Daring innovators: The first IBM Corporate Service Corps program in Budapest
During October 2018, four Hungarian institutions partnered with IBM Corporate Service Corps (CSC) and Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) to implement better-specialized techniques and tools in the workplace.
The initiative is part of IBM’s global Corporate Social Responsibility program that sends IBM staff to different areas around the world to volunteer for one-month periods and provide pro-bono consulting expertise to local stakeholders comprised of public sector institutions, including universities, governments and non-governmental organizations.
At DOT, we implement and facilitate the CSC program, which means that we set up the IBMers with meaningful and impactful opportunities to be daring social innovators in local communities — applying their skills and knowledge in support of local organizations facing complex challenges.
In 2018, Budapest hosted Hungary’s inaugural IBM CSC mission. Four leading organizations participated in the deployment program and received community benefits: the ICT Association of Hungary (IVSZ) — Hungary’s largest association of information and communication technology firms; Budapest University of Technology & Economics Center for Higher Education and Industry Cooperation (BME-FIEK) — encouraging sustainable synergies between industry and university; Budapest Enterprise Agency (BEA) — connecting entrepreneurs and start-up businesses with industry; and Impact Hub Budapest — providing collaborative network that connects people from every profession to pursue enterprising ideas.
For this deployment, 14 IBMers from all corners of the globe (including Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Vietnam) leveraged their unique technological, analytical, and design skills to assist these four organizations in solving some of the issues Budapest’s initiatives and communities face.
Read some of the Tweets and see some of the photos collected below about the month the IBMers spent in Budapest.
Arrival & Orientation — 28–29 September
Kick Off Ceremony — 1 October
“Weʼre glad to welcome the first Corporate Service Corps mission to Hungary. The programʼs realization in the country also has a symbolic significance, showing our long-term commitment to tackling challenges that involve local communities. The mission provides an opportunity for highly qualified IBM experts to utilize their knowledge in a different setting than their work corporate world. They can work for the purpose of helping governments, NGOs, and other innovative organizations in order to make Hungarian people even more successful in many walks of life.” — Peter Rehus, IBM Hungary Country Leader.
The opening ceremony was held in the Industry 4.0 Technology Center of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics on October 1st, 2018. It brought together representatives from the four host organizations (ICT Association of Hungary (IVSZ), Budapest University of Technology, University-Industry Cooperation Center(BME FIEK), Budapest Enterprise Agency (BEA) and Impact Hub Budapest) and was also attended by local authorities and media personnel.
Read more about the opening ceremony here, in the Budapest Business Journal:
“We were also supported by distinguished guest speakers: Peter Szalay and Peter Rehus (IBM Hungary leadership), as well as Balazs Szepesi, Deputy State Secretary at the Ministry of Innovation and Technology and Attila Kotan, Chancellor of the Budapest University of Technology and Economics. I feel truly proud to be part of this program and proud to be an IBMer.” — Lindsay Martin, IBM CSC team member.
The pro-bono social responsibility projects IBMers took on during deployment that supported Budapest’s organizations and communities included the following:
The Development of a Strategic Plan for Building a Scalable AI Hub:
The Development of an Interactive Digital Ecosystem Framework:
Supporting the development of a three-year Strategic Plan to improve SMEs in Budapest, with a particular focus on youth and women entrepreneurs meeting the digitization challenge:
Developing an Online E-Learning Platform to Improve Entrepreneurial Skills of Women in Rural Areas:
Community Service Day — 15 October
The Community Service Day (CSD) was organized with the support of the Municipality of District VIII of Budapest and in collaboration with Budapest Enterprise Agency. Community Service Day was conducted as a social hackathon competition for startups at the student and Enterprise Development Center, Horánszky 13.
This event was also featured in the local media. You can access the article (in Hungarian) here:
Closing Ceremony
Budapest Enterprise Agency hosted the Closing Ceremony of the deployment on October 26th at the IBM Budapest Lab. Each team had the opportunity to present an executive summary of their findings and recommendations to the guests and stakeholders in attendance.
The event was present in the local media (in Hungarian and English):
After the deployment
Thank you IBM CSC Budapest team for your impactful work in Hungary!
DOT is one of IBM’s implementation partners for the CSC and SCC programs. The DOT-IBM partnership started 10 years ago and, to date, DOT has implemented 95 IBM deployments in 22 countries.
