Student Leaders today

We had a really good meeting this afternoon with the President, Vice President and Secretary of Students at the University today. Wow - what smart people. The purpose of the meeting was to tell them about IBM, why we were there, and to talk in general about careers in computing. They were all students in the IT part of the university - so they were very interested in listening and learning and had some great questions. All of us that are from IBM have very different jobs and different backgrounds - and we represent 7 different countries - so we were really able to share all of the different types of things you can do in the industry. It was fun talking about the company to people that were aware of us, but didn't know much about us. We got to talk about the IBM Corporate Service Corps (the program that we're in), about social responsibility of the company, all the industries and businesses we serve. Most of this discussion was in response to their questions - so they were very interested and engaged. They also asked our points of view on the potential and timing for Tanzania to be able to embrace and leverage computing. It was clear that they were all thinking about what they're going to do for a career when they graduate from UDOM. It was a very rich conversation that I truly enjoyed - and I think we all did.

Some of you may not think this would be fun...but it was actually really interesting. First - the student leaders were very smart, and asked some thoughtful and great questions ..and it is always nice to be around what are clearly going to always be leaders in whatever they do. Second, I got to hear from my own international team of colleagues about what they do when they're not in Africa - and everyone put it in a really interesting context. Then the questions were interesting so the discussion was interesting.

There are so many contrasts in Tanzania. This is a cash economy. There are visa signs - but they are on ATMs and largely for those cash machines only. Even hotels are paid for in cash. Most shopping seems to occur in roadside stands. Schools rarely have computers for children to see or use. Processes are largely manual, yet there are also many sophisticated processes in place and very smart people together with big investments in IT. Everything is a contrast, and everyday is learning. I really have met so many interesting people here. I know the blog is largely focusing on the elements around our work days for the most part, the work has been very interesting, and meeting so many interesting people has been great, and a wonderful way to keep my eyes and mind wide open. I am very lucky to have this experience.