The Slovak University of Technology and IBM signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Monday, 12 December 2022. Both sides expect that their collaboration will lead to mutual growth and social development, thereby strengthening their position on the market. The Memorandum was signed by Oliver Moravčík, the STU Rector and Ľuboš Hlinka, the IBM Slovakia CEO.
STU and the companies of IBM Slovensko, spol. s. r. o. and IBM International Services Centre s. r. o. (hereafter IBM) agreed on mutually beneficial forms of cooperation. It concerns the support of scientific research mainly through bilateral and multilateral projects interesting to both contracting parties, publishing joint scientific and other publications, as well as mutual participation in professional conferences and seminars. An important component of the collaboration will be the joint education and training of students, academic staff, employees and other involved experts, as well as the joint education and training of students within specific professional subjects, professional support in the form of invited lectures, and also cooperation in the field of assigning and supervising the student semester, Bachelor, Master or dissertation theses.
The cooperation will also concern the common STU and EIT Manufacturing RIS Hub Slovakia’s activities, in particular linking the innovative ecosystem in the field of industrial production, promoting EIT Manufacturing and EIT Manufacturing RIS Hub Slovakia, and also expanding the network of organizations cooperating with EIT Manufacturing in Slovakia.
"Within the universities in Slovakia, STU is probably the most progressive in IT as it has invested in this field for a long time. We want to be part of the dynamic progress in this sphere, including the development of quantum computers. It is important for us to be on the scene," stated Rector Moravčík.
"IBM is one of the key employers in Slovakia. We also perceive ourselves as a platform for the graduates of primarily technical or economic faculties, who will find their first job and gain working experience in an international corporation. We find cooperation with STU perspective in the fields of education and science," said Ľuboš Hlinka, the IBM CEO.
The Memorandum envisages collaboration mainly in the following areas:
IBM SkillsBuild Software Downloads - Based on the MoP, IBM will actively support the STU educational institution in utilising the available resources, software and the cloud through the IBM SkillsBuild Software Downloads program.
IBM SkillsBuild: Free Skills-Based Learning - IBM SkillsBuild is a free available learning platform offering students the opportunity to improve their skills and earn digital credits for completed educational courses and modules.
IBM Skills Academy - IBM Skills Academy is a series of semester modules (on cyber security, AI, Data science, Cloud, Enterprise Design Thinking, Quantum etc.) covering the whole semester course. It is run by a team in the USA, and so the materials are topical and all the laboratory equipment is available free of charge.
IBM Internship, IBM Traineeship - both parties agreed on mutual publication of information regarding the current possibilities of the STU students’ involvement in the IBM Internship and IBM Traineeship programs allowing the students to gain valuable work experience directly at the workplace and within particular projects.
IBM Thesis & Dissertations - upon the agreement of an individual STU faculty, supervisor or student with an IBM representative, it is possible to address an IBM mentor from among the IBM employees to consult the practical aspects of student final theses.
IBM University Relations Programs - IBM will regularly inform STU representatives about current calls and possibilities to participate in the corporate programs supporting the relations with educational institutions.
EIT Manufacturing - participation in the RIS Hub activities, including local events, contacts and networking. Potential partnership in future calls for proposals in the field of innovation, education and business opportunities with the support of RIS.
