Says Arun Srideshmukh, deputy general manager, IBM Global Services Pvt. Ltd: ``In terms of the courseware, our programmes are developed to suit the needs of Indian professionals. Most Indian students want to take up computer courses that will help them in their careers and provide them with comprehensive knowledge. The IBM ACE programme in India does just that.''

IBM ACE offers two courses--Power User and Applications Developer. The Power User course is designed for those who wish to acquire a broad and comprehensive understanding of computers and computing. This course is particularly suited for professionals who would like to make optimum use of the computing facilities widely available in their respective areas of expertise.

The Applications Developer courseis designed for those who wish to make a career as programmers, system analysts and software designers. The course has been developed in association with the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Lotus Development Corp. and Catapult Inc.

Every IBM ACE centre is equipped with the latest in hardware and software. Says N N Khurana, general manager, education and training, IBM Global Services India Pvt. Ltd: ``Students can work independently on the latest IBM PCs loaded with a range of software, including products from IBM, Lotus, Microsoft, Oracle and Netscape, apart from access to the Internet and the Intranet.''

The biggest differentiation in quality of training offered comes from the IBM brand name, claim IBM officials. The fact that IBM in India began its efforts on the education front a little late as compared with other IT MNCs does not seem to bother the company much. Says Khurana: ``This is the third phase of our strategy. As such, there has to be a time element in implementation.''

Six yearsago, when IBM started its computer education programme internationally, its key focus of training and education was to provide IBM consumers the skills required to perform their tasks within their respective organisations. It was then slowly expanded to include all those IBM customers who buy IBM products, to train them to develop skills.

In the third phase, this was expanded to go beyond the customer to look at bridging the gap between supply and demand for trained software application developers in India. For this purpose, IBM designed a course--Application Developer--which was aimed at graduates who wished to take up an intensive course that would enable them to be trained in the fundamentals of computer services as well as all the latest tools and languages used in the software industry.

Internationally, IBM Education conducted its first course in New York City. Since then, education and training have become an integral part of the company. Today, IBM Education claims to be the world's largestcomputer training organisation with more than 2,000 instructors, education centres in more than 56 countries and a repository of more than 6,000 courses covering almost all aspects of IT.

Over the years, IBM has developed a structured methodology--Structured Approach to Training and Evaluation (SATE)--that covers each step of the training process. All courseware is designed using this approach and every class is evaluated with SATE's four-level, class-effectiveness evaluation method.

In India, IBM ACE has adopted the franchise system to launch its education programme across the country. According to Khurana, IBM will bring in higher value through curriculum development, instructor training and marketing activities. Business partners will then deliver on management experience and infrastructure investment to the training centre.

Last year, IBM set up 15 centres across the country; this year, the number has gone up to 21. In order to ensure a similar branding experience, all aspects for setting upACE--location, ambience, course programme and so on, are standardised. The training sessions for the faculty are also standardised to maintain a uniform quality of teaching.

According to Khurana, the high-end educational programmes will distinguish IBM from other computer programmes that are available in the country. The other programmes that are available currently are mostly at the low-end of computer education, meeting just basic needs, he claims.

``With the IBM reputation backing us, we are focussing on platform-specific training for software programmers. We will continue to look at developments in this area and address them so that these efforts will act as our USP. We are also looking at expanding the network in the country with a range of offerings,'' explains Khurana.

The success of the education programme in India can be evaluated from the fact that it has been handed over the task of setting up ACE in other developing countries. The Indian arm has been assisting IBM companies in South Africa,Bangladesh and the Philippines in setting up ACE.

The major task for IBM India, says Srideshmukh, is to set up the infrastructure and train their counterparts in other countries in managing it. ``We impart the know-how and they take it forward from there. It is all within the IBM family,'' he says.