Hi, and welcome to this Christmas Roundup edition of NZCS Newsline (24/12/2009).

In this edition we're pausing to review the key projects for the year, as well as looking forward to the particularly exciting work programme for 2010!

In This Issue

• Introduction from the CEO
• FREE Audio Podcasts of previous NZCS Events
• 2009: A Significant Year for ICT in NZ
• And 2010: Plenty more to come!
• NZCS is all a-Twitter
• LinkedIn Group for NZCS Members
• NZCS 2010 Conference - Call for Papers
• IFIP WCC2010 - Call for Papers
• NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference, 16-18 September 2010
• "Free Software" IT Vendor Capability Survey

Introduction from the CEO

Ladies and Gentlemen, wow, what a year for NZCS and IT in NZ.

Although I'm sure we're not alone, there are a few weary faces at the NZCS offices at the moment, looking forward to a much needed break and a spot of fishing as we wind down from what has quite possibly been the most fundamential year for ICT in New Zealand in a long time.

As an organisation, we generally don't rave about our successes, preferring to let them speak for themselves as we quietly start on the next thing. However, frankly, I'm making an exception this time around. Our team has worked incredibly hard this year - staff and volunteers alike - and I'm immensely proud of what we've achieved over the last 12 months.

One indicator of success of an organisation such as ours is membership stats. Whilst it isn't actually the be-all and end-all, it does give us an indication of what the larger ICT community are thinking; If people truly believe in what we're trying to achieve and how we're going about it, they will want to be a part of it. 

This year New Zealand's been faced with economic conditions that will be remembered as some of the toughest in recent history. We've sadly lost a number of members due to personal economic circumstances and we hope that as things improve these members will re-join. However despite this, we've still achieved an approximate 20% net gain in membership over the year, and climbing fast. 

But here's an even more interesting statistic for you...

Around 35% of our current membership joined in the last 12 months.

Yes, 1 in 3 of our members are new this year. That's significant in anyone's language and if you're one of them, welcome aboard!

As you can see from the list of main activities below, NZCS has been hugely active in a range of projects and initiatives. However behind the scenes we've also achieved great things. From an administrative perspective, there's been an ongoing and significant cleanup of processes and the membership register (accounting for another chunk of members departed - those that were not active from previous years).

We've also helped progress a great many initiatives both within NZCS and externally. As well as working directly with Government Ministers and Officials, NZCS senior staff and members have been appointed to various IT-related Boards, Panels and Committees across New Zealand, and, indeed, across the world.

We've had our share of ups and downs along the way, however looking back, I'm proud of what we've achieved. New Zealand now has independent certification for senior IT Professionals. We now have significant changes occurring in the school curriculum and achievement standards. We have a Code of Practice for our sector as well as active engagement with students, the IT Professionals of the future, and much, much more.

And most importantly, we have credibility. Not just credibility for NZCS, the organisation that has made all this happen (and much more besides), but real credibility for our members, and recognition that NZCS members and ITCP certified professionals are a community of true professionals. Those letters on our members' business cards and lines in their CVs make a true, professional statement, and a statement that is increasingly difficult to ignore.

We've listed some of the main achievements and projects of NZCS over the last year below, and with even more planned for 2010, it's going to be a great year.

We're also proud to be working with all other significant ICT-related groups, associations and organisations in New Zealand, and in 2009 welcomed NZICT to the scene (a business association for ICT vendors, aligned with BusinessNZ) which has made a considerable impact in the short time it's been operating. Well done, Brett and the team.

So to all our members, partners, friends, staff, volunteers and colleagues - have an absolutely wonderful Christmas and let's look forward to another exciting year in 2010!

Kind regards,

Paul Matthews
Chief Executive
NZ Computer Society (NZCS)

2009: A Significant Year for ICT in New Zealand

2009 was a very significant year for ICT in New Zealand, with a huge range of initiatives launched or underway. The following is a list of some of the more high-profile activities NZCS has been involved with over the last 12 months:

Professional Certification - ITCP Launches!

After 49 years, NZCS were very proud to launch independent certification of senior IT Professionals in 2009.

This was seen by many as the most significant announcement in IT in New Zealand since day dot, and an absolute cornerstone to IT being viewed as a true profession. Almost every other profession or vocation already has independent professional certification in place, as does IT in many countries overseas.

ITCP has been hugely successful with over 500 working through the process and almost 300 having submitted applications in the 2.5 months it has been available, around 20% above projected takeup for this stage in the project and growing fast.

ITCP has gained support from every significant nationwide ICT organisation, as well as Government (both at Ministerial and Official level), academia, and the industry as a whole.

