This episode features Scott Piersall, a lecturer at the University of North Florida’s School of Computing. Scott’s journey into academia is anything but traditional—after high school, he had no plans to attend college. But after years of experience in the industry, he discovered a passion for teaching and is now pursuing a Ph.D. with a focus on machine learning. 

The lifelong learning takeaway? Keep your mind and options open—to new ideas, new directions, and new possibilities. 

Scott encourages his students to be bold, reminding them: “The answer is always No until you ask.” His message to mainframe professionals thinking about moving into academia is just as clear: “Don’t hesitate! Go for it—it’s fun and deeply rewarding!” 

🎧 Don’t miss this compelling conversation with Scott! 

Resources 

Visit the IBM Z Educator Hub User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for IBM Z educators to find the latest communications, news and events, as well as collaborate and network. Check out technical lecture’s, blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  

Join here 

Subscribe to “The z/Education!” Podcast. Each month we talk to IBM Z Educators from around the world on their success stories, journeys and their best practices. 

In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, businesses need platforms that don’t just keep up—they need ones that drive them forward. IBM Z and LinuxONE rise to this challenge by combining open-source flexibility with enterprise-grade performance, security, and resiliency. By leveraging open technology solutions, these platforms are empowering industries around the world to innovate at scale.

One of the most exciting developments in this space is the collaboration between Canonical—the company behind Ubuntu—and IBM. Together, they’re bringing the power of Ubuntu to IBM Z and LinuxONE, unlocking new opportunities from traditional strongholds like banking and finance to emerging sectors.

In this episode you will you'll gain fresh perspectives and real-world examples of how this partnership is driving success across industries, helping organizations modernize with agility and confidence by leveraging their current investment.

Stay Connected
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Each month, we spotlight some of the world’s most innovative companies and how they’re driving success with IBM Z.

About the Podcast
The road from junior professional to Subject Matter Expert (SME) is a long but rewarding journey, paved with learning, mentorship, and strategic career moves. This podcast serves as a guidepost for early-career professionals, tackling key challenges such as finding mentors, gaining visibility, and building expertise. Through engaging discussions and actionable strategies, we aim to help individuals stay on course and accelerate their journey on the road to becoming SMEs.

Join us on our first episode of the New to Z: Road to SME Podcast, where Joe shares his insights and expertise on the latest developments in mainframe innovation.
Joe Winchester is a Senior Technical Staff Manager and Master Inventor at IBM, known for his leadership in open-source mainframe innovation. A core contributor to Zowe since 2019, he serves on its Technical Steering Committee and helps guide the project’s evolution and community engagement. In 2024, he helped launch Zowe 3.0 and the IBMz AIOps Corner podcast, spotlighting voices across the mainframe industry. As an Open Mainframe Project Ambassador, Joe brings topics like quantum-safe encryption and resilience to global open-source and academic forums.

In this episode we talk to George Chudyk lecturer of Computer Science in Bergen Community College, New Jersey. His best advice is, “If you think of something you want to do, if you envision a solution to a problem, just do it! If you get 50 errors, fix the first two, run it again, fix the 2nd, 3rd, run it again and just try it out”! 

Listen to a lecturer who disputes textbooks and will tell you why! 

Resources 

Lecture 6 - Discover IBM Z Xplore 

Hear from Monica Siegel and George Chudyk a lecturer in Bergen Community College as they discuss the benefits of IBM Z Xplore and how to leverage this learning platform to teach about mainframes in the classroom. Listen to an educator with hands-on experience! 

Visit the IBM Z Educator Hub User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for IBM Z educators to find the latest communications, news and events, as well as collaborate and network. Check out technical lecture’s, blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  

Join here 

Subscribe to “The z/Education!” Podcast. Each month we talk to IBM Z Educators from around the world on their success stories, journeys and their best practices. 

Interskill Learning is the most awarded, widely delivered, and IBM-credentialed mainframe workforce training solution in the industry. It addresses critical mainframe skills gaps and empowers teams with scalable, cost-effective, on-demand access to an extensive, multimodal training resource-all year round.

