The IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) Program

After an intense application that was submitted in early 2010 and a year long wait, I finally received word in March this year that I had been selected to participate in the IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) program in Brazil.


The #ibmcsc program, often called the corporate version of the “Peace Corps” was developed as part of an initiative to empower IBM employees as global citizens by sending groups of 10 – 15 individuals from different countries around the world to an emerging market for four week community based assignments. During the assignment, participants perform community-driven economic development projects working at the intersection of business, technology, and society. The program is now in its third year and have so far deployed over 100 teams to 24 countries around the world.


I will be part of #brazil team 10 working in the south of Brazil in a city called Porto Alegre. We are a team of 14 #ibmers from Australia, USA, Turkey, Slovakia, Canada, Japan, China, Switzerland, France, Korea and Venezuela. We will be working in small teams with various NGOs based in Porto Alegre to help them improve their services and offerings.


As part of my assignment, myself and a colleague from China will be working with an NGO called Fundação Pensamento Digital (FPD). "FPD is a non-profit organization based in Porto Alegre that provides educational skills (with a focus on ICT skills) to underserved groups, with the mission of fully developing them as human beings and engaging them as critical citizens in the greater ICT community." Our brief is to thoroughly assess their educational services in the community of Vila Cruzeiro and systemize them so they may be presented as a social technology model to educators, schools and government agencies interested in improving education in under-served communities. 


So after a year in waiting, 3 months of pre-work and weekly late night phone calls with #ibmcsc #Brazil team 10, we are now preparing to deploy and will be touching down in Porto Alegre on 2nd July. We are definitely going to have an exciting month ahead of us.. so click back here frequently to follow my progress and adventures as I set off on this life-changing experience.


Follow the rest of the IBM CSC participants all over the world
https://www-304.ibm.com/social/aggregator/corporate_service_corps