You can find out more about ITCP at www.itcp.co.nz

New Digital Literacy Division formed

The year began with the announcement that NZCS had formed a new fully staffed Digital Literacy Division to tackle the issue of core computing skills in New Zealand.

This division has been beavering away in the background most of the year and will be making a series of very significant announcements in the New Year, including revolutionalising how digital literacy is measured and considered in New Zealand, and a series of projects designed to significantly assist communities with the greatest needs.

Stay tuned - it'll be huge!

Digital Technologies Expert Panel - Schools Curriculum

As with 2008, NZCS was at the forefront of changes to Computing and ICT Education in schools in 2009 and helped progress what is becoming very significant change in this area.

Following consultation with the Ministry of Education, the Digital Technologies Expert Panel was formed, made up of NZCS, ICT teachers, academics, industry folks and other stakeholders to make a series of recommendations to the Ministry about the structure of ICT education in schools in the future. These recommendations were, for the most part, accepted, are the changes indicated are now well underway.

A full December update on this work is available here. We strongly recommend anyone with an interest in ICT in schools read the update.

New Membership/Events System in place

At the start of the year we also completed implementation of a new Membership and Events Management System which has considerably streamlined the operations of NZCS. We hope you've found registering for events and managing your membership to be greatly simplified as a result.

Dangerous Copyright changes defeated - Section 92a

Along with other organisations, NZCS were at the forefront of objections over the proposed Section 92a of the Copyright Act - the section that had the potential to force ISPs to disconnect the internet from families, schools, businesses and libraries based on accusations of copyright infringement (eg if someone downloaded their favourite song).

NZCS strongly supports the notion of copyright, however the draconian and out of proportion nature and potential outcome of this law was simply unacceptable.

The Government has just released their proposed replacement which is far more balanced - you can read about it here.

ICT-Connect - Putting ICT Professionals in the Classroom

ICT-Connect, a project which saw NZCS members and other ICT Professionals giving presentations in schools, was piloted in Christchurch, Wellington and Hawkes Bay in 2009.

The project was designed to introduce school students to the versatile and broad options available in ICT, as well as creating a connection between the ICT teaching community and the local ICT professional community.

The ICT-Connect Pilot was a resounding success. the feedback was amazing, and several hundred other schools have indicated they wish to take part in 2010.

We're launching this nationwide in 2010, and you can read a summary overview of the ICT-Connect Programme here.

NZCS Joins International IP3 Partnership

On the international stage, 2009 also saw NZCS joining the international IP3 Partnership, providing a vehicle for NZCS to assist other developing societies around the world. NZCS CEO sits on the Board of this initiative.

In 2010 NZCS will seek to have ITCP Accredited under this programme, meaning formal international recognition of our certified professionals.

Professional Knowledge Curriculum launched

NZCS also developed and released the ICT Professional Knowledge Curriculum, listing the non-technical knowledge ICT Professionals should possess. This ties in with other guidelines and documents (such as the Code of Practice) to help provide resources to those entering or growing within ICT in New Zealand.

The Professional Knowledge Curriculum can be downloaded here.

Another successful NZCS Programming Contest

The annual NZCS Programming Competition ran again in 2009, with teams from schools, tertiary institutions and companies competing across the country. This was a very successful and well supported event.

NZCS launches new brand and strategy

2009 also saw a significant re-brand of NZCS to better reflect the new strategy and direction of the organisation.

This wasn't just a change of logo; this change represented the fundamental shift in mindset and direction during 2008 and 2009, with NZCS continuing to develop as ICT's professional body and helping advance the ICT Profession as well as providing significant educational benefit to the public at large.

NZCS President elected to global ICT Board

Don Robertson, NZCS President, was elected to the global Board of IFIP, the International Federation for Information Processing. IFIP is the premier global ICT federation, representing bodies from around 55 countries and collectively over a million ICT Professionals worldwide.

This is the most senior position a New Zealander has ever held in IFIP.

Students of NZCS (SNZCS) Launches

The Students of NZCS (SNZCS) Programme also launched in 2009, helping create networks of ICT students both within and between campuses throughout New Zealand. This project is designed to build ICT communities amongst our student bodies and significantly ease the transition from student to professional via a series of events, projects and initiatives.

The SNZCS will continue to develop and grow through 2010.

NZCS supports Imagine Cup, yMedia Challenge and Summer of Code

The Society was also proud to be strategically partnered, or associated, with the three most significant student ICT projects in New Zealand - the Imagine Cup, yMedia Challenge and Summer of Code.

Each of these has been designed to make a real difference to the development of the students taking part.

These projects are hugely important and help students grow significantly - NZCS is proud to be associated with all three.