Join us as we explore how to build a strong skills pipeline and sustain the vitality of the mainframe workforce. Hear from the exceptional CEO of Interskill Learning- Darren Surch, as he reveals how targeted training can help leaders and developers overcome challenges and drive a new era of mainframe innovation. Whether you are a seasoned tech professional or simply curious, this episode is your roadmap to future-proofing your mainframe workforce!

Resources

To learn more about Interskill Learning, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.

Dr. David Woolbright Emeritus Professor of Computer Science talks about his passion for teaching programming languages and how he made learning assembler interesting and fun!! 
His best advice “Be excited about what you're teaching and, if you're excited, the students will be excited!”. The biggest surprise reveal is that in his retirement he is a writer of mystery novels!  

Listen to this fascinating episode about his journey as an educator and an author! 

Resources 

Dr. David Woolbright’s - The Punctilious Programmer 

Visit the IBM Z Educator Hub User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for IBM Z educators to find the latest communications, news and events, as well as collaborate and network. Check out technical lecture’s, blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  

Join here

Subscribe to “The z/Education!” Podcast. Each month we talk to IBM Z Educators from around the world on their success stories, journeys and their best practices. 

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is officially in effect, bringing significant changes to how banks and financial institutions manage ICT risks and ensure operational resilience. In this video, industry experts Monica Sasso of Red Hat, PJ Di Giammarino of JWG, and Anne Leslie from IBM discuss some of the critical concepts banks need to know to stay compliant and secure in this new regulatory landscape.   

Discover: 

• Why DORA matters for the financial sector  
• Key requirements and obligations for banks  
• Practical tips to strengthen your risk management framework  

If you’re responsible for compliance, cybersecurity, or operational risk in your organization, this video is critical. Get ahead of the curve and make sure your bank is DORA-ready. 

Join the IBM Financial Services Cloud Council and Forum Community to learn, share, debate, and solve the latest challenges in financial services at: 

http://ibm.biz/fsccandf 

Testing Operational Resilience white paper: https://bit.ly/4gprsRO 

Virtel Web Suite is a powerful and highly scalable solution designed to extend the life and usability of legacy mainframe business applications—while cutting costs and simplifying infrastructure.

According to Sebastian Dewar, CTO of Virtel, “It empowers application developers to create a modern web user interface (UI) experience with a no-code, drag-and-drop tool that requires no prior knowledge of web technologies. This approach not only simplifies the modernization process but also significantly reduces costs and saves valuable time, as seen with many of our customers.”

Virtel’s Screen Redesigner takes modernization a step further by focusing on enhancing the user experience without requiring a complete overhaul of the application. It offers a fresh, modern look and feel, providing developers with a seamless and intuitive experience.

As Dewar further explains, “Mainframes are the backbone of critical business applications, and they must be seamlessly integrated into the broader IT ecosystem. APIs are the key to achieving this integration to stay relevant in today’s digital landscape.”

Tune in to discover how cloud, security, and artificial intelligence are driving the future of mainframe modernization—according to the experts at Virtel.

Resources

To learn more about Virtel, visit them on the web.  

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here.

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.

“Get ready for the real world! One of the best practices in teaching is to bring in real world examples, think about the context not so much straight theory”. 
A must not miss, fascinating talk with Dr. Alex Citurs on the January episode of “The z/Education! Podcast”. 

In this episode, Systemware CEO Frankie Basso shares insights on developing the next generation of mainframe talent. With over four decades of experience in creating content management services for the IBM Z platform, Systemware is dedicated to cultivating a new wave of professionals. Basso emphasizes the critical importance of establishing a skills pipeline and explains how they introduce new recruits to the potential of the mainframe. He also highlights the key skills they prioritize during training. Tune in to learn how Systemware guides recruits in understanding the mainframe's capabilities, what essential skills they focus on first, and how their development progresses – including the one aspect that often surprises new mainframe professionals.

Resources 

Visit the ISV Ecosystem User Group on the IBM Z and LinuxONE Community for more updates on how ISVs and partners are innovating the IBM Z platform: blogs, events, videos, discussions, and more.  Join here. 

Subscribe to z/Action! Each month we meet some of the world's most innovative companies as they share how they're expanding horizons and driving success with IBM Z.