On February 22, approximately 20 international visitors from IBM locations in Bulgaria, China, Canada and the U.S. were in Longmont to learn about advanced technologies and virtual reality from the Innovation Center students and staff. As room 260 in the new Innovation Center was buzzing with energy, Innovation Center students help visitors from IBM put in their virtual reality headsets and step into another world.
“The collaborative relationship between the district and IBM, including the IBM P-Tech program, has great visibility at the IBM Corporate ranks and working with the Innovation Center has given the local IBM Boulder team opportunities to showcase their involvement in our community to their senior management team,” shared Tom Darcy, Director of Advanced Technologies and Innovation.
During the demonstration, visitors dove into the ‘realm of the feasible’ in developing and employing skills based upon the advanced technologies our students and district are using. “They are working with their senior management team to introduce these tools (e.g. VR) into their own training programs and feel showing them what we’re doing will help them advance their cause,” added Darcy.
The highlight of the day was the opportunity for St. Vrain Valley students to become the teachers and showcase how they are using virtual reality both in the classroom and to design solutions to real-world problems.
“This is very synergistic to the other areas of the partnership we have with IBM, while demonstrating yet another area where our students are defining and developing career paths of the future,” shared Darcy.