Dear Academic Initiative member,

Hopefully you have had a chance to read the 2012 Technology Trends Report, which uncovers that nearly half of the educators and students surveyed feel there is a major gap in their institution's ability to prepare graduates for growing IT skills demand in critical technology areas. These tools, similar to the rapid assimilation of smart phones, the Internet and e-commerce, are experiencing high demand growth and are poised to propel the creation of more intelligent, technology savvy jobs.

Combine this with another major finding of the study, that only 1 in 10 organizations surveyed feel they currently posses the knowledge necessary to effectively use these technologies. This paints an alarming picture of the shape of our current and future workforce.

To help close this gap, we invite you to take a look at the updates we have made to the Academic Initiative. This represents the largest expansion of our Academic Initiative to date. Check out the new resources for hot business/IT skills around:

• Big data
• Business analytics
• Mobile
• Security

We can't close the skills gaps on our own. We need you, your colleagues, and your network to join us in the ongoing conversations about the technology and business skills needed in our curriculum to enable graduates to succeed in an increasingly IT-driven economy. Join the online dialogues and let us know if you would like to share what you will be doing so your graduates can help close the skills gap.

Sincerely,

The IBM Academic Initiative team