IBM to establish R&D lab at University of Melbourne

IBM and the Victorian Government have reached an agreement for the vendor to establish a new research and development laboratory in Victoria.

The lab will be located at the University of Melbourne and will commence operation in early 2011. It will employ around 150 people within five years.

“We look forward to joining the Australian technical and scientific community and jointly addressing some of the most pressing problems and greatest opportunities of our time,” said Dr John E Kelly III, IBM senior vice president and director of IBM Research.

Federal Innovation Minister Senator Kim Carr, said that the lab is a “vote of confidence in [Australia’s] national innovation system, and a major boost for ICT research in Australia."

Research at the lab will focus on natural resource management and natural disaster management.