Most of America’s youth already know about and make use of blogs, wikis, BitTorrent sites and podcasts. IBM and the University of Arizona are teaming up to help them put their knowledge to use in the business world by teaching them how to actually create and run businesses around these “social technologies.”

Apparently, the interest in information technology among students has significantly decreased. The Association for Computer Machinery has reported that the number of students choosing to study computer science has dropped by an average of 32 percent over the last 4 years. IBM’s aim is to encourage more of today’s students to pursue a degree in information technology.

Gina Poole, IBM’s head of university relations said that “by gaining skills on Web 2.0 and online communities, students can help businesses and employers better market and sell themselves using powerful online mediums.”

The Univeristy of Arizona will in fact be the first to offer so-called ‘Web 2.0 courses’. Social networking has been a growing trend recently and has created a new set of jobs in the tech industry. The demand for a “community manager” is on the rise. IBM wants to prepare students to fill this position.

The course will help students to understand the concept behind social networking and will promote “leadership qualities, collaboration and peer-interaction” in the classes.

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