Dubbed as the company’s Corporate Peace Corps, IBM said the program seeks to "build and develop local communities so that they can participate in the global economy by aligning the core skills of the company to solve real problems."

The Philippines is one of the countries where 12 teams of IBM employees are scheduled to visit.

Veloso will join other nine IBM employees from the US, Japan, China, India, and UK as a team assigned to go to Tanzania, Africa. Veloso is currently the team lead for a large global account doing relocation and expat services under IBM’s HR Delivery Services.

"I am really excited to be part of this project," said Veloso in a statement issued by the company. "It has also been my dream to be of service to other communities around the world. I am very thankful that IBM has given me this opportunity."

Aside from the Philippines, the employees will be sent to Romania, Turkey, Vietnam, Ghana, and Tanzania this year to work on projects that intersect economic development and information technology. The assignments were selected to use the skills IBM employees possess, the company said.

In the Philippines, the Corporate Peace Corp is expected to proceed to Cagayan de Oro and Davao City where they will create management information systems to track progress of loan and grant beneficiaries from the Philippine Development Assistance Program.

More than 5,000 employees applied to the program and only 100 were selected, making this one of the most competitive employee programs ever created by the company. IBM will select another 100 before the end of the year and has committed to enabling 600 of its emerging leaders to participate in this program over the next three years, the company added.

"It’s a corporate version of the Peace Corps," James Velasquez, country general manager of IBM Philippines, said in a statement. "What we as a company get are leaders with a broader range of skills that can function in a global context."

After a competitive bid process involving 32 global non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focused on volunteer placement of private sector professionals, IBM teamed with three: Citizen’s Development Corp based in Washington D.C., Canadian-based Digital Opportunity Trust, and Australian Business Ventures.

An important design point for the program, which is part of the Global Citizen’s Portfolio program announced by IBM chief executive officer Sam Palmisano, is to provide employees the chance to build networks with people they might never interact with.

"This will also enable employees to bring different perspectives and expertise to solving problems, as well as encourage interaction with people from different cultural backgrounds and traditions," the company said.

Prior to departure, the IBM teams will engage in three months of preparatory work to learn about local customs, culture, language, project goals and the socio-economic and political realities of their destination countries. After their country service, employees will share their experience in their home communities and with the company.