IBM’s SkillsBuild Initiative: Fostering the Next Generation of AI Developers
IBM, with a history of nearly a century of collaboration with universities, is further investing in the future of artificial intelligence talent. The company’s latest initiative, the IBM SkillsBuild university strategy, focuses on bolstering AI education in higher education. This program aims to help universities cultivate the next generation of developers and drive economic growth worldwide.
Economic development faces hurdles due to today’s skills gap. Because both mass AI adoption and open-source AI models are on the rise, businesses, universities, and learners cite the demand for AI skills as their top priority. According to the World Economic Forum’s recent Future of Jobs report, the skills gap is the most significant barrier to business transformation. The report projects that nearly 40% of current skills may become outdated by 2030. Similarly, developers face challenges, with research from IBM and Morning Consult revealing that 76% of developers don’t consider themselves to be experts in generative AI.
To fuel open innovation and drive business results, IBM recognizes the need to invest in the skills of the future workforce.
IBM’s Support for Students and Aspiring Developers
In 2023, IBM committed to providing free AI training to 2 million learners globally within three years. The company acknowledged that various groups of learners would have different needs. They also recognized the requirement for cross-industry alignment in approaching this global challenge. As a result, IBM co-created an AI competencies guide through the AI Alliance. This guide collects data, generates insights, and aligns on recommendations to define essential AI competencies across sectors and roles. Levels of expertise are defined, ranging from fluency to mastery.
Building upon the AI Alliance framework, IBM has designed a novel strategy to help university students and aspiring developers build AI competencies. The key elements of this program include faculty training, online learning, hands-on labs, group innovation challenges, and real-world learning opportunities. These student-facing options are designed to address the needs of key personas, helping them build the AI competencies they need to reach their goals, all available through the IBM SkillsBuild program.
Key Program Components:
- Faculty Training: IBM is deepening its relationships with universities by connecting with professors, offering training and resources to enhance their students’ abilities. This approach broadens the impact of training by extending the training’s reach. To this end, the company is offering enhanced training with new generative AI coursework. Faculty at select universities will also get access to IBM Solutions such as watsonx, an AI product portfolio, and Granite, a family of open-source large language models (LLMs). IBM experts will offer additional guidance and support to allow professors more options to incorporate advanced AI in the curriculum.
- Free Generative AI Courses: IBM offers new free online courses to help students explore generative AI. These courses are available to students in any university program, regardless of their discipline. These courses give a foundational understanding of AI and introduce generative AI technologies. The courses are about an hour each and cover topics like exploring speech to text, building a chatbot, and an introduction to open-source LLMs. IBM SkillsBuild also hosts on-campus activation events to help students complete these courses.
- Hands-on Labs: Students studying computer science, IT, or related fields at the university level can access hands-on labs to deepen their AI learning with interactive components. These exercises help students develop their AI expertise by diving into topics like code generation and data classification using LLMs, such as IBM Granite. Students can also earn digital credentials that are recognized by future employers.
- Capstone Projects and Innovation Challenges: IBM is providing watsonx to selected universities for students to create real-world solutions. This offering targets advanced technical undergraduate or graduate students. Students work with IBM experts and professors to create capstone projects over a semester. IBM mentors will equip the students with project statements, sometimes from IBM clients across various industries. Students can also participate in innovation challenges, such as hackathons, to use generative AI and LLMs, such as Granite.
Program Results
Early success stories demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. For example, two teams of university students in Boston built a chatbot using IBM’s generative AI technology through IBM SkillsBuild. The goal of this tool is to help students determine if their work outside of the traditional college environment could be applied for college credit. Additionally, students in India have built watsonx solutions tailored to the legal profession, farming, and nutrition. In the UK, students built a disaster-response robot using IBM’s AI and data platform technology. The robot uses advanced sensors and a virtual assistant created from scratch using IBM watsonx. It is designed to assess its environment, identify obstacles, connect with individuals on the ground, and send vital information back to rescue teams.
Looking Ahead
The pace of AI innovation continues to inspire businesses, making skilled talent more critical than ever. With the rise of open-source AI models, the speed of transformation is not slowing down. The future of AI will depend on students, educators, and professionals with the skills to use and manage AI agents, as well as build them. IBM intends to expand its work with more schools and learners from various disciplines in the months ahead. This includes enhancing resources for university faculty, expanding the catalog of AI coursework for students, and collaborating on creating new and innovative AI and open-source solutions. Along with universities and IBM SkillsBuild partners, the company is investing in the technological talent pipeline and preparing them for the marketplace.
If you are a student, visit the IBM SkillsBuild site. Universities or faculty can learn more or participate through this link: https://skillsbuild.org/organizations-supporting-college-students/interest-form
