Mohamed Mansour's Personal Website

IBM and Lenovo Sponsors University of Ottawa

Posted on October 16, 2005, 12:26 am EST

IBM Canada Ltd. and Lenovo (Canada) Inc. today announced a CDN$25-million agreement with the University of Ottawa that will provide students with access to advanced technology, research and career opportunities.

The University of Ottawa had a student lab in the in ground zero of SITE, but now it is named the "IBM Lab of the Future". These two companies will provide both the state of the art of hardware and products for the lab. As well, IBM and Lenovo will provide a combined contribution to the University’s fundraising campaign with an estimated value over $7 million over the five-year agreement.

I was invited to the seminar and was pretty exciting. A 25 million deal, which means IBM now sponsors uOttawa. IBM and Lenovo will provide the University with a wide array of products and services including: ITS maintenance, Web and IBM Business Consulting Services, IBM zSeries mainframe server, pSeries and xSeries servers, IBM Shark and FastT storage products, ThinkPad notebook and ThinkCentre desktop computers, and a variety of IBM software, including DB2, WebSphere, WebSphere Commerce, Tivoli, Rational Rose, and others. Which are the mainstream of todays technology.

The University will have direct access to IBM’s industry-leading software for use in teaching and research throughout the University. Students who take a course in the SITE Faculty will have access to the lab 22/7 (2 hours for cleaning at night) and will have direct access to a world-class software development facility with 280 skilled developers.

This means, these opportunities will help to contribute to a far better curriculum, which will provide the students with increased co-op and career opportunities.

As Dan Fortin, president, IBM Canada Ltd. said,
"This agreement goes beyond providing our best technology. It leverages the broader value IBM and Lenovo can deliver. It strengthens our commitment to work together to enhance the student experience, and allows IBM employees to collaborate with some of the most innovative students and researchers from one of Canada’s leading information technology and engineering universities."

• REMEMBER