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Girl with safety glasses working with robot in lab

December 2021 | IBM Volunteer Excellence Award

In Vietnam, there’s a gap between the market demand for professionals with AI skills and the number of trained individuals with the skills to fill the jobs.

Anthony Nguyen was an IBM software engineer and was part of an international team of IBM employees who made the decision to address this issue by coming together and offering their skills and expertise to help close the gap.

Together, alongside volunteers from Vietnam, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United States, Anthony and a team of IBM volunteers coordinated with trainers, lecturers and volunteers from the Hanoi University School of Information and Communication Technology, STEAM for Vietnam and the Institute for International Education to develop virtual training for more than 120 information and communication technology (ICT) teachers across Vietnam. 

The team of IBM employees logged more than 550 volunteer hours designing training manuals, modifying source code on GitHub, and developing hands-on lab exercises in an effort to upskill the talent pool for the next generation of Vietnamese tech workers.

Anthony says that although the work was challenging and time consuming at times, he credits his family for supporting him on his volunteer journey.

“Spending time on social activities means you have less time to spend with your family,” said Anthony. “Fortunately, we always have the support and encouragement of our family because they understand the meaning of the work we are doing.”

To recognize Anthony and the other volunteers for their hard work, the team was chosen as one of the 2020 winners of the IBM® Volunteer Excellence Award. As one of the winners, Anthony’s team received a grant from IBM of USD 10,000, which they donated back to the School of Information and Communication Technology at Hanoi University.

While the recognition of a job well done is certainly nice, Anthony says the notoriety pales in comparison to the opportunity to improve the lives of those around him.

“Personally, I want to contribute to building a better life. I am happy that there are hundreds of volunteers like me actively participating in these projects,” Anthony said.

Thanks to the efforts of the volunteers, many teachers from rural, remote and mountainous areas were presented with the opportunity to touch and program a robot for the first time, marking an important step in the evolution of technical education in the country.

After the conclusion of the training sessions, many of the attendees continued to host additional independent workshops to teach the basics of what they learned to their colleagues and students. By bringing AI to life through simple, interactive activities, more students are inspired to pursue a career in a STEM-related field, helping to fill the AI skills gap in the Vietnam labor market.

Watch the video to learn more about the project.

Started in 2005, the IBM Volunteer Excellence Award is recognition from IBM’s Chairman and CEO honoring IBM employees and teams who best exemplify IBM values in their volunteer efforts with local or not-for-profit organizations.

Learn more about all 15 winners of the 2020 IBM Volunteer Excellence Award.

·      Argentina: Solar eclipse + STEM education

·      Brazil: Mentoring disadvantaged youth and diverse abilities

·      Canada: STEM education for girls (Individual award for Heather Ricciuto)

·      China, Hong Kong, Taiwan: STEM education (Also IBM Volunteers’ Choice Award)

·      India: Remote mentoring for girls

·      India: Audiobooks for visually challenged learners (Also IBM Volunteers’ Choice Award)

·      India: Supplementing education with webinar on emerging technology

·      Italy: STEM education for girls (Also IBM Volunteers’ Choice Award)

·      Pan-Europe: Keeping schools going during COVID

·      Poland: Classical music, AI and cloud

·      Turkey: Board service and mentoring (Individual award for Derya Sel Bozkurt)

·      Vietnam: Closing the skills gap with AI education

·      US (New York, Minnesota, Vermont and Texas): Making a difference by making PPE

·      US (Texas): Marketing and design expertise for Austin’s nonprofit organizations

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To help close the gap between the market demand for AI professionals and the number of trained people with the skills to fill the jobs, a team of IBM employees logged more than 500 volunteer hours developing and presenting training programs to teachers in Vietnam.

IBM employees join volunteer initiative to help close AI skills gap in Vietnam

When the COVID pandemic forced schools around the world to reconsider their delivery methods and student contact policies, Italy was one of the first European countries to be impacted on a major level. 

