NZCS Waikato_bop Events

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Hamilton, 16/11/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:23:30 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

16 November 2011: 9:15 am - 5:00 pm

Long Room Wintec House City Campus Tristram Street Hamilton

This one-day workshop will provide an introduction to the profession of project management, an overview of its terminology, practices and techniques and cover a series of practical examples - perfect for anyone looking to change career or for anyone being asked to manage small projects.

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course.

In this workshop you'll be led through real world examples from the experience your trainer brings, learning techniques and developing tools applicable to any type of small project. Working in small groups our exercises are designed to give you practical skills to develop, progress and implement commonsense Project Management in your workplace.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Colin Ellis hails from the UK and has close to 15 years multi-industry project, programme and programme office management experience. He has recently set up his own consultancy in Wellington as The PMO Guy and is providing project management training and programme and project management consultancy services to the public and private sector.

Colin is passionate about project management, is a qualified PRINCE2, MSP and P30 practitioner and is keen to work with other members of the community to ensure that the key elements of the profession are not lost in a candidate rich market.

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS Corporate Partners and approved organisations can opt to pay by invoice by calling 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee and business details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Credit criteria and other conditions apply.

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Latest and Greatest: Consumer IT Hardware Showcase (Hamilton, 12/10/2011)

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:16:23 +1300

Latest and Greatest: Consumer IT Hardware Showcase

12 October 2011: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

IBIS Hotel Pukeko Rooms 18 Alma Street Hamilton

Every techie needs their hardware fix. On behalf of their local resellers, Dove Electronics - in collaboration with NZCS - would like to invite you to an exclusive sneak-preview into some of the most outstanding new products that will be hitting shelves soon.

Note: This is next week and places are limited - please register below.

This will be one hour packed with real hardware, along with short presentations from some of Dove's product managers. If you like to stay abreast of progress in consumer IT gear, this is your chance to get ahead of the game. There will even be product managers available to answer questions.

This is a great way to update yourself on the most outstanding new products! Of course, it's also a great opportunity to catch up with the local IT crowd in a relaxed atmosphere.

Dove Electronics are one of New Zealand's largest distributors for the IT channel. They DO NOT sell to the public. However, they will provide a list of local resellers to any who are interested.

Please note - due to the short timeframe, this event will not be catered.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details, or alternatively register via our website and pay $5.00 at the door.

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National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends (Hamilton, 24/8/2011)

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 15:21:57 +1200

National Series: The Latest and Greatest Web Trends

24 August 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Long Room Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

So what are the latest and greatest in online trends in New Zealand and overseas?

Recently Trent Mankelow and his Optimal Usability team were asked to distil learning from research and design projects with 190 clients across 19 industries and present the most important online trends that are emerging here and overseas - a somewhat daunting challenge.

In this entertaining presentation Trent digs into this research to outline:

The three key attributes of world-class organisations, using local and overseas examples from a number of industries
How new devices are going to affect future experiences
Why the chief economist at Google thinks statisticians are sexy
What swearing, fairies, and dinosaurs have to do with a good customer experience
Why design is not the same as aesthetics
What you can do to join to fight for great online experiences in New Zealand

If you're interested in anything online you need to be at this presentation.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Trent Mankelow is the co-founder and CEO of Optimal Usability, New Zealand's leading usability consultancy company.

Since 2002 Optimal Usability has observed over 5,000 people interacting with all sorts of touchpoints, including websites, paper forms, kiosks, websites and IVR systems. Trent regularly speaks and writes about customer experience, service design and usability.

Registration Details:

Registration is essential and places are limited. NZCS financial members may register below now.

Others can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals (Hamilton, 23/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:12:54 +1300

NZCS Workshop: IT Governance Fundamentals

23 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Bill Gallagher Events Room Two Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

IT Governance is focused on the leadership, structures and processes that ensure that an organisation's information technology sustains and extends the overall organisation's strategies and objectives.

This half-day workshop is an introduction to the fundamentals of IT Governance, its relationship with Corporate Governance and its relevance in developing and sustaining organisations in the private and public sector.

The workshop will use a participative approach using case study material. Real world examples will be used from the real-world experience that your trainer brings. We will provide you with course notes, guides, templates and checklists as well as references for further reading.

The workshop covers the following:

An introduction to IT Governance
An overview of why organisations need IT Governance
IT Governance as a subset of Corporate Governance
Discussion of the roles of the Board, and responsibilities of executive management and the CIO
IT Governance Assessment and Maturity Model
Identification of the steps involved in implementing IT Governance
Challenges to be overcome in implementation
Skills required of CIO's, CEO's and Board member
Examples of current business/IT alignment and governance models and standards
A Board IT Governance Checklist
An overview of the ISO 38500 IT Governance Standard

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Define IT Governance and its relationship to Corporate Governance
Assess the maturity of IT governance in their organisation at a basic level
Describe the three pillars for effective IT Governance
Describe the roles and responsibilities of the Board, IT Strategy Committee, CEO, Business Executives and CIO for IT Governance
Understand the use of a Board IT Governance Checklist to uncover issues

Target Audience

Board Members, CIOs, CEOs or executives
Individuals wanting to reach those positions and needing a base-level understanding of IT Governance
Anyone with an interest in understanding IT Governance

Your Trainer

Murray Wills aka "the Virtual CIO" is Principal Consultant and Managing Director of Maxsys Limited (www.maxsys.co.nz). Murray brings extensive hands on experience as a consultant / advisor to government agencies and private sector organisations where he advises Boards, CEO's and CIO's in IT Management, Project Management and Governance.

As an author in the areas of IT strategy, project management and IT governance for industry journals, his own, and other blogs, his expertise reaches an international audience.

Murray has a Master's Degree in Business Studies from Massey University majoring in Information Systems with distinction.

Along with being a Full Member of the New Zealand Computer Society and an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), he is a Member of the NZ Institute of Directors and a Gateway Reviewer.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing (Hamilton, 11/8/2011)

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:19:51 +1300

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Software Testing

11 August 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Wintec House Long Room Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

In this information age we rely heavily on software applications and IT in both our personal and professional lives -on-line banking, Facebook, payroll, order processing, and using mobile telephones to name a few examples.

Testing is a vital discipline to ensure that these software applications and IT systems meet the identified requirements and work to an acceptable standard.

This half-day 'Introduction to Testing' course provides a high level overview of testing for both people new to testing, or those needing an awareness of the topic. The course covers the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing.

