BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, IBM (NYSE: IBM), and the University of South Carolina (USC) today announced the creation of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management, a unique collaboration that will build information technology (IT) opportunities of the future.
The consortium, believed to be the first of its kind anywhere, aims to converge business, academia and economic development to collaborate in growing IT talent, nurturing IT management expertise and cultivating related business and organizational relationships.
At a news event to launch the consortium, BlueCross chairman and CEO M. Edward Sellers, said the collaboration will help drive economic development in the state and nation. “What’s happening in Columbia, South Carolina, is the kind of IT growth that the IT industry desperately needs,” he said. “By converging business, academia and economic development, this new consortium will engender a sort of ‘IT greenhouse’ that is needed in the Palmetto State and across the nation.”
The consortium will address growing IT hiring challenges, such as attracting students to consider technology careers in insurance, banking, retail, airlines, petroleum and other industries dependent on high volume transaction processing. It also will dedicate efforts to directing students to companies that are hiring IT professionals.
University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides said education is the first step in developing the IT workforce.
“The university will work with teachers in our state’s middle schools and high schools to ensure that their students have the education and skills needed for IT careers,” Pastides said. “This consortium will be a great economic boon for our state as we develop opportunities for businesses and industries with our state and seek to attract those from outside South Carolina,” he said.
According to a report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, five of the nine fastest-growing occupations in the United States require a college degree in computer science or engineering. Four colleges from USC are participating in the consortium. They are the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computing, the College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management, and the Moore School of Business.
The consortium will be housed on 14,120 square feet of two floors at Horizon II in the University of South Carolina’s Innovista research campus in Columbia, S.C., Innovista is a catalyst for the Palmetto State’s future, and this consortium will have a vital role in developing the people who will be our informational technology leaders,” Pastides said.
BlueCross’ Sellers said each of the founding partners brings its own strengths to the consortium.
Through IBM’s Academic Initiative, IBM will provide software for the consortium’s future site. IBM currently provides “machine time” on its high-end server, also known as the IBM System z mainframe, for student and professor use at USC.
With financial support from BlueCross and other members, the new consortium has a board consisting of six seats currently occupied by representatives from BlueCross, IBM and USC. The board will hire an executive director and a marketing manager. As the consortium grows, board membership will increase to include other organizations.