Italian schools were closed to limit the spread of the virus, forcing teachers and students to quickly adopt new approaches to education.

In response to the Italian government’s call for support, the IBM Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) team in Italy contacted Cisco with a plan to help out.

Cisco provided free licenses and registration for its Webex Meetings software, while IBM volunteers provided free support to schools to help train teachers and students to confidently and effectively use the technology. 

The virtual classrooms, powered by Cisco Webex, enabled teachers to host and record video conferences, share educational content from their screens, communicate with students and receive feedback, all instantaneously.

The combined effort of Cisco and IBM volunteers enabled the schools to resume classes virtually while helping the students and teachers adapt to the new classroom format. 

Floriana Ferrara is the CSR manager for IBM Italy and was one of the team members who helped get the project started.

“Being a digital expert on the Cisco volunteer program wouldn’t have been possible if I weren’t an IBM employee,” said Floriana. “It is wonderful to know that IBM encourages me to use my skills to help others. It makes me love my company even more.”

The program was well received by the students, with many of them expressing their gratitude to the IBM volunteers. Floriana recalls one particularly memorable example from a young student who was overjoyed at the ability to communicate and interact with their friends again.

“One moment that sticks with me was when we received a letter from one of the children,” Floriana said. “They told us ‘Thank you with all my heart. It was nice to see my computer companions during the lockdown. I did not feel abandoned.’ I admit I cried after reading this letter.”

While the project was beneficial to the students and teachers, Floriana says the opportunity to volunteer was also an excellent chance for her to feel helpful during a time when so many felt helpless or useless.

“If I hadn’t been able to volunteer during this period, I would have felt useless. Volunteering allows you to help others, to feel useful, and to give yourself completely to those who are more unfortunate,” said Floriana. “I love being an IBM volunteer. My colleagues and I can change the world by making our time, energy, passion and skills available.”

To acknowledge the IBM employees who gave their time and skills to the project, the team of volunteers was chosen to be one of the 2020 IBM® Volunteer Excellence Award winners. This achievement is shared by 145 IBM volunteers from various countries, including Austria, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom.

Since the initial success of the effort, the project has been scaled out to include 13 countries, 325,000 students and 70 nonprofit organizations, serving as a perfect example of what can be achieved when skills, talent and technology are pooled for social impact.

IBM volunteers provided free support to Italian schools to help train teachers and students to use Cisco's Webex Meetings software so they could resume classes virtually.

IBM volunteers partnered with Cisco to help schools in Italy transition to distance learning during pandemic

To help teachers and students adjust to a new virtual style of education during the pandemic, IBM volunteers in Italy offered free support to teachers and students on the use of Cisco's Webex Meetings software.

Equipping today’s youth to enter the professional workforce is one of the most essential tasks that our global society can undertake. In a world where technology continues to evolve at such a fast pace, it has become crucial to provide an atmosphere where young people can professionally prepare and fill the gaps in their education through well-developed technical skills. 

Instituto da Oportunidade Social (IOS) is a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Brazil that promotes free professional training and employability for young people and those with disabilities.

The IBM® Technology Leadership Council in Brazil (TLC-BR) is a community of IBM employees who are passionate about technology and dedicated to exploring and sharing knowledge and innovation.

Carolina Joaquim is a client technical leader for IBM Brazil. Together, she and 13 other members of the technology leadership council worked with IOS to create a two-phase initiative to help increase community engagement during the pandemic. 

By exploiting the interest of today’s youth in STEM-related careers, she and the other IBM volunteers worked to make the project a success.

“My primary motivation is to make a difference in the professional journey of young people. The pandemic made it challenging for all NGOs to keep up their meaningful work. I was inspired to motivate other IBMers, so together we could keep up this volunteer work and stay in touch with the young people during these unpredictable times,” Carolina said.

In the first phase of the initiative, the team of IBM volunteers held sessions with IOS to help expand the broad vision of the organization and its participants on the impact of technology on society.

