Dear University Leader,

These are difficult times. IBM Global University Programs understands the unique pressures faced by colleges and universities in adapting to the COVID-19 virus while keeping their students, faculty, and community safe. Our team is here to support faculty and students in academic institutions worldwide as you quickly and creatively adjust to a new reality in real time. Many of you have made challenging and strategic decisions to close your campus, extend spring break, or switch to virtual teaching. For many faculty and students, this is an entirely new way to teach and learn.  IBM has resources that may be helpful to you and your students.  Please consider these options.

The IBM Academic Initiativeis a self-service program that provides students and faculty at accredited academic institutions with access to select IBM resources at no-charge for classroom and non-commercial research purposes. The foundation for many of these resources is convenient access to IBM Cloud Lite.  Create a new course, add a practical lab, or develop relevant use cases by leveraging the online resources from the IBM Academic Initiative.  One note  - some IBM Academic Initiative resources require a school issued email address --that's it!   Take a quick lookhere: IBM Academic Initiative Resources for Virtual Learning.  Experiment!  Have some fun with technologies that might be new to you or your students.  And come back often since it will be updated continuously.

Check out the new University Guest Lecturessite!  Expert IBMers have contributed amazing lectures in 28 strategic technology areas, offered in 22 different languages.  Faculty can request any available lecture for their classes, and it can be provided digitally.  This is the wave of the future, and it's available to you right now.

The IBM Skills Academyis yet another innovative skills-oriented online training program for faculty so they can empower students of various backgrounds with the skills needed to excel in today’s high demand job market.  The (8) emerging technology tracks leverage industry use cases and encourage  experimenting with big ideas.  Students can earn digital badges that lead to immediate job opportunities.

IBM is a global company.  Take a look at the innovative approach to skills in Brazil!  DigitalEduhas innovative videos on cool technologies in Portuguese for students in Brazil.  Portuguese anyone?

Do you know K-8 teachers who need help teaching math?  Teacher Advisor With Watson is a free, philanthropic offering from the IBM Foundation.  This site is home to a curated collection of high-quality resources for K-8 math. These resources, combined with the power of Watson, can help teachers more efficiently plan lessons suitable for all their students.  Vetted by former educators and experts in teacher Professional Development, you can be sure that everything you find on Teacher Advisor is proven and effective.

And we haven't forgotten our future skills leaders who are currently attending secondary school.  Have you heard of P-TECH?  In a P-TECH school, students earn a high school diploma, an industry recognized associate degree, and gain relevant work experience in a growing field. Check out the free digital learning on the latest technologies, designed for teachers and students!

Is it time to relax and explore cutting edge, futuristic technologies? If so, visit IBM Research. The potential for Quantum computing is exploding, for example. Learn more!

We hope this is helpful to you.  The IBM Global University Programs team wishes the best to you and your extended family and community.  Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns.