Centered on the “ASTEM” fields—architecture, science, technology, engineering and math—the mission of RRTN is to educate young people on both the vast opportunities and the cultural legacy of black achievement in these fields, and to connect them to a supportive community in which related skills and aspirations can take root. A central tenet is “learn by doing” within collaborative partnerships.

1. Case Study
IBM Software Education
Named in honor of Robert Robinson Taylor, the first known black
graduate of MIT (in 1892) and the first professionally educated black
architect in the U.S., the Robert R. Taylor Network (RRTN) is an
economic empowerment and development organization focused on
technology entrepreneurship and innovation and dedicated to widening
the horizons of underserved and underrepresented youths, especially
black youths. The organization serves a global base of students with
nearly 20 staff members and a growing network of partners worldwide.
Challenge
Centered on the “ASTEM” fields—architecture, science, technology,
engineering and math—the mission of RRTN is to educate young
people on both the vast opportunities and the cultural legacy of black
achievement in these fields, and to connect them to a supportive
community in which related skills and aspirations can take root.
A central tenet is “learn by doing” within collaborative partnerships.
The RRTN program currently encompasses three main components:
an online historical timeline with links showcasing black achievers in
the ASTEM fields, a series of summer institutes, and entrepreneurial
activities advanced by promising young students around the world in
partnership with MIT-affiliated mentors.
In its current early phase of development, RRTN has more than
250 partners on its global network, including students, sponsoring
organizations, CEOs, community activists, engineers and many other
professionals. An initial project centers on working with high-school
youths from Brockton, Massachusetts, as that city undertakes economic
redevelopment. Much of the organization’s work at this stage is in
building its alliances with partners and co-creating the norms and
standards for doing collaborative work.
Solution
As a global initiative, RRTN needed a simple, secure and cost-effective
way to support interactions among program staff, partners, youths and
Robert R. Taylor Network
students learn by doing
IBM SmartCloud Engage services help teach students
what it means to build business-grade solutions
Overview
Limited staff, global focus
The Robert R. Taylor Network (RRTN)
organization sought a simple, secure and
cost-effective way to support interactions
among program staff, partners, youths
and mentors who are widely separated
by geography.
Creating a virtual community
RRTN chose IBM SmartCloud Engage,
a suite of cloud-based collaboration
capabilities that can help bring people
and information together quickly and
easily across boundaries.
Hands-on learning
With the high quality IBM cloud-based
collaboration service, RRTN eliminated
the need for new hardware and IT support
staff, saving substantial time and keeping
the focus on delivery of products and
solutions instead of building a global
infrastructure.
Solution Components:
Cloud service
• IBM SmartCloud™ Engage

2. Please Recycle
LOC14150-USEN-02
“Where we are creating something that has to be
creditable from day one and withstand the test of
time, I was committed to building on a platform
I could rely on, from a brand of excellence. IBM was
a simple choice.”
— Darian Hendricks, CEO, Robert R. Taylor Network at MIT
mentors who may be widely separated by geography. To achieve this
objective, the organization chose the IBM SmartCloud™ Engage
(formerly IBM LotusLive™ Engage) suite of collaboration capabilities
that can help bring people and information together quickly and easily
across boundaries.
Delivered over the web as a Software as a Service (SaaS) offering,
the SmartCloud Engage suite provides a collaboration infrastructure,
helping to create the identity and sense of community critical to
mobilizing a virtual organization. Using member profiles, a central
documents repository, file sharing and web conferencing facilities,
RRTN supports collaborative strategy and planning, community
building, research, team projects and technology development.
RRTN will soon launch its Venture Network, using the SmartCloud
Engage infrastructure to pair black youths with MIT graduates, venture
capitalists, angel investors and mentors in project-driven relationships.
The goal will be to help the students generate, validate and develop
entrepreneurial ideas and bring them to market as viable products
and services.
Benefits
• Eliminates the need for new hardware and IT support staff, saves
time, and puts more focus on delivery of products and solutions
and less on the infrastructure for building a global organization
• Overcomes connectivity barriers in underdeveloped parts of the
world with standards-based access using browsers and mobile
devices via the web
• Helps win sponsor confidence with a highly secure and reliable
infrastructure that enables rapid mobilization and demonstrates
to students what it means to build business-grade solutions
For more information
To learn more about IBM SmartCloud for Social Business service
offerings, contact your IBM sales representative or IBM Business
Partner, or visit: ibmcloud.com/social
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March 2012
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