In the second phase, IBM volunteers engaged in mentoring sessions where they shared professional experiences and discussed trends in technology with students in attendance.

“When we share our own professional experiences, including personal challenges, I hope young people and students are motivated to keep pursuing their dreams and objectives,” said Carolina.

Collectively, 25 sessions were held, with themes ranging from education and career development to STEM and skills of the future. The lectures and workshops were led by IBM employees and focused on enhancing the organization’s social work. The sessions were recorded and uploaded to the IOS YouTube channel, garnering more than 4,000 views.

To recognize Carolina and the volunteers for their contributions, the team was chosen as one of the 2020 IBM Volunteer Excellence Award winners. As one of the 15 award winners, the team received a grant from IBM of USD 10,000 that they donated back to IOS to support and expand their future projects.

“Volunteering is a ‘give back’ for me, as well. I learn a lot from the young people and all of the NGOs’ educators and professionals,” Carolina said. “These experiences reinforce some of my beliefs, such as how putting passion in our actions makes a difference in others’ lives and how technology can make a better world.”

To better equip today's youth to enter the workforce, IBM volunteers in Brazil worked with nongovernmental organizations to educate students on the impact of technology in society.

IBM volunteers in Brazil work with NGOs to help raise awareness of the impact of technology on society

November 2021 | IBM Volunteer Excellence Award

It’s no secret that the recent pandemic has touched the lives of millions of people across the world. Nonprofits whose staff are primarily focused on providing valuable community support are unable to dedicate the resources needed to develop their messaging and digital assets. This issue prevents nonprofits from reaching their audiences in an effective manner.

The IBM® Summer of Service is a volunteer initiative that brings together the combined talent of various IBM teams to provide hundreds of years of expertise and tens of thousands of dollars of in-kind assistance to nonprofit organizations based in Austin, Texas.

For the last three years, IBM volunteers have donated their time, skills and expertise to assist local nonprofits in Austin during the annual Summer of Service. For their continued efforts and contributions, the team of volunteers was chosen as one of the 2020 IBM Volunteer Excellence Award winners.

Shelby Zellman is an IBM employee who was working primarily in marketing analytics when she helped start the project with two colleagues more than 3 years ago.

“This project is close to my heart. I founded it with two of my coworkers 3.5 years ago. Summer of Service came to be in 2018 when our chief marketing officer challenged each marketing location to come together for one day to contribute their time and energy to their community. One of my ambitious colleagues came up with the original idea to expand our day of service  into the whole summer,” Shelby said.

To make sure that the nonprofits were served in the best way possible this year, all the volunteer teams engaged in some form of discovery with the nonprofits to determine the needs of their respective organizations. The IBM teams met virtually and explored possible solutions and approaches, proposing designs for new digital assets and redesigns of current assets that could be improved or updated. 

The consultative assistance that IBM volunteers provided, combined with the expertise of the marketing and design volunteers, helped the organizations better understand their target audiences while simultaneously delivering enhanced assets designed to help them make a bigger impact.

“The Summer of Service project is especially important to me because I’m able to see the impact to our local nonprofits. The work that teams have done have the potential to provide the nonprofit with a direct and immediate impact,” said Shelby

The following nonprofit organizations participated in the Summer of Service:

·      Austin Tenants Council: The Austin Tenants Council is the only organization in Central Texas that provides direct housing rights assistance to those in need, helping with issues from evictions to housing stability.

·      Hope Alliance: The Hope Alliance assists those affected by domestic and sexual violence. They service North Travis County and are the only provider of these services in Williamson County.

·      LifeSteps: LifeSteps works within Williamson, McLennan and Travis counties to improve the health, safety and well-being of citizens by preventing substance use disorders, providing early intervention and supporting long-term recovery.

·      Senior Access: Senior Access provides free transportation and support services that enhance independence and quality of life for seniors.

·      Skillpoint Alliance: Skillpoint Alliance provides a gateway for vulnerable members of the Central Texas community to transform their lives through rigorous and in-demand skills training and education.