The content and terminology in this course strongly aligns with the introductory sections of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) foundation certification syllabus, providing a good foundation in testing and a stepping stone for anyone wanting a develop a career in testing.

This course will be delivered by a certified training instructor who is also a practicing test manager and IT consultant. While the course will introduce a number of concepts, these will be backed up by real world examples and applied learning.

The workshop covers the following:

What is testing and why is it necessary
Testing principles
Fundamental test process
The testing mindset
Testing within the broader software development process
Test levels and test types

Book Early - numbers are very limited

Duration: 1/2 Day

Objectives

At the end of the course attendees will be able to:

Understand the fundamental principles, processes, mindset, terminology and activities involved in testing
Understand the levels and types of testing, and how these fit into broader software development and IT processes
Provide a higher quality and more proactive testing process, and understand the importance of such

Target Audience

Developers and others who need to consider testing and be involved in the process, but that have no formal testing background
IT Professionals and managers who have been asked to participate in or manage the testing of a project or projects
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in project testing or acceptance
Anyone considering a career in testing and wanting to get an initial understanding of the topic.

Your Trainer

John O'Brien is a Senior Consultant in Equinox's IT Governance Practice. John has over 20 years of IT experience with a strong focus on testing, test management, and test strategy. In additional to his consulting and test management activities, John is a certified instructor in Equinox's training business and is an ISTQB certified testing professional.

Equinox IT is an independent IT consultancy, software development, and training company based in Wellington and Auckland - www.equinox.co.nz.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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High Performance Computing: Inside Waikato University's Symphony Cluster (Hamilton, 10/8/2011)

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:20:44 +1200

High Performance Computing: Inside Waikato University's Symphony Cluster

10 August 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room S.1.04 S Building, Waikato University Gate 1, Knighton Road Hamilton

Symphony is a cluster of computers, allowing researchers within The University of Waikato to explore uses for parallel computing without needing to find a lot of money up front. Its primary use is as a computing resource, with 92 computers of varying sizes available for a range of research computing tasks.

Symphony also offers a high-resolution display wall on level 1 of S block. This is used by researchers working with new ways of handling computer graphics, and by staff or students looking for a seriously high-resolution display for still or video images.

In this fascinating presentation Donald Neal will give an overview of Symphony and how it works.

Symphony is one part of the national BestGRID research computing resource.

Includes a light lunch.

Due to the shorter time allocated to this presentation, the speaker will begin at exactly 12:15. Please arrive at 12pm sharp so you have an opportunity to enjoy lunch before the presentation starts.

Directly following this event, Hoare Research Software are running a free seminar on parallel computing, with a focus on the MatLab mathematical programming environment. Click Here for info.

About The Speaker

Donald Neal is the high-performance computing staff of The University of Waikato.

His job includes keeping Symphony running, making it do new things, and in some cases thinking up new things for Symphony to do. With a background in both network engineering and systems administration, he is ideally placed to explain why what he just did stopped your job from running.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice (Hamilton, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:39:06 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management in Practice

27 July 2011: 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm

Ventura Inn & Suites 23 Clarence Street Hamilton

This workshop follows on from well attended and highly successful "Introduction to Project Management" workshop run by NZCS which gave an introduction to project management addressing the basics of project management, its terminology and techniques.

In this interactive workshop you'll be led through real world examples from the experience your trainer brings, learning techniques and developing tools applicable to any type of small project. Working in small groups our exercises are designed to give you practical skills to develop, progress and implement commonsense Project Management in your workplace.

Working from a structured Case Study, the course covers the following:

Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Note that this can be combined with the "Introduction to Project Management" course on the same day, to provide a full-day broad introduction to Project Management theory and practice.

"Introduction to Project Management" isn't a formal prerequisite to this workshop, but is strongly advised.

Objectives

At the end of the course delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager

Target Audience

Managers and IT Professionals who have been asked to manage a small project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior Managers who will be governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Colin Ellis hails from the UK and has close to 15 years multi-sector project, programme and programme office management experience. He has recently set up his own consultancy in Wellington as The PMO Guy and is currently on assignment at Ministry of Justice as Head of Project Services and is also providing project management training services to the public and private sector through Tregaskis Brown Ltd.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management (Hamilton, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:14:39 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Introduction to Project Management

27 July 2011: 9:15 am - 12:30 pm

Ventura Inn & Suites 23 Clarence Street Hamilton

This half-day workshop will provide an introduction to the profession of project management and an overview of it's terminology, practices and techniques - perfect for anyone looking to change career or for anyone being asked to manage small projects.

You'll be led through straight forward practical examples from the real-world experience that your trainer brings. You'll learn approaches and techniques and be able to develop tools to help you manage any type of small project.

The course will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project

a. Start Up

- Justifying a project
- Developing a Business Case

b. Initiate

                      - Project Planning
                      - Developing a schedule
                      - Quality Planning

c. Delivery

       - Stakeholder Management
       - Quality Management
       - Benefits Management
       - Risk and Issue Management

d. Closedown

- Lessons Learned
- Post project reviews

Further training/certification options

Duration: ½ Day

Objectives

At the end of the course, delegates will be able to:
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Colin Ellis ("The PMO Guy") hails from the UK and has close to 15 years multi-sector project, programme and programme office management experience. He has recently set up his own consultancy in Wellington as The PMO Guy and is currently on assignment at Ministry of Justice as Head of Project Services and is also providing project management training services to the public and private sector through Tregaskis Brown Ltd.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice (Hamilton, 27/7/2011)

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:09:03 +1200

NZCS Workshop: Project Management - Intro and Practice

27 July 2011: 9:15 am - 5:00 pm

Ventura Inn & Suites 23 Clarence Street Hamilton

This workshop combines the highly popular NZCS "Introduction to Project Management" and "Project Management in Practice" half-day workshops into a single one-day course. You can also choose to do one or the other.

The workshop will cover the following:

What is a project?
Overview of the project structure
What is project management?
Phases of a project (Start Up, Initiate, Delivery, Closedown)
Project Purpose and Objectives: This will help you identify how a business case (and therefore a project) is developed.
Project Organisation Structure: Design a project organisation structure to understand what the specific roles of project governance are.
Risk analysis: Examine project risks and perform a specific risk analysis exercise, helping you to develop an understanding of how to manage the impact of risks and maximise opportunities.
Project Planning: Working through specific planning techniques for an example project. Better understand what planning techniques exist, how they should be used and what level of planning should occur.
Quality: In this exercise you will document quality requirements for one or more deliverables and learn how to keep track of it throughout its creation.
Project Monitoring and Reporting: In this exercise you will produce a project management report and outline the specific monitoring requirements that a project may utilise.
Benefits: Identifying, tracking and ensuring that benefits are realised
Leadership: Developing the skills for getting the best of the people involved in your projects.

