Media Invitation11 March 2009

Republic Polytechnic, Red Hat and IBM Collaborate to Ready Next Generation of Singapore IT Professionals
Launching ASEAN's First Linux on IBM System z Training Programme Made Possible by A Combined Investment of S$5.45M

Republic Polytechnic (RP), the tertiary institution that approaches learning with a difference, announced today their business partnership with Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) to offer Linux training for RP students and industry professionals. This ‘Red Hat Enterprise Linux on IBM’s System z mainframe’ training earns RP the honour of being the first-ever educational institution in ASEAN to embrace the Red Hat Academy and IBM System z Academic Initiative programmes jointly. RP expects to train up to 150 students and 75 industry professionals over the next three years.

The collaboration complements the current System z Operating Systems (z/OS) training offered by RP’s School of Information and Communications Technology (SIT) and aims to offer skills enablement for the next generation of entrepreneurs, IT specialists and business leaders. The new training programme will ensure RP graduates and industry professionals are well-trained in open standards-based technologies and Open Source software used by many employers and help pave the way to an expanded pool of trained personnel ready to meet the growing demand for Open Source skills and enhance Singapore’s greater competitiveness. This programme was made possible through a combined investment by IBM, Red Hat and RP, over three years, of S$5.45m to cover hardware, software licenses, services and maintenance support.

Your journalist and photographer/camera crew are cordially invited to this milestone event:

Date

18 March 2009, Wednesday

Time

 

9.00 am

Media registration and arrival of guests

9.30 am
  • Welcome address by Mr Mervin Beng, Director, School of Information and Communications Technology, RP
  • Speech by Mr. Eden Liew, Deputy Principal (Corporate Affairs), RP
  • Speech by IBM Singapore Executive
  • Speech by Mr Harish Pillay, Open Source Evangelist, Red Hat Asia Pacific

9.50 am

Official Signing Ceremony (media photo opportunity)

9.55 am

Media Q & As

10.20 am

Certificate Presentation to RP Students

10.30 am

Refreshments

11.00 am

End

Venue

 Level 3, Room 306, Suntec Convention Centre, 1 Raffles Boulevard, Suntec City

Kindly confirm your attendance by Tuesday, 17 March 2009.

For interview requests and further details, please contact:

Republic Polytechnic
Benjamin Chow
Tel: 31001779
Email: benjamin_chow@rp.sg

Mileage Communications Pte Ltd
Ooi Kelly/ Ronald Wong
Tel: 62221678
Email: kelly@mileage.com.sg / ronald@mileage.com.sg