Students! Create a vision for your school, community, or the world…one that matters. Use your passion for digital skills to grow as a leader & changemaker.
What’s the IBMZ-4-Good Ideathon?
If you’re inspired by the power of Tech for Good to bring communities together and help make the world a better place….and want to share your vision with a global audience, check out our IBMZ-4-Good Ideathon and register today.
By taking part, you will be part of something bigger and create solutions that enable you to use your passion for digital skills to grow as a leader and changemaker. Oh, and you can even have an opportunity to win $1,000, present on a global, virtual stage, and see receive mentorship from IBM for one year!
Did you know that according to the United Nations, there's a massive disconnect between the skills required to be digitally literate and reality on-the-ground? This is well noted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
By participating in the IBMZ-4-Good Ideathon, you’ll hear from student speakers and industry subject matter experts on each of the key skill-building topics below. We look forward to sharing ideas, collaborating with you and empowering students from across the globe with the skills necessary to pay your passion for technology forward in your local community and around the world.
IBMZ-4-Good Ideathon Skill-Building Agenda
- How can you bring purpose & passion into your tech for good career and do things that matter?
- What's it like to work in enterprise computing from the viewpoints of three early-stage tech professionals working in data security, app development, and systems admin roles?
- What is enterprise computing, why does it matter, and what skills do you need to land a high paying job?
- What are the best practices for community building? How can you inspire digital skill-building in your local community?
- What does it mean to be digitally literate? What skills do you need to know and how can you share these within your community to get the world skilled up?
- What platform can you use to learn new tech skills and languages, earn badges, win prizes, gain access to scholarship money, and land a high-paying job in enterprise computing?
- How can you craft your personal brand with meaningful, impactful, and emotionally relevant stories as you go on your journey of sharing your digital skills forward and doing things that matter in the world?
Register here today and you are in! Be sure to invite your friends who share your passion for tech for good and join the event early.
After your training, you will be encouraged to share your ideas to land additional prizes from IBM. Expect to submit ideas following the three digital skilling themes noted below.
Ideathon Challenge Themes
- Gender Inclusion in Technology Skill-Building
- Access to Digital Skills Education
- Racial Inequality in Digital Skill-Building
Globally Recognized IBMZ-4-Good Ideathon e-Book
Your ideas will be published in a globally recognized e-book where the voice of youth, YOUR VOICE, will be shared with the world. What does it take to win? Join the Ideathon, submit your ideas via the instructions provided during the event, share your skills forward following the event, and help make the world more digitally skilled. For sharing your skills forward, you will have an opportunity to win another $1,000 to go toward your education expenses, but you have to attend the Ideathon to learn more.
IBMZ-4-Good Ideathon Prizes
All individuals and/or teams that complete the final submission process will receive a Certificates of Participation from Ideathon collaborators.
1st Place:
- 1st place winners from each theme will be invited to our Incubation Bootcamp and receive hands-on coaching from IBM mentors and leaders to further progress the idea throughout the year. Winners will have an opportunity to present their progress at the Ideathon Summit in December of 2021, which will be attend by IBM Senior Leadership.
- 1st place winners will receive special access to the IBM SkillsBuild platform to hone in on your professional development and personal skills.
- 1st place winners will be paired with an IBM Mentor for the 2021 calendar year.
2nd Place and 3rd Place:
- 2nd and 3rd place winners from each theme will be invited back for an exclusive IBM Design Thinking Workshop focused by theme. During these sessions, 2nd and 3rd place winners will work through Design Thinking Methodologies and Practices for use in future events.
- 2nd and 3rd place winners will be paired with an IBM Mentor for the 2021 calendar year.
Come to learn new tech skills, become a changemaker and leader, share your digital skills forward, and inspire your classroom, school, community, and the world.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Don’t forget to register!
Naguib Atta
Vice President
Global University Programs, IBM
@NaguibAttia
Melissa Sassi
Chief Penguin, IBM Z
Student & Entrepreneur Experience
@mentorafrika
Gilda Doria
Corporate Social Responsibility Leader
@gilda_doria