Objectives

At the end of the Full Day workshop delegates will be able to:

Start to apply project management practices in real life
Start running your own projects
Start developing hands on skills in the tools required by a Project Manager
Understand the basics of project management
Understand project management terminology
Be able to manage a project using commonsense and good communication rather than a formal project management method

Target Audience

Managers and IT professionals being asked to manage a project for the first time
Clients and other stakeholders who have a role in ensuring small projects proceed smoothly to a successful completion
Senior managers governing small projects
Those IT professionals looking to move into the project management profession

About the Trainer

Registration

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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The CRCNet Project and software for rural wireless network planning (Hamilton, 23/6/2011)

Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:03:14 +1200

The CRCNet Project and software for rural wireless network planning

23 June 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Gallagher Room 2 Wintec City Campus Tristram Street Hamilton

Providing broadband Internet access in rural areas is a challenge for many countries, including New Zealand. The rolling geography and sparsely populated areas make investment in wired infrastructure hard to recover.

Low cost wireless technologies, such as the 802.11 family of protocols, have been successfully used in many situations to solve this problem. However to date there have not been widescale deployments of 802.11 wireless to provide broadband Internet to rural communities. This is partially due to the high level of knowledge that is required to operate a rural wireless network.

In this presentation Waikato University PhD Candidate Sam Bartels will briefly outline the CRCnet project, which has created a wireless network platform which is currently used to connect a number of rural schools and communities to the west of Hamilton. Using the CRCnet platform the level of technical knowledge required to plan, build and operate a rural wireless network is significantly reduced.

However Sam's research goes one step further, hypothesising that, with the assistance of a suitable software tool, members of these rural communities could undertake the wireless network planning upon themselves. This presentation will outline this research in detail.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Hamiltonian Sam Bartels is a member of Waikato University's WAND Research Group, a research group focused on a range of networking projects primarily focused on network measurement.

Sam is one of the programmers on the open source Greenstone Digital Library project, PhD candidate, and in his spare time enjoys brewing beer, computer games and the great outdoors.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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What's happening at NZCS? Meet the new President (and Waikato Branch AGM) (Hamilton, 30/3/2011)

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:37:02 +1300

What's happening at NZCS? Meet the new President (and Waikato Branch AGM)

30 March 2011: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St.

This event has been moved to 5:30pm - apologies for any inconvenience.

What's been happening at NZCS?

Come and meet the new NZCS President and CEO over refreshments!

Come and hear a short presentation from new NZCS President Ray Delany talking about the Society direction over the next 2-3 years, plus NZCS CEO Paul Matthews will give an update on current activities followed by the opportunity for informal discussion and Q+A over a beer or wine.

This will be followed by the Waikato/BoP Branch AGM.

Includes refreshments. We ask that all members in Hamilton show their support and come to this event.

This is a call to all members to the 2011 Annual General Meeting of the Waikato/BoP Branch of the NZCS.

AGM Agenda

Apologies / Minutes / Matters arising
Reports
Result of the Election of Committee
Election of Officers (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer)

Please email any Apologies or Proxy Appointments to info@nzcs.org.nz

Attendance is free, however please register below for catering and organising purposes.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz.

NOTE: This event is for NZCS Members only

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Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services (Hamilton, 01/3/2011)

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:44:04 +1300

Advanced Robotics: The Future of Aged Care Services

1 March 2011: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Event Room 2 Bill Gallagher Centre City Campus Gate 5 Tristram Street Hamilton

The statistics around the aging population in New Zealand are worrying whichever way we look at it. Currently over 500,000 people are aged 65+, projected to double by 2028. By 2051, greater than 25% of our population is expected to be over 70.

This increase will bring about major logistical issues in how we, as a country, care for our elderly. More people will require support, and already the ratio of nurses and care-givers to elderly clients is low.

Can technology help bridge this gap?

The value of robotics for healthcare could be huge in terms of health, societal and economic benefits. Robots offer the promise of sustainable and affordable health provision without compromising quality of care.

Some products are already available, like the surgical robot Da Vinci, which helps the surgeon, who sits at a special console, to perform very precise minimally invasive surgery procedures, and the care-bot, which monitors patients and helps them with daily routine activities at the same time. These are just the beginning of a completely new way of delivering healthcare services.

In addition to this, the University of Auckland Dept of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Intelligent Robot Division of Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute and the Selwyn Foundation are jointly working on revolutionising the field with the creation of Charlie, the 21st Century Care-Giver.

Charlie(s) will help nursing staff and independently-living elderly with tasks that can be effectively managed by a robotic device, such as:

Vital signs monitoring and recording
Information management
Medication reminders
Patient identity and tracking
General fetch and carry tasks
Video and audio links to families and carers
Falls monitoring

In this presentation Gillian Reid FNZCS ITCP, Deputy Chair of the Selwyn Foundation, will outline how technologies such as Charlie are innovating aged-care healthcare, how and why Charlie was designed, and the impact early prototypes are making in trials at Selwyn Village in Auckland.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Dr Gillian Reid (QSM) is a Fellow of NZCS (FNZCS) and ITCP, and has been Head of the Computer Studies and Applied Mathematics Department of the Auckland Institute of Technology and a lecturer in Management at the University of Auckland.

She was the first IT Director of Sky City Ltd, and has worked as a senior ICT manager in software development companies and for international ICT service delivery companies such as IBM and EDS. She now has her own successful ICT Consultancy.

Along with these professional positions, she has applied her ICT knowledge to many executive positions in the voluntary sector. She was the first woman President of the New Zealand Computer Society. She is also a past President and Assistant Secretary General of the South East Asian Regional Computer Confederation (SEARCC), and was awarded the QSM in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in 2010 for services to the community.