Specialist Groups formed: Young IT Professionals and AI SG

2009 also saw a number of Specialist Groups form or plan to form in 2010.

Those launched in 2009 included the new Young IT Professionals Group (YITPG) and Artificial Intelligence Specialist Group (NZCS AI-SG), with groups forming in early 2010 including a security group, ICT Women's group, and several others.

If you're interested in taking part in the AI Specialist Group, simply sign up to the online portal at http://nzaisg.ning.com/

IT Code of Practice Released to Sector

NZCS were very proud to release the new IT Code of Practice for New Zealand in 2009, a guideline to good practice in IT.

The Code of Practice will be heavily promoted as a base guideline of practice for IT professionals, organisations, and in fact anyone involved in the delivery of IT services in our country.

The Code covers key practices common to all disciplines within IT (such as conflicts of interest, competency, methods and tools, workload and representation), as well as key practices around project and relationship management, security, change management and others specific areas. There's also a section on Education and Research, as well as business-related IT practice.

You can download the Code of Practice here.

New Code of Professional Conduct proposed

The Society also put together a new Code of Professional Conduct to replace the existing Code of Ethics.

The new Code is built on the same foundation as the Code of Ethics, however helps clarify and simplify the Code to ensure member gain a greater understanding of their professional requirements.

The Code of Professional Conduct requires a Special General Meeting (SGM) to formally adopt. One will be scheduled in early 2010.

Conferences, Events, and much much more...

NZCS held over 100 educational and networking events across New Zealand in 2009, catering for a great many communities and interests.

Additionally, NZCS supported almost every significant ICT conference throughout the country, also gaining a discount for NZCS members to attend most major ICT events in New Zealand.

In summary

NZCS is making a real difference. We're an organisation that "does stuff" rather than talking about it, and we're proud of what we've achieved over the last couple of years - combining a 50 year history with a zest for making a difference.

As NZCS CEO Paul Matthews said in his introduction, wow, what a year! The projects listed above are only a portion of the projects and initiatives NZCS were involved with in 2009, and we really believe 2009 will be remembered as the year that the ICT sector in New Zealand turned a corner and joined the global ICT profession.

Thanks again to those who were involved in these and other projects. As well as the core NZCS team, around 100 ICT Professionals volunteered their time and energies in various capacities this year, and if you were one of them, you have our sincere thanks.

And 2010: Plenty more to come!

If you think 2009 was busy, we have plenty planned for 2010 as well!

The list is far too long to include everything here, however the main projects include:

Digital Literacy and KiwiSkills

As much as 2009 was the turning point for the ICT Profession, 2010 will be the year NZCS significantly tackles digital literacy in New Zealand with the launch of the much anticipated KiwiSkills Programme.

KiwiSkills will ensure computing skills training and internationally-recognised assessment will be available to all New Zealanders, leading to potentially significant productivity gains for New Zealand and New Zealand organisations, as well as a greater level of digital participation by New Zealand's communities in need.

KiwiSkills will be a major and significant initiative with the potential to change the landscape in New Zealand dramatically. More on this in the new year!

50 Years of ICT Innovation - 50th Anniversary Conference

NZCS will be celebrating 50 Years of ICT Innovation in 2010, culminating in a major conference on 16-18 September in Rotorua.

This will be a major celebration including the entire ICT sector in New Zealand, celebrating the diversity and innovative nature of New Zealand IT professionals and companies as well as the success of kiwis overseas.

Do mark this in your calendar - it's going to be big!

More information at www.innovation.org.nz

Nationwide ICT Mentoring Programme

You may remember NZCS assembled a group to design the new ICT Mentoring Programme a while ago.

We're happy to announce that we're now in the advanced planning stages of releasing the programme and the new and revised Mentoring Programme will be launching in the first half of 2010. We strongly recommend ALL ICT Professionals consider becoming either a Mentor or Mentee - the professional advantages of doing so are significant.

Look out for further announcements shortly.

NZCS Accredited Gold Partners

As previously announced, NZCS will be implementing an Accredited Gold Partner status for organisations who take their professional responsibilities seriously - beyond just lip service.

This is designed to recognise organisations, both ICT and non-ICT, who have independently assessed professionals in key project responsibility roles and actively encourage the professional growth and development of all their professional staff.

In short, the NZCS Accredited Gold Partner will be a recognition for organisations who take professionalism seriously and are actively working with NZCS, the professional body of the ICT sector, to advance the ICT Profession.

International Accreditation of ITCP

In the latter part of the year NZCS will be undergoing international accreditation of ITCP, the professional certification programme for NZ IT Professionals.