·      St. Louise House: St. Louise House helps women in Austin and their children move from homelessness to healthy, independent lives and increase housing stability.

As one of the 15 IBM Volunteer Excellence Award winners, the team received a grant from IBM of USD 15,000, which they donated to two of the nonprofits they worked with during the project: Skillpoint Alliance and the Austin Tenants Council.

When asked what her motivation was for helping with the project, Shelby stated, “I love to be involved in our local community and I’m grateful to work for a company that shares the value of giving back. With it comes a rewarding feeling to be able to use your skills to give back in a meaningful and impactful way.”

Making volunteering a priority can be difficult, especially during a pandemic, but Shelby wants others to know that helping your community is worth all the hard work.

“Giving back is so important and I think it’s easy for volunteering to fall behind on our daily list of priorities. It’s become slightly harder to volunteer through the pandemic because face-to-face interactions have become harder,” said Shelby, “But the mutual benefit of philanthropy can’t be overstated enough. There’s no greater feeling than helping people and our community and I find the work rewarding.” 

Watch Laurie Parko, Vice President of Blue Studio Creative Operations, discuss the project in the video.

Started in 2005, the IBM Volunteer Excellence Award is recognition from IBM's Chairman and CEO, honoring IBM employees and teams who best exemplify IBM values in their volunteer efforts with local or not-for-profit organizations.

·      US (New York, Minnesota, Vermont, and Texas): Making a difference by making PPE

During the 2020 Summer of Service, teams of IBM volunteers worked with various nonprofits in Austin, Texas to help maximize the impact they have on the community.

IBM employees acknowledged for volunteer work with Austin-based nonprofits during 2020 Summer of Service

During the 2020 Summer of Service, IBM volunteers worked with nonprofits in Austin, Texas to help them maximize their impact on the community amidst a global pandemic.

COVID-19 has affected all of us in unique ways. For students in India, it was especially true when the virus forced schools and universities to stop offering in-person classes.

When local governments asked academic institutions to switch to online classes, many schools and colleges struggled to make the transition. Due to a change in government guidelines, students would only receive credit if they attended a specified number of educational sessions led by industry experts. This change jeopardized some of the students’ chances of receiving the academic credits needed to satisfy their graduation requirements.

With the pandemic threatening the educational opportunities of the students, a team of IBM employees banded together, offering their time and expertise to help combat the problem.

Joshica Senthil, an infrastructure specialist for IBM India and one of the volunteers who was instrumental in organizing and coordinating a series of webcasts, helped alleviate some of the pressure during the crisis.

“Ever since I was young, I’ve been motivated by individuals who are selfless and help other people. Knowing that I could be one of those individuals who helps others helped motivate me on this project so much,” Joshica said, “I joined this volunteer initiative to help shine a light on prospective career choices for students and budding engineers.”

The webcasts were created to complement students’ primary fields of study at Guru Nanak College and five other local universities. Anywhere from 100 to 270 students attended each session, which focused on providing industrial knowledge about emerging technologies to the attendees. 

In total, more than 2,500 students participated in the webinar series, which helped them earn valuable educational credits needed to finish their graduation requirements.

Since the completion of the webinar series, representatives from additional universities across India have reached out to the team and requested similar sessions with IBM experts. To ensure the program continues to serve future generations of students, there’s currently an endowment plan being implemented to build up a demonstration lab with 20 different frameworks to help enhance the students’ practical knowledge.

For their contributions, the team of IBM employees was selected as one of the 2020 IBM® Volunteer Excellence Award winners. For Joshica, the recognition pales in comparison to the opportunity to help students in the community become a superior version of themselves.

“The more we give, the more joyful we feel, and the opportunity to spread information to sprouting students who can make a genuine change in society is quite fulfilling,” said Joshica, quoting United States Senator Ed Markey, “education is not only a ladder of opportunity, but it is also an investment in our future.”

While Joshica strongly believes in the sentiment behind the famous quote from Senator Markey, she wants everyone to know that you don’t have to be a congressional representative to help out.