She is currently Deputy Chair of the Selwyn Foundation, a large Anglican charitable trust operating over several sites throughout the upper North Island, that provides care for the elderly. It is in this role that she has been part of the strategic implementation of ICT in the Selwyn Foundation Group to change the way service delivery to the elderly is considered and managed.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Waikato ICT Christmas Curry (Hamilton, 15/12/2010)

Fri, 03 Dec 2010 11:39:47 +1300

Waikato ICT Christmas Curry

15 December 2010: 6:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Little India 4 Alexandra Street Cnr Alexandra & Hood Streets Hamilton

Kick-start the summer heat with a delicious curry dinner held for the Hamilton ICT industry. We're holding a curry banquet at Little India with festive company and the opportunity to chat and network with others.

As well as the opportunity for informal discussion, our Waikato/BOP National Councillor, David Hallett is available to discuss the IT industry and profession in New Zealand, opportunities, and the big picture of where we're heading and why.

Registration Details:

It is essential to book for this event - no door registrations can be accepted!

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

Cash Bar Operating
NB: The event includes wine provided by NZCS, however additional drinks are at bar costs, payable to the wait staff.

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National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling (Hamilton, 26/10/2010)

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 14:18:58 +1300

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

26 October 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St.

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on mapping ICT to the "real world" through business process modelling and BPMN 2.0.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Mapping ICT to the "Real World" with Process Modelling

One of the major strengths of ICT is improving the efficiency and profitability of business, however to be successful it's essential that ICT accurately maps to the way organisations do business.

In that context, processes are at the heart of everything we do. No matter what it is. And in all facets of an organisation, some process is always being followed even if that process only exists in the heads of a few key personnel.

Business Process Mapping is all about capturing and documenting these processes in a standard manner all stakeholders understand. The correct documentation and execution of these processes is a key factor in building agile organisations and plays a primary role in enabling businesses large and small.

This presentation will look at how to document your existing processes in a standards compliant manner that will enable both Business and IT to finally talk the same language while providing key artefacts for process re-engineering projects and allowing for the possible direct execution of those processes in a BPMS.

This subject and presentation is essential for ICT professionals and Business Analysts alike who are serious about providing the maximum return to their organisations or clients for their ICT investment.

Special thanks to Integration Works Ltd for sponsoring this presentation.

Includes light lunch.

About The Speaker

Steven McArdle has more than 25 years in the ICT sector and is currently employed as an SOA Solutions Architect by Integration Works Limited in Wellington.

About the National ICT Series

The NZCS National ICT Series is a series of monthly presentations bringing some of the country's top ICT-related thought leaders and speakers on a national circuit to present their view on interesting and informative subjects.

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics. From service management to open data access, from technical presentations to ICT in disaster zones, there'll be something there for everyone.

Launched in March 2010 in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin, these events promise to be informative and educational, often challenging the traditional view of ICT and its role in the organisation and wider environment.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS Corporate Partners and approved organisations can opt to pay by invoice by calling 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee and business details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Credit criteria and other conditions apply.

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NZCS Conference BarCamp (Rotorua, 18/9/2010)

Sun, 05 Sep 2010 03:56:28 +1200

NZCS Conference BarCamp

18 September 2010: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

Distinction Hotel and Conference Centre 390 Fenton Street Rotorua

BarCamp: Fostering Innovation in ICT

A BarCamp is a participant-driven conference, often known as an "unconference".

This Barcamp will focus on what New Zealand can do to foster innovation and success on the international stage.

As New Zealand seeks to grow economically and in a sustainable manner, exporting and global success becomes more important. So what can we, as a community and as a country, do to foster innovation and success on the international stage?

This will not be just a talkfest. The conclusions from this BarCamp will be incorporated into NZCS position statements and be advocated to the ICT Minister and others within Government and other stakeholders. We're serious about catalysing innovation, and if you are too then you should be involved.

The BarCamp is facilitated by Nat Torkington and sponsored by Catalyst IT.

Registration

Registration is essential as numbers are very limited.

NOTE: This page is for those NOT attending the preceding Conference (see www.innovation.org.nz). You do NOT need to register here if you've already registered for the conference.

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NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference (Rotorua, 15/9/2010)

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 16:14:04 +1200

NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference

15 September 2010: 5:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Distinction Hotel and Conference Centre 390 Fenton Street Rotorua

Calling all procrastinators and last-minute people!

If you do nothing else, check out: www.innovation.org.nz/speakers

It's not too late to register for the NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference next week.

This is a conference for innovators, entrepreneurs, educators and practitioners offering 8 major Keynotes, 40 presentations, 3 panels, an Innovation Barcamp and a number of workshops. One thing we can promise is it'll absolutely blow your mind.

This is no ordinary conference - this is THE ICT event for 2010 - a celebration 50 years in the making: half a century of ICT Innovation in New Zealand. This is a massive milestone and we've got a line-up to match.

Click Here for full details of the Keynote Speakers.

Two international presenters mix with a selection of the country's top ICT innovators to cover all aspects of ICT in New Zealand.

Join kiwi Craig Nevill-Manning (the founder of Google's first remote engineering centre in Manhattan, USA) and Canadian Greg Lane (the National Director of the Canadian Council of IT Professionals), along with New Zealand innovative entrepreneurs Ian Taylor (Founder, Animation Research Ltd), Sam Morgan (Founder, Trade Me), Rod Drury (Founder, Xero), Nat Torkington (creator of Kiwi Foo Camp and the Open Govt Project), Ian McCrae (Founder, Orion Health) and Sam Knowles (founding CEO of KiwiBank).

This is a wholly engaging event designed to ignite your entrepreneurial spirit and equip you with the tools to succeed. With inspirational speakers, numerous panels and a debate, plus a series of workshops designed to grow innovation (details coming soon) and a full Innovation Barcamp, this will be a truly enlightening experience.

This is just the start, however - with another 32 top-tier presentations, this is an event not to be missed.

You can view a full programme at www.innovation.org.nz/speakers

Workshops Now Registering

A number of Workshops are now available on Wednesday 15th September and Saturday 18th September.

These include:

Search Engine Optimisation: The Inside Story
Role Profiling and Refining Skills Capability
Making Projects Effective
Becoming an Innovator

Full details at www.innovation.org.nz/workshops

These workshops are HIGHLY recommended. Note that workshop costs are additional to conference registration.

Register Now!

Registrations are open and can be secured below.

Registration fee below INCLUDES attendance at the Conference Dinner and Saturday's BarCamp, but does not include workshops. You can register for workshops during conference registration.

Accommodation

Accommodation should be booked directly with the hotel, however NZCS has negotiated a significant package discount at the venue, with superior rooms from $140 incl GST per night.

