IBM Exec to Give Two Talks for Students Thurs., Sept. 4

Michigan Tech alumnus John Soyring, IBM's vice president for solutions and software, will give two talks on campus for students Thursday, Sept. 4.

His first, "Banker to the Poor: Computer Science and Social Responsibility," will be held at 3 p.m. in Dow 641 for business management and introductory computer science students.

His second, for first-year engineering students, is "Your Future: Michigan Tech and Beyond," at 6 p.m. in the Rozsa Center.

Both talks are free and open to the public; seating is limited.

In his evening talk, Soyring will discuss how to identify innovation that really matters to business and society and how to develop the core competencies needed to be a top contributor, both as a student and in the business world.

In "Banker to the Poor," he will touch on micro-lending, including the work Muhammed Yunus and the Grameen Foundation to fight poverty through very small loans that enable the poor to start businesses. Soyring guides IBM's support of the project in line with the company's investment strategy "Innovation that Matters—For Our Company and for the World."

Soyring joined IBM in 1976 after graduating from Michigan Tech with a BS in Electrical Engineering. In his current position, he provides global business leadership for a multi-billion-dollar portion of the IBM software business. He has received an honorary doctorate in engineering from Michigan Tech and is a member of the University's National Campaign Committee, a group of 10 select alumni and friends who are steering and advising the current fundraising campaign.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.