media Skills

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ARMONK, N.Y. - 29 Feb 2012: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the expansion of a global skills initiative to educate clients and business partners on social media tools and techniques to showcase expertise and create new business opportunities. To join in the conversation around IBM's Social Media Boot Camps, visit LinkedIn.

With today's news, IBM is further investing in its clients and business partners across the world including emerging markets such as China, Australia and Saudi Arabia to develop the skills that will enable them to sharpen their social networking capabilities to build even stronger and more interactive ties with their clients.

The IBM eight week social media boot camp is available to its business partners to provide the education and skills necessary to successfully engage in social media and begin driving the conversation around their brand.   This initiative provides IBM business partners and clients access to one-on-one social media coaches who set measurable goals for building and exercising social acumen.

This customized curriculum is designed for organizations to become more comfortable and effective in their marketing and sales efforts.  By using social networking tools and techniques participants learn to integrate social media into their daily business activities.

"Social media and social networking have greatly impacted the way we interact and communicate in our personal lives, how we promote our personal brands," said IBM Spokesperson. "But the real power of these concepts are still in its infancy in the business world. There are limitless opportunities for businesses to engage with their employees, business partners and customers over these social channels to help make better business decisions and reach new markets."

IBM Business Partners Gets Social 

IBM Business Partner Starfire Technologies, Inc. was among the first organizations to enroll in IBM's Social Media Boot Camp. Prior to the program, Starfire's use of social media channels was limited. After enrolling in the eight week social skills program, Starfire is now leveraging social channels to re-architect the way it does business.

For example, as a result the tools and techniques offered by the Social Media Boot Camp, Starfire is reconstructing its company website, integrating social media tools and platforms to best interact with customers. The organization has transformed its business strategy by extending its reach through the social networks to create   significant interactions and two-way conversations with its customers.

"IBM's Social Media Boot Camp was instrumental in our understanding of how to effectively and strategically engage with our customers and business partners over social media platforms," said Mary Spurlock, Vice President of Marketing, Starfire Technologies, Inc..  "It also taught us enhanced ways to listen to our customers and engage in interactive conversations.  We learned to listen on the channels where our business partners and clients are participating, thus helping to identify and move opportunities faster through the pipeline. It's also helped us to create a valuable collaborative forum for marketing and client support."

Reaching Small and Midsize Businesses via Social

The amount SMBs spend on social media is set to almost double in 2012, according to recent market research. Almost two-thirds (64.4%) of SMBs currently market themselves via social media sites; however many still struggle in navigating the appropriate and relevant tools to harness business value for their organizations.

IBM Business Partner Key Information Systems serves SMBs in a variety of industries, encompassing 80 percent of the organization's client base, and agree that while social media is of profound interest to their clients, it is still posing a significant challenge. With Social Media Boot Camp, Key Information Services has not only better educated itself on how to better utilize social media resources, it is now sharing that knowledge with its clients and prospects.

"We're expanding and diversifying the way we connect with clients and prospects and honing in on what's relevant to SMBs," says Director of Marketing Pete Elliot, Key Information Systems. "We're hosting events where small and mid-sized organizations come together to learn about and collaborate on social media strategy. We're reaching new markets with creative social media marketing techniques. The IBM Social Media Bootcamp has helped take our efforts to a whole new level, further opening our eyes to the world of possibility and extending our ability to tap into new markets that we would have never reached without engaging over social media platforms."

After enrolling in IBM's Social Media Boot Camp, Key Information Systems has now integrated social into the work flow processes of every employee. Social has become a priority whether it's blogging or engaging with key constituents over Twitter, employees are dedicated to listening and interacting where their business partners, clients and prospects are talking.

IBM Business Partner  Profitecture has played a leading role in working with IBM to deliver their Social Media Boot Camps for Business Partners and their unique process is helping to extend IBM's prowess in guiding organizations' transformation into social businesses.

At IBM's PartnerWorld Leadership Conference, IBM and Profitecture will also host mini Social Media Boot Camp sessions on Thursday, March 1 where more than 100 IBM business partners from across the globe will participate to discuss the opportunities of social media on a global scale. Business partners can also continue to work with their IBM/Profitecture social media coaches after the Boot Camp program for more advanced training or to fine tune their social strategies.