Full details on accommodation rates and how to obtain this discount are available on the Conference Website.

You'll need to book early as the venue's accommodation will sell out fast. Alternatively, there are a number of other hotel and motel options in the area.

More information

Please see the conference website at www.innovation.org.nz for more information about this momentous event.

Registration Details:

You can register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks (Hamilton, 19/8/2010)

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 14:42:53 +1200

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

19 August 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 2, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristam Street, Hamilton

Continuing a security theme, in the latest National Series event NZCS is proud to bring one of the country's experts in application and web security to Hamilton.

NOTE: Due to the NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference there will be no National Series event next month.

Hacked: Teaching the Good Guys Bad Tricks

NZCS National ICT Event Series

You can't fight a war that you don't know you're waging. You can't defend your website against attack unless you know the tricks that the bad guys will use.

Join Andy Prow, Managing Director of Aura Software Security, as he demonstrates and discusses attacks and defences in action. By the end of this session you'll have an understanding of some of the common attacks such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS), Cross-Domain Request Forgery (CDRF), and will have an appreciation of how layering your defenses (defense-in-depth) can help protect you from exploit chaining.

The session will also give you some practical tips that you can apply straight away to help you design, build and manage more secure websites.

Light lunch provided.

About The Speaker

Andy Prow is Managing Director of security specialists Aura Software Security, is an ITCP Certified Professional and holds a BSc(Hons) in Computer Science and Software Engineering.

With over 16 years of IT experience Andy has designed and written software for companies including IBM, Telecom, Vodafone and Ericssons.

Andy launched the Aura group of companies in 2001, and Aura Software Security is now one of NZ’s leading IT Security Consulting practises with clients including the NZ Government, Xero, plus other Banking and Corporate companies here in New Zealand and overseas.

About the National ICT Series

The NZCS National ICT Series is a series of monthly presentations held in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin, and bringing some of the country's top ICT-related thought leaders and speakers on a national circuit to present their view on interesting and informative subjects.

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

NZCS Corporate Partners and approved organisations can opt to pay by invoice by calling 0800 252 255 or emailing attendee and business details through to registrations@nzcs.org.nz. Credit criteria and other conditions apply.

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The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime (Hamilton, 22/7/2010)

Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:15:02 +1200

The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

22 July 2010: 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

In the latest National Series event, NZCS is proud to bring the head of the NZ Police's National eCrime Group to Hamilton to present the latest in digital forensics and eCrime. This is not one to be missed!

National Series: The Latest in Digital Forensics and e-Crime

Digital Forensics and e-Crime is a rapidly developing and cutting edge discipline of ICT, contributing more and more significantly to crime investigations in New Zealand and globally every year.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is responsible for managing the digital forensics for the NZ Police via three e-Crime Labs throughout the country.

In this presentation Maarten Kleintjes, head of the NZ Police National Electronic Crime Group, will give an update on the latest local and international work in digital forensics and e-Crime including recent examples of high profile cases where digital forensics played a key part in cracking the case.

As the devices on which people process and store information have become more sophisticated, more widespread and more interconnected, the role of the E-Crime Lab has grown considerably. These days there are very few crimes committed that don’t have an electronic component to evidence and the number of exhibits have increased from around 40 a year in 1985 to over 16,000 in recent years. This ranges from people using their computer to research how to commit a crime (or ironically how to get away with it!), or emails or text messages which often unknowingly give the game away, through to more complicated analysis.

Maarten will also outline EVE, the Environment for Virtualised Evidence, the world-leading system created by the NZ e-Crime Group and launched last year to revolutionalise the efficient and timely collection, indexing and analysis of electronic evidence. This system dramatically changed the turnaround of a Detective submitting a computer for analysis and access to files and information from many months or years to several days.

The NZ Police e-Crime Group is leading the world in the area of digital forensics, and this presentation will provide significant insight into this fascinating area.

Includes light lunch.

Please note the slightly later starting time than normal.

About The Speaker

Maarten Kleintjes is the Manager of the National Electronic Crime Group for the New Zealand Police.

Maarten has a long, varied and distinguished background in the computer industry as an electronic engineer, technical investigator, consultant, software developer, educator and international seminar presenter.

Maarten commenced his career in the New Zealand Police in 1984 as Officer in Charge of the National Tape Laboratory specialising in covert evidence gathering and recovery through advanced signal processing. In 1993 he advanced into the position of Chief Technical Investigator and pioneered Computer Forensics in New Zealand. In 1999 he was appointed National Manager after successfully establishing the Electronic Crime Laboratory.

In 2009 Maarten was appointed Manager e-Crime Group and is responsible for the e-Crime Laboratory, the NC3 (National Cyber Crime Centre) and the e-Crime Research and Development group.

His interests have covered a wide range of topics including audio, video, operating systems, programming languages, cryptography and the Internet.

Maarten trained in New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands in the area Electronic Engineering, Signal Processing and Computer Forensics. In his career with the New Zealand Police he has been involved in a large number of high profile investigations and he gives evidence in District and High Court on a regular basis as an expert witness.

In addition to his investigative work Maarten is much involved as an educator, lecturing at the Royal NZ Police College and other National and International Seminars.

About the National ICT Series

These events are designed to be informal and interesting, and are ideally suited for open-minded individuals interested in expanding their understanding of a range of different IT topics.

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Hamilton] (Hamilton, 09/6/2010)

Mon, 24 May 2010 11:01:05 +1200

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone [Hamilton]

9 June 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on ICT in a disaster zone and the role technology plays in saving lives.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: ICT in a Disaster Zone

As we know, ICT has transformed everyday life and changed the way we do things. As well as this, technology now plays a pivotal role in the global humanitarian and rescue response when disaster strikes around the world.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies have established a number of IT & Telecommunications Emergency Response Units (ERUs) to help in the response to disasters and emergencies around the world. New Zealand's ERU was the 5th such unit and consists of a team of 20 with diverse backgrounds in telecommunications and ICT.

The Emergency Response Units are charged with putting in place emergency telecommunications infrastructure to support the rescue effort. Ongoing power and internet outages as well as IT system software and hardware failures within the country create significant difficulties for Red Cross to maintain ongoing contact with key partners, field staff and external contacts, making this role essential.

As an active member of the NZ Red Cross IT&T ERU, Steve Davis will outline the impact greater use of telecommunications and IT infrastructure has had on the rescue efforts in disaster-hit areas such as Haiti, Tonga and the Solomon Islands, the challenges faced, as well as some of the backgound to the Red Cross IT&T team.

