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2/14/2008
Academic Initiative To Expand
The UCLA and NC State partnerships are part of IBM's Academic Initiative, which provides access to software, courseware and curricula, support, and discounts on hardware for colleges and universities.
"By collaborating with universities on new methodologies, the resources available through its Academic Initiative, IBM is poised to help faculty and students get an edge on the needs of the marketplace," said Jim Corgel, general manager of IBM's ISV & Developer Relations group, in a statement released today. "The efforts now taking place at UCLA and NC State are just part of how IBM is helping universities adapt to the quickly changing world of technology. We accomplish this by exposing students to tomorrow's technologies today and sharing best practices from IBM's global development teams."
IBM said it plans to expand its Academic Initiative this year, aiming for "double-digit growth" in the number of students reached over the previous year. The company said it will also increase the number of events it hosts for universities and businesses focused on open standards and middleware supporting IBM's System z and other large systems.
Lotus Mashups Free for Academics
As part of the announcement Feb. 14, IBM said it will release its commercial mashup software free for academic users.
IBM Lotus Mashups, which is expected to be released later this year (although no firm date has been set), provides a browser-based tool for assembling mashups blending enterprise and Web-based data. Lotus Mashups is designed to allow "non-technical users to easily create enterprise mashups." It includes a set of pre-defined widgets, a "catalog" for locating usable widgets and mashups, and a tool that allows users to build widgets that access enterprise data.
The company first unveiled Lotus Mashups at the Lotusphere conference in Florida in January, along with other Web 2.0 and collaborative tools, including Lotus Connections 2.0, a social networking tool, and an update to Lotus Quickr, a Web- and desktop-based collaboration environment.
About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
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