“I see individuals who are socially connected go through a great amount of cash trying to help an oppressed society,” Joshica says, “the help that you can provide can be invaluable and isn’t solely limited to the amount of cash you can contribute.”

Started in 2005, the IBM Volunteer Excellence Award is recognition from IBM’s Chairman and CEO honoring IBM employees and teams who best exemplify IBM values in their volunteer efforts with local or not-for-profit organizations. 

IBM volunteers worked with various eductional institutions in India to make sure students received important academic credits. The team received the IBM Volunteer Excellence Award for the webinar series they developed.

IBM volunteers in India create webcast series to help students earn academic credits during pandemic

When schools in India were forced to switch to online classes during the pandemic, a team of dedicated IBM volunteers developed a series of informative webcasts to help students continue to earn academic credits.

P-TECH is an innovative education model that offers students around the world the chance to develop technical skills and competencies that will help them land a job in the growing field of technology.

As of 2020, P-TECH programs had successfully been implemented in various countries around the globe. However, they weren’t present in Japan due to the many differences in the school systems.

Seeing a chance to make a difference and not wanting to let Japanese students miss out on the wonderful opportunities P-TECH offers, a group of IBM employees decided to come together to create a pilot program so local students could also take advantage of the program.

Kaori Namba, a staff member in IBM Japan’s CTO office, was one of the 28 volunteers who worked on the project.

“One of my dreams is to make Japan a science-and-technology-oriented nation again. Needless to say, STEM education is so important for that,” said Namba. “Additionally, it’s really fun for me to communicate with the students. It helps relieve my stress.”

In collaboration with the corporate social responsibility (CSR) team in Japan, the group started their work with the Technical Experts Council of Japan (TEC-J), an affiliate of the IBM Academy of Technology. The group of IBM volunteers developed a plan for the execution of a P-TECH program appropriate for Japan’s unique situation. With the support of the Japan CSR team and Tokyo Metropolitan Government, they then conducted pilot activities at Machida Technical High School.

For their contributions to the P-TECH pilot program, the team of volunteers was selected as one of the 2020 IBM® Volunteer Excellence Award winners.

Toshiyuki Sanuki, a distinguished engineer for IBM Research® and Development, Japan, was an instrumental part of the team that put together the pilot program. When asked what drove him and the other team members to become involved with the project, Sanuki stated that it was the passion the teachers had for their students that inspired them.

“All the members of the team possessed a strong passion for supporting young students. The teachers of the pilot schools have strong aspirations for the students and encourage them to adopt a more broad and positive view when thinking about their careers,” Sanuki said.

While the IBM employees were thrilled at the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with the next generation of great thinkers, they found that these programs also aided them in their professional development.

“Honestly speaking, it was a positive shock for me to talk about IT and our jobs to young students. I now understand how difficult it can be to explain various IT concepts and terminologies to early learners with plain words,” said Sanuki. “In the past, I was using jargon and acronyms, paying less attention to the audience’s understanding of the topic. This volunteer activity taught me how to better use simple, concise words in situations where the audience’s knowledge of the topic isn’t as broad.”

As a result of their efforts, government officials were able to see just how effective the P-TECH model can be in Japanese schools. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has since approved P-TECH as an official education program for the future, making Machida Technical High School the first institution in Japan to be certified as an official P-TECH school.

Tetsuo Fukuzaki, a technical account manager for IBM Cloud®, also worked on the project alongside Namba and Sanuki. For him, the opportunity to better the lives of students makes all the hard work worth the effort. “It’s a wonderful experience to be a part of the students’ growth while listening to them carefully and encouraging them to take better steps forward,” said Fukuzaki.

IBM volunteers worked with government officials to succesfully develop and implement a pilot program for the P-TECH education model in Japan.

IBM employees in Japan create successful P-TECH pilot program for Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education

IBM volunteers in Japan worked with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to show how the P-TECH learning model can succeed in the country's education system.

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