Membership in the IBM Academic Initiative is available at no charge. Faculty members, research professionals at accredited institutions, and qualifying members of standards organizations can join.
Membership lasts for one year, but you can continually extend it by submitting a renewal form and telling us about your use of IBM software or educational materials. We will contact you twice a year for this information.
Becoming a member of the Academic Initiative requires two steps. Be sure to complete both steps!
Step 1: Register for a universal IBM ID and password
If you already have a universal IBM ID and password, go directly to Step 2.
You will use this IBM ID and password each time you want to access the benefits of the Academic Initiative that are only available to program members. You can also use it to access downloads, tutorials, webcasts, and similar resources at other IBM web sites.
Step 2: Apply for an Academic Initiative membership
The membership application process differs depending on whether you are on the faculty of an accredited school, an IBM employee, or a member of a standards organization.
Faculty: If you are a faculty member or graduate assistant who is teaching or doing research at an accredited university, college or high school, you will be required to specify your geographic location, information about your school, and plans for using our offerings.
We offer the Academic Initiative membership application for faculty in some native languages, and will be adding more languages over time.
Members of standards organizations: If you are a member of a standards body with responsibility for developing standards, you will be required to provide the following information, which will be reviewed for approval:
- Your project or subcommittee in the standards organization
- The time period for your project
- How you use IBM Academic Initiative resources for standards-related activities
- Results expected from this work
Note: Approval might take up to five weeks.