International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) has launched a new Academic Initiative (AI) in Vietnam that will provide educational curriculum and technology to develop IT amongst high calibre Vietnamese students.

The computer giant has been active in its educational funding in the country. Since 2004 it has been collaborating with 11 tertiary institutions to train over 1,000 tertiary students yearly on open standards-based technologies.

The company has also been working to undertake joint research programmes with academics to meet the increasing demand for highly skilled IT professionals in one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.

With this new initiative, the Ankrom, a New York - based computer maker, will sponsor a number of faculty and student seminars and workshops while extending support to graduate students to complete post- graduate studies.