IBM announced that it is working with the Philippine government to build a new research and development lab to spur economic growth in the region.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) and the Philippines Department of Science and Technology signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to establish the first Philippine Systems & Technology R&D Laboratory to help spur economic growth in the region.

The R&D Lab is aligned with Philippines’ strategic growth initiative that calls for greater partnering between industry and government to advance four critical areas for the country: business-process outsourcing, governance for anti-corruption, talent development and innovation for a knowledge-based economy, IBM said

The new lab will touch on all four pillars and will strive to contribute to the productivity of the Filipino people and improve their quality of life through the generation and promotion of strategic technologies and expertise, IBM officials added. IBM is deeply involved in public/private partnerships to spur technologic, economic and other types of advancement in various regions.

“2012 marks IBM’s 75th year in the Philippines, and this cooperation with the DOST [Department of Science and Technology] furthers our commitment to, and trust in, the region and its people,” Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, president and country general manager of the Philippines, said in a statement. “The project is also a great example of an integrated, joint approach to research that combines IBM’s global expertise with the skills and knowledge of the Filipino people to accelerate their preparedness for the global marketplace.”

“By harnessing IBM’s experience and international best practices along with our local scientific talent, this R&D center will go a long way in building domestic capacity to support continued economic growth and global competitiveness,” Mario Montejo, secretary of the DOST, said in a statement.

Cooperation with the private sector, particularly in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry, plays a significant role in the development of the industry. “This cooperation with IBM ensures that industry and government initiatives are cohesive and yield long-term benefits for the most number of people,” Louis Casambre, executive director of DOST's Information and Communications Technology Office, said, also in a statement. “We are looking forward to more of these collaborations with other industry partners.” 

In the signed agreement, the projects to be undertaken by the Philippine Systems and Technology R&D Lab will be in line with the priority projects of the government based on the National Economic Development Authority’s (NEDA) Medium-Term Development Plan. The DOST and IBM will consider the following areas as the initial projects of the R&D Lab (subject to export and other applicable laws): project audit system and database; e-governance services, including a dashboard view for government officials; landslide predictive analytics; weather prediction and flood mapping; crime prevention; traffic management; and high-performance computing and business analytics.

IBM has maintained a presence in the Philippines since 1937. And Big Blue has evolved to become the leading IT partner in the country, providing hardware, software and IT-enabled business services to domestic and global markets, IBM officials said.

original source: www.eweek.com