I've Been Accepted To CSC

Welcome to my blog everyone!

Time has flown by since May when I was official notified of my acceptance into the IBM Corporate Services Corp Program. Following quickly on the heels of that, came notification that I'd be deployed to Chengdu, China in late August.

As I prepare this first entry, I'm still awe struck - what an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in the Chinese culture & business environment, participate in business consulting initiatives that will stretch my skills & capabilities and to visit areas surrounding Chengdu that were devastated by the May 2008 earthquake where I'll work with local school children.

Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province, and has the fastest growing economy in Western China. The population is 11 Million +, is a subtropical zone and has distinct seasons (during Aug. temperature averages 25 & is down around 21 centigrade by late September).

Chengdu has a 2300 year history, with abundant cultural relics and is the political, economic and cultural center of southwest China. It is also an important city along the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, is home to world famous Sichuan cuisine, and the Giant Panda Breeding & Research Center. To learn more about Chengdu, see the link on the right of this page.

Stay tuned and follow me on this incredible journey!

The CSC Program & My Assignment

The Corporate Service Corp (CSC) program is a signature component of IBMs Global Citizens program (announced July 2007). It provides opportunities for IBMers to develop global leadership skills and develop as a global corporate citizen.

The CSC program addresses the worlds most challenging societal, environmental, and education issues. Working in diverse, multi-national teams IBMers provide in depth business and IT consulting support to clients in strategic emerging markets.

In 2008 100 IBMers completed their assignments, this year the program is being extended to 500 participants -- I'm part of the 3rd team working in China alongside 8 other team members. IBMers reading this blog - if you want to learn more about CSC go to 'website (behind firewall) at https://w3.webahead.ibm.com/CorporateServiceCorpsRegistration/. For everyone else, check out the New York Times article link (see right panel).

It wasn't long after I'd been accepted to the program that I heard I'd be deployed to China, and quickly after that the 3 months of prework began. This involves completion of a modularized online education program (covering logistics, cultural adaptability, teambuilding & leadership, to name a few topics). Aditionally weekly calls with the larger team and our NGO commenced to better understand our mandate while in China. I've included a link to the right called Our Assignment - under that you'll find links to a list of our very diverse team, and more details on my assignment (Public Sector subteam) -- check it out.