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Steve Davis has a background in Radio Communications and IT spanning more than 25 years and has been putting this to use in the fields of Emergency Management and Disaster Response through a number of agencies over the past 18 years.

Through an early interest in electronics and radio Steve obtained his amateur radio license in 1980, soon after becoming a member of the New Zealand Association of Amateur Radio Transmitters (NZART) and later joining the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications group (AREC). Steve has served as a member of the National Council for NZART, various offices for the local NZART branch and as Section Leader for the local AREC Section.

Through AREC Steve became involved in Land Search and Rescue in New Zealand and has responded to many searches to provide communications and IT support at the Incident Control Point. Steve has also participated in local, regional and national roles of the Land SAR organisation over many years.

In more recent times Steve has become a member of NZ Red Cross’s first International Emergency Response Unit, providing IT & Telecommunications support to International and Local Red Cross in times of a major disaster.

Steve is currently self employed providing training, consulting and contracting services in a range of fields in the ICT and Emergency Management sectors, and is active in NZCS, Scouts NZ, and the Mountain Safety Council.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data (Hamilton, 18/5/2010)

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:40:37 +1200

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

18 May 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS is proud to bring you the next of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the concept of open data, and how it is transforming the ICT sector.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

National Series: Transformational ICT through Open Data

(Previously called "A Brave New World: Rebuilding Civil Society Online")

Throughout Europe in the 18^th Century the great Age of Enlightenment was born, a movement promoting the black arts of education, reason and logic in decision-making.

In this entertaining and informative presentation popular ICT commentator and online strategist Paul Reynolds will shine light on the new Internet-driven "Age of Enlightenment" happening right now, and how individuals and organisations can cash in on the phenomena by building upon the growing wealth of publicly-available open data covering everything from map and geospatial information, through to the human genome itself.

Exploring what is available and where is fascinating, and as Reynolds takes us through some of the more obscure and interesting datasets freely available, what we can do with it will surprise even the most data-aware information scientists amongst us.

Reynolds will argue that with the age of the Internet and the new age of Cloud Computing now upon us, the revolution is already here, with levels of information and data never seen before at our fingertips and the type, nature and volume of open data expanding rapidly.

Similarly, the scope and range of the tools being applied to open government and e-democracy are transforming the landscape we, as ICT professionals, operate in, also impacting on politicians, bureaucrats, citizens and business.

But where does the ICT profession sit in relation to these double revolutions? Managing information and data has responsibilities attached, and is the profession really ready and open to always-on ubiquitous networks, or will risk aversion, and a craving for the old certainties of centralisation send the baby with the bathwater?

In a truly inspired presentation designed to provoke discussion and debate Paul Reynolds's asks: Is the ICT profession ready for the 18th century?

Includes light lunch

About The Speaker

Paul Reynolds is an entertaining and colourful ICT commentator and consultant based in Auckland, with an avid interest in information access and cultural/techno change.

Paul presents a very entertaining regular insight into the Virtual World on Radio NZ, and is often at the forefront of discussion and debate around ICT issues, especially in relation to data and digital literacy.

Paul co-founded McGovern Online, an online media company with clients throughout New Zealand and in Australia, Fiji and the UK.

Until recently Paul was the Adjunct Director to the Digital Library at the National Library of New Zealand, has served on the Library and Information Advisory Commission and Government Digital Strategy Advisory Group and is on the board of the NZ National Digital Forum.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability (Hamilton, 14/4/2010)

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:20:33 +1300

National Series: Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

14 April 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS are proud to bring you the second of the National ICT Series, this month focusing on the paradigm shift required to develop for a mobile platform such as the iPhone.

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

Developing for the iPhone: Innovation and Usability

Many believe that the introduction of the iPhone brought about a fundamental shift in the usability, functional abilities, and expectations of phone and PDA users.

However along with this shift came a new challenge: how to develop for this revolutionary platform?

Join John Ascroft, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) of Jade Software Corporation, and Hadley Trounson, a member of Jade's development team as they take you through the iPhone environment and its focus on user-centric design and market driven innovation.

The Jade team will also outline the total shift in developmental paradigm encountered, plus their experiences in introducing the new platform and the technical development challenges encountered along the way.

This will be a thoroughly enthralling presentation and not one to be missed.

Includes light lunch

About John Ascroft

John Ascroft is Jade's Chief Innovation Officer, based in Christchurch and a member of the Jade senior management team.

His current responsibilities include the Jade High Performance Technology division and the corporate Innovation program.

John joined the company in 1983 and has held a variety of technical and management roles in the research, development and marketing areas, including a one year assignment as VP North America based in Atlanta, Georgia.

John has a BComm in Accounting, is a Member of the New Zealand Computer Society, and his outside interests include flying, motorcycles and history, but not usually at the same time.

Special thanks to Jade for part-sponsoring this presentation

A special thanks to Jade Software for making it possible for us to bring you this event.

Canterbury based Jade Software Corporation Limited (Jade) is an information technology research and development organisation with over 25-years experience in supplying innovative software solutions and services.

They specialise in providing high-performance, smart technology solutions to complex business problems.

About the National ICT Series

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Plus Branch AGM) (Hamilton, 18/3/2010)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:37:56 +1300

National Series: A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm (Plus Branch AGM)

18 March 2010: 12:00 pm - 1:45 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton Parking is available at Wilsons Parking on Alexandra St. (Map)

NZCS are proud to kick off the new National ICT Series, beginning with well-known IT Skeptic Rob England presenting on what would appear to be regarded as the utopia of service management, RealITSM...

Free for NZCS members, inexpensive for others.

A Harmonious IT Environment through Realitsm

Idealised models such as ITIL®, COBIT and ISO20000 are all very well for theoretical discussions, but more and more people are discovering these models just don't fit the way we do things in the real world.

Join the movement that is sweeping the ITSM community. Find out about Real ITSM, as it is done in the real world.

Making IT Real. Get Real. RealITSM, that is...

In this light-hearted and humorous presentation Rob England, the wellknown "IT Skeptic", introduces Real ITSM, as documented in the book "Introduction to Real ITSM" (see www.realitsm.com).

RealITSM is the methodology of implementing IT service management as it is done now in the real world, thereby saving costs, minimising impact and ensuring acceptance.

