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Zurich, Switzerland, 13 November 2007—Sixty-five
students from universities in Switzerland, France, Germany, and
even as far afield as the US and India attended the career information
event of the Zurich Lab's Computer Science
department. This event gave students the opportunity to
gain insight into some of our current computer science projects.
Meeting with researchers as well as graduate and undergraduate
students currently working at the Zurich Lab gave our young visitors
a first-hand impression on what research at the Zurich Lab is
like.
Several workshops gave students an opportunity to dive
deeper in the Computer Science department's
main areas of research: security and privacy, systems
management,
business optimization, and
business process
management and transformation.
The final joint Q&A session and informal get-together
left time for fruitful discussions and networking.
The response by the visiting students
was very positive. The variety of job opportunities — ranging
from internships to graduate and undergraduate positions as well
as regular positions — met with keen interest among the young
career seekers. Many were also enthusiastic
about pursuing research in an environment where science intersects
the market. "I
came here today because I am excited about working on
something that really makes a difference in the marketplace,"
one student visitor told us. Doug Dykeman, Computer Science manager
at the Zurich Lab, concurred, elaborating that "Our research
projects don't
end with a paper. We want to bring our research
to life. That's why we place a strong focus on technology transfer — working
with development teams and even going out of the labs and working
directly with our clients."
The work in interdisciplinary
research teams was another aspect that appealed strongly to
the students. "Innovation today is not achieved by one outstanding
individual, but by an outstanding team," emphasized
Hans Hofmann, Human Resources manager at the Zurich Research Lab.
Hofmann specifically encouraged the participating
female students to consider a scientific or technical career at
IBM Research. Women represented roughly one-third of the event
participants, which is more than twice
the average percentage of women researchers in Switzerland and
most western European countries. "We
are committed to promoting more women in research,"
Hofmann said. "In our experience, our women researchers, though
few in numbers, excel and
are often crucial contributors to the success of our research
teams."
One female student at the event pointed
out that a career in computer science "is ideal for
women who are interested in technology. There is no hard physical
work involved and you can be extremely flexible. You can basically
work from anywhere and anyplace." Jana Koehler, manager
of the Zurich Lab's Business Integration Technologies group,
went even further, explaining that "On the one hand,
the working flexibility that a job at the Zurich Lab offers is
particularly beneficial to women. On the other
hand, research at IBM also involves team work, communication
and presentation skills—skills
in which woman have always been very good." She deplores
the die-hard image that computer science is "for geeks only",
and feels that this discourages women from pursuing
a career in this "exciting
field of research that offers a great spectrum of interesting challenges
and combines exploratory with applied aspects."
The impressive participation
and interest among the female students at this event, however,
are reason for optimism. Concluded Hofmann: "Seeing so many
women among the participants today is very encouraging, and we
hope that some of them will be working with us in the future."
Find pictures from the event
below (click on desired image to enlarge).
Learn more about
About the IBM Zurich Research Lab
Member of a global research community
The IBM Zurich Research Laboratory is the European branch of IBM
Research. This worldwide network of some 3500 employees in eight
laboratories around the globe is the largest industrial IT research
organization in the world. The Zurich laboratory, which was established
in 1956, currently employs some 330 persons, representing more than
30 nationalities. World-class research and outstanding scientific
achievements—most remarkably two Nobel Prizes—are associated
with this lab. ZRL's spectrum of research activities ranges from
basic science and fundamental research in physics and mathematics,
to the development of computer systems and software, to the design
of novel business models and services.
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