IBM to Set Up Innovation Center for Higher Education

IBM (NYSE: IBM), the University of South Carolina (USC), and Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) announced Friday the formation of the Center for Applied Innovation.

The Center will provide application services to both public and private sector organizations across North America with specialties in the areas of analytics and higher education industry solutions.

As part of the initiative, the organizations will collaborate on tailored IT curricula and advanced analytic techniques for personalized learning.

“The Center for Applied Innovation is the realization of the University of South Carolina’s vision to advance higher education through strong, public-private partnerships,” USC president Harris Pastides said.

The collaboration is part of an ongoing effort to expand student skills and understanding of applied computing to meet the growing demand for highly skilled IT professionals and business leaders.

IBM and USC will develop internship opportunities that better link the classroom with career pathways as well as curricula to build analytics skills that support businesses both locally and across North America.

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IBM will work with the Darla Moore School of Business as well as USC’s College of Engineering and Computing to team with companies in the region on analytics solutions to their most pressing business challenges.

As a partner in the Center, Fluor Corporation — a global organization in engineering, procurement, fabrication, construction and project management — will serve as a strategic advisor, providing insight into emerging trends and requirements that will drive offerings delivered from the center. Fluor also has a major operations center in nearby Greenville, S.C.

The Center for Applied Innovation will initially be located in existing facilities on USC’s campus and is expected to move to a new office building in the Innovista Research District anticipated to open in 2016.