Jordanian students join open source community with new IBM Linux lab

The objective of the lab is to promote awareness of the Linux platform among the university students and offer them the opportunity to advance their skills in using open source technology. The delivery and installation of the technology in the lab was performed in collaboration with United Business Machines (UBM), IBM's business partner in Jordan.

The IBM eServer xSeries server and NetVista workstations have been installed in the lab located at the Jordan University campus. To ensure that the students fully benefit from the latest technology advances in the thriving Linux and open source community, IBM is also held a "teach-the-teacher" course for the instructors, including training on Linux fundamentals and advanced administration.

"Jordan University is enhancing its online learning programme through the Linux Lab and other initiatives. The initiative supports higher education institutions with instructional and non-commercial research opportunities and will contribute to the efforts towards more developed online learning," said Dr. Shteiwi Abdalla, Acting President, Jordan University. "With this program, our staff and students will get free access to over 1,500 original IBM software products via the Internet. The software set includes selected middleware and developer products such as DB2 Universal Database, WebSphere Application Server, MQSeries, VisualAge for Java, and Lotus Domino, all available for AIX, Windows and Linux platforms."

Due to its capability of offering substantial out of the box cost savings, there is a noticeable interest in Linux within the education sector, where institutions are starting to deploy the open source software for their internal infrastructures as well as using it for educational purposes.

"To succeed in the new business world, students must be innovative and flexible, take risks and try something different - but also value the expertise of others with hard-won experience. We believe that IBM's spirit embodies both of these characteristics. With our focus on open source projects such as Linux, IBM can broaden the students' choices, and share an enormous amount of intellectual depth as well as business acumen," said Farid Metwaly, General Manager of IBM for the Middle East, Egypt and Pakistan. "The Linux phenomenon has certainly take hold in the Middle East and is proving to be a viable technology for businesses in this region. The lab presents a great opportunity for the students to learn about this technology and use these skills to advance themselves in their careers."

"The donation of the Linux laboratory is a wonderful opportunity for IBM to give students in Jordan an even richer and more hands-on education," said Mustafa Rugibani, Chairman of United Business Machines (UBM). "We will support this initiative to the full extent as we believe in the strategic role of education and training as a fundamental mean for sustained economic growth and development."

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