IBM to create student advisory board

10% of students want learning environments revamped

Eight of 10 students want universities to revamp traditional learning environments while over 90 percent want to join or start a Green Advocacy group at their campus.

64 percent of students believe that the world has a chance to reverse carbon emissions by 2025, and 60 percent believe that education and efficient transportation offer the best hope for sustainability of our cities.

These are just a few of the findings of a crowdsourcing process held by IBM called the Smarter Planet University Jam. Nearly 2,000 students and faculty from more than 200 universities from 40 countries took part in the Jam along with top IBM experts, clients and business partners. Students around the world showed that they are eagerly seeking opportunities to work together with industry to create a Smarter Planet, and they are extremely optimistic about the future.

“The Smarter Planet University Jam was the first time that so many university-aged students came together in an online forum to brainstorm ideas to better our world,” said Jai Menon, vice president of technical strategy and university programs, IBM. “Students are confident that their future will be a smarter place – a world where they will drive cars that get 100 miles per gallon, learn in virtual classrooms connected with students across the globe, and where they can run their businesses on a secure, energy-efficient and interconnected grid. They are boldly challenging the industry to transform that vision into their reality, and IBM is committed to meeting that challenge.”

To ensure a continued dialogue with university students, IBM plans to create a student advisory board, which will collaborate with IBM on recommendations for future student involvement in Smarter Planet initiatives.

IBM also announced plans to launch a Facebook application that allows students to connect with IBM mentors. In addition, IBM is launching a new program for employees to remotely initiate and oversee student projects in Smarter Planet areas.