Realitsm (pronounced "realism" with a slight lisp) is the underlying philosophy of primarily ensuring a tranquil life for IT staff. After all, life is hard for us IT types!

The main threats to IT stability, or at least the stability of the IT team, are change, accountability and reduced spending. Realitsm is about eliminating these threats from the IT environment, in the best interests of all in IT. A harmonious IT environment requires adherence to the following Realitsm principles:

Ensure a stable operating environment
Maximise adaptability to change
Promote involvement through collectivist decision-making
Maintain morale through reduced group accountability
Maximise revenue and funding for the IT department
Maximise benefit and value for the IT staff

Realitsm may be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, however by reflecting on the motivations of teams and managers that unknowingly subscribe to some of its principles, a level of clarity on the importance of service management becomes apparent.

This is a not-to-be-missed presentation for anyone in the Service Management space or those interested in a humorous presentation from one of the more colorful figures in New Zealand's IT scene.

Note: Light lunch provided.

NZCS National Update

Immediately prior to Rob's presentation Paul Matthews (NZCS Chief Executive) will give a short presentation on the Society's significant and wide-ranging plans for 2010.

NZCS's Manager of Professionalism, Erin Connolly, will also be in attendance to answer any questions about ITCP and other projects.

About The Speaker

Rob England, an IT Certified Professional (ITCP), is a "portfolio entrepreneur" working on multiple activities via his company, Two Hills. These include IT commentator, speaker and consultant (ITSM, culture change...), blogger, speaking coach, sales coach, trainer, published author, small business researcher, and nascent internet businessman.

Rob does remote consulting, writing and editing for a variety of clients internationally. He provides local consulting and training to a number of business and government clients on Service Management (ITSM) topics, especially ITIL. He also specialises in helping change IT culture, through a CC plan, workshops and structured courses such as The Seven Tasks of EnGrok.

Rob is also well known for his controversial website, The IT Skeptic (Google page-rank 4, tens of thousands of readers worldwide).

He runs a stable of other diverse sites including Real ITSM (a funny one), Ops4Less (cut the cost of IT operations), He Tangata (IT is the people), Chocolate in the Morning, and others, all built in his own Drupal-based technology stack.

Rob's goal is to maintain his relaxed lifestyle while becoming a millionaire by the end of 2010. Details of the plan are somewhat sketchy.

He lives in idyllic but breezy Pukerua Bay, Wellington, New Zealand with his wife and son. Pukerua Bay is most famous as the home town of Peter Jackson, but Rob hopes to change that.

Rob's profile (including links) is at http://www.twohills.co.nz/profile

About the National ICT Series

Launching in March 2010 in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin, these events promise to be informative and educational, often challenging the traditional view of ICT and its role in the organisation and wider environment.

We intend to bring these events and nationally-recognised speakers to Hamilton every month, however need sufficient attendance to justify it. If you want regular free/inexpensive ICT events in Hamilton, please come along and bring others!

Notice of Annual General Meeting of the Waikato Branch of NZCS

The event will be immediately followed by the Annual General Meeting of the Waikato/Bay of Plenty branch of the NZ Computer Society Inc.

The Agenda is as follows:

Comments from the Chair
Presentation of Branch Financials
Election of Branch Officers (Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, Committee Members)

This is also the time for NZCS members to put their hand up for election to the Waikato/BoP Branch Committee. This is a very rewarding experience and your opportunity to do a little to help the local ICT community.

Proxies and nominations for Branch Committee and Officers can be made via email to info@nzcs.org.nz.

Registration Details:

Places are limited and these events may well sell out, hence Registration is essential.

NZCS members may register below.

Non-members and staff of Corporate Partners may register for this event via Credit Card online now by using the link below, or alternatively call 0800 252 255 with your Credit Card details.

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Personalising Learning Environments with Quick Response (QR) Codes (Hamilton, 10/11/2009)

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:43:56 +1300

Personalising Learning Environments with Quick Response (QR) Codes

10 November 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Events Room 2, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton

It is increasingly recognised mobile learning (m-learning), in its variety of forms, is shaping, and being shaped by, the way we live, work and learn.

However, m-learning implementations are often heavily "keypad" dependent. The protracted and often clumsy method of accessing stored information and services through the limited input functionalities of mobile phones is time-consuming, frustrating and affects uptake of these m-technologies. To increase the impact of m-deployments a number of institutions are using Quick Response (QR) Codes to provide learners with speedy and ready access to information, services and assessments that are location sensitive.

What Are QR Codes

While the information contained in a normal bar code is presented in a horizontal direction, the information contained in a QR code is presented in both the vertical and horizontal direction. This means substantial more amounts of information (such as website addresses, text and numerical information, and contact details) can be stored within the code. The contained in the QR code can de-coded by a "smart-phone" with an embedded camera and code reading software installed. And example (for Wintec Research Archive is shown in figure 1 on the right.

Benefits

Embedding QR codes into learning environments, both physical and electronic, will enable learners to move from one place to the next, and to be able to use readily-available, handheld computing devices and communication technology to access localised content anywhere and at anytime.

About The Speaker

Dr John Clayton is a New Zealand e-learning educator with extensive knowledge of deploying, using and evaluating e-learning technologies. He is currently the manager of the Emerging Technologies Centre at the Waikato Institute of Technology and for the last three years has been a member of the New Zealand Ministry of Education e-Learning Reference Group.

Dr Clayton has been the project leader of a number of significant government funded e-learning deployment projects including the Open Source Courseware Initiative and the Open Source Learning Object Repository Project. He has recently led New Zealand Ministry of Education research funded projects investigating The Role of e-Learning in Building Workforce Capability to Meet Regional National Industry Needs and a second project investigating E-Learning Activities in Aotearoa / New Zealand Industry Training Organisations. He has recently completed the ICT PD Cluster Programme Research Review Project.

Registration Details:

Attendance is free, however please register below to secure your place.

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Richard Stallman on Software Patents (Hamilton, 30/9/2009)

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:03:49 +1200

Richard Stallman on Software Patents

30 September 2009: 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Events Room 1, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristram Street, Hamilton

In this insightful discussion, international Free Software advocate Richard Stallman (RMS) will argue that software patents seriously and significantly obstruct software development.

Software patents are patents that cover software ideas. Stallman will argue that they restrict the development of software to the point that the risk of legal action as a result of design decisions is dramatically raised. Stallman will also make the point that patents in other fields restrict factories, but in IT, software patents restrict every computer user and consumer.

Stallman will also present some of the international research and economic data related to this issue.

Light refreshments provided.

About The Speaker

Richard Stallman is a software developer and software freedom activist.

In 1983 he announced the project to develop the GNU operating system, a Unix-like operating system meant to be entirely free software, and has been the project's leader ever since. With that announcement Stallman also launched the Free Software Movement. In October 1985 he started the Free Software Foundation.

Full profile here (and here).

Registration Details:

Registration is free but essential. Places are limited - please register below to secure your place.

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Kete: online digital knowledge for libraries and communities [WLUG] (Hamilton, 27/4/2009)

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:03:05 +1200

Kete: online digital knowledge for libraries and communities [WLUG]

27 April 2009: 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm

MS4.G.02, University of Waikato, Hamilton. (map)

Kete: online digital knowledge for libraries and communities

Hamilton City Library is using Kete to create an online knowledge basket of Hamilton history. Learn more from Rae McCormick and Smita Biswas of the Library and Walter McGinnis of Katipo Communications.

Kete (Maori for 'basket') is an open source collaborative content and knowledge management system, developed by Katipo Communications Ltd and the Horowhenua Library Trust for building online community-driven history and memories.

Hamilton City Library is using Kete to build a resource of Hamilton's heritage, recording stories, photographs, videos and audio recordings.

Join us for a discussion covering how you can be involved, how Kete was developed, and how Kete helps the community to make their own stories and knowledge more accessible.

Kete was the 2007 winner of the 3M Award for Innovation in Libraries, sponsored by 3M New Zealand in conjunction with the Library and Information Association of New Zealand Aotearoa.

Kete was also awarded Special Mention for excellence in e-content (North America and Oceania region) at the 2007 World Summit Awards.

http://ketehamilton.peoplesnetworknz.info
http://kete.net.nz
http://www.katipo.co.nz

About The Speaker

Walter McGinnis is lead developer of Kete. Kete is a digital archiving tool, a web-based application using the Ruby on Rails framework. This event is organised by the Waikato Linux User Group.

Registration Details:

Please register for this event online now by using the link below.

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NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification (Hamilton, 11/3/2009)

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:29:45 +1300

NZCS Consultation Workshop on Professional Certification

11 March 2009: 5:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Wintec City Campus (Gate 5) The Bill Gallagher Hub Anglesea Street, Hamilton (Assemble from 5pm for a start at 5:30pm sharp)

This is your chance to have your say about the upcoming Professional Certification Programme.

Certification Programme

NZCS is in the process of designing and implementing a Professional Certification Programme for ICT Professionals.

This internationally-aligned certification has the potential to redefine our profession, and put ICT on equal footing with other professions, such as Accountancy, Medicine and Engineering.

"Professional Certification" is the cornerstone of a profession, and helps define and recognise true professionals. This is an overarching certification and is NOT the same as technical certifications; ie it is similar to "Chartered Accountant" or "Chartered Engineer" certifications for those professions rather than technical certifications (such as Microsoft or Cisco certs), although technical certifications are aligned with it.

Certification Workshops

This facilitated interactive workshop is your chance to not just hear about the detail of how this programme will work, but to provide significant feedback into the process as well.

Senior NZCS staff will work through the details step by step then lead discussion around why particular routes have been chosen and decisions made, other options available, and what the participants believe are the best options.

Who's invited?

Everyone is welcome. Professional Certification is for the entire sector - not just existing NZCS members - and we encourage everyone to come along and get involved.

Consequently, please pass this invitation along to anyone you believe may be interested in attending.

More information

The full model will be released at the beginning of March and sent to everyone on the NZCS Mailing List.

In the meantime, please visit www.nzcs.org.nz/certification for more information, particularly the "Certification Update" document and Frequently Asked Questions.

Registration

Registration is essential. Places will be filling fast, and registration is necessary for catering and logistic purposes.

To register, simply click the Registration link below. Registration is free.

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Notice of Annual General Meeting (Waikato Branch) (Hamilton, 03/3/2009)

Mon, 16 Feb 2009 12:22:16 +1300

Notice of Annual General Meeting (Waikato Branch)

3 March 2009: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm

Events Room 2, Gallagher Hub Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristam Street, Hamilton

This is notice that the 2009 Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) Waikato / BoP Branch is to be held on the 3rd March 2009.

Come and enjoy refreshments and finger food from 5.30pm while you mix and mingle with your fellow NZCS Waikato / BOP Branch Professionals. The Waikato / BoP Branch AGM will follow.

We ask all Waikato and Bay of Plenty members to attend the AGM.

Agenda

Welcome
Apologies and Proxies
Minutes of the previous AGM and matters arising
Items for General Business
The Chairman's annual branch report
The Treasurer's annual branch report
Election of Waikato Branch Committee officers and Waikato Branch Committee members
General Business

You can download a proxy authorisation form or a nomination form.

David Hallett
Chair, Waikato/BoP Branch

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2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification (Hamilton, 03/2/2009)

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:41:01 +1300

2009 NZCS National Update - General Progress and Certification

3 February 2009: 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm

The Hub at Wintec City Campus, Gate 5 Tristam Street, Hamilton Parking is available at the Wilsons Parking Bulding in Alexandra St. (Map)

Join NZCS President Don Robertson and CEO Paul Matthews as they present an update on national activity including detailed information about the main drive for this year - the Certification initiative being implemented in 2009.

NZCS Work Programme

NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews will outline the achievements thus far in the context of the overall Work Programme for 2008/2009 including the issues NZCS has addressed and is addressing and why. This will include NZCS's work for the ICT profession, computing and ICT education standards and the community at large, and the plans for 2009 and beyond.

NZCS Professional Certification

Next NZCS President Don Robertson, who also chairs the Certification Working Group, will cover the background information and research that has lead to the development of the Professional Certification/Charter Programme. This programme is designed to ensure NZ ICT professionals gain the same opportunity as our counterparts in other countries by having their level of professional competency and skills accredited against an internationally-accepted standard.

The professional certification and recognition programme for ICT professionals is happening - this is your chance to find out more.

Have your say, or find out more

More importantly, however, this event will give you the opportunity to have your say about the current direction of NZCS and the profession generally. Whether you think we've got it right or wrong, we want to know about it.

This is a not-to-be-missed event for members and non-members alike. If you're not a member, this is your chance to come along and hear what NZCS stands for and what we do on a national level to further the interests for the ICT profession.

Light lunch provided.

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