This will result in formal recognition of ITCP around the world and is significant for New Zealand.

ICT Degree Accreditation

In 2010 the Society is also implementing Degree Accreditation for Bachelor-level courses in Universities and Polytechs in New Zealand. This will utilise a mix of international standards and good practice (defined through the international Seoul Accord), plus a mix of structural and content expectations to accredit degrees in New Zealand.

Independent Degree Accreditation is essential and is already in place via our equivalent bodies in most of our key trading partners around the world (and, in fact, most other professions within New Zealand) and helps show that New Zealand's tertiary sector is world class, significantly assisting New Zealand graduates overseas as well as potentially attracting additional international students to our shores.

Look out for this initiative towards the middle of 2010.

Career Pathways and SFIA

NZCS is embarking on a major project to assist organisations to implement Career Pathway planning and professional development programmes within their organisations, aligned to the SFIA Framework and NZCS's Certification Programmes.

This will provide expert assistance and resources, enabling many organisations to make a real and significant difference to the professional development of their staff, leading to a more productive and effective workplace.

We're currently finalising the plans for the Pilot of this project and will be making further announcements shortly.

Technologist (Level 3) Certification

As indicated during the launch of ITCP, NZCS will be releasing a "Level 3", or "Technologist", Certification in late 2010.

As most of you know, ITCP is designed for senior ICT professionals with significant experience, responsibility and accountability. However this is obviously a smaller subset of the ICT Sector.

NZCS's Technologist Certification will be a Certification based on the requirements of Level 3 of the SFIA Framework, for anyone operating in the IT Profession who meet a specific set of requirements and actively participate in ongoing career development etc.

The "general" requirements of SFIA Level 3 are outlined here.

More information and consultation will take place towards the middle of 2010.

Nationwide launch of ICT-Connect Programme

The ICT-Connect Programme, successfully Piloted in 2009, will launch nationwide in 2010.

The project is designed to introduce school students to the versatile and broad options available in ICT, as well as creating a connection between the ICT teaching community and the local ICT professional community by having ICT Professionals visit schools and make presentations about their experiences in ICT.

The Pilot of this programme was extremely successful and we currently have a list of several hundred schools keen on taking part in the wider programme.

NZCS will be self-funding the bulk of this project, however are currently looking for another organisation to partner with us to enable its nationwide launch.

Nationwide Educational Event Series

2010 will also see the re-introduction of a nationwide circuit of speakers, bringing the most interesting ICT professionals in the country to the 5 main centres (Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin).

This will run alongside and compliment existing events and will be either free or close to it for NZCS members.

NZCS will also continue to increase activity in the smaller towns and cities throughout the country.

Specialist Groups

The Society will continue to grow the Specialist Group programme, creating additional groups for members with specialised interests.

If you're interested in spearheading the creation of a community in your specialist interest, let us know and we'll help get things underway!

And much more...

NZCS has a whole heap more planned for 2010 as well - this list is not exhaustive. 2010 will be another great year for your Society, and we hope our members will continue to get involved and support these projects and ensure their significant success.

Thanks [[prefname]], for your support during this year, and have an excellent Christmas and new year.

NZCS is all a-Twitter If you're on Twitter and are keen to see what NZCS Chief Executive Paul Matthews gets up to day to day, check out @nzcspaul for his personal news, views, updates and general ramblings. Also, check out @nzcs - the official NZCS twitter with news tweets plus events, blog links, press releases, podcasts and a whole heap more. If you're not yet twittering, just visit http://twitter.com/ to find out what it's all about.

LinkedIn Group for NZCS Members LinkedIn is an online community set up to exchange information, ideas and opportunities, and allow users to maintain a professional online profile. Professional NZCS members wanting to join the LinkedIn NZCS Members Group can do so by clicking here.

NZCS 2010 Conference - Call for Papers

FIRST CALL FOR PAPERS

The Call for Papers has now begun and the Programme Committee is seeking papers and presentations with high-calibre, attention-grabbing content to be profiled heavily in New Zealand as well as gaining international exposure.

The conference theme is "Reflecting on a 50-year journey, and the next one to come" with a strong focus on the innovative power of ICT.

We invite individuals and organisations to submit papers and presentations on theme-related practice and research, from ICT practitioners, researchers and decision makers from industry, government/public sector and academia.

Please visit the Conference Website for more information.

IFIP WCC2010 - Call for Papers

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS

IFIP AI 2010: The Third IFIP International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Theory and Practice, Brisbane, Australia, September 20th-23rd 2010

IFIP AI 2010 is one of the constituent parts of the IFIP World Computer Congress. The conference will follow the same format as the highly successful IFIP AI 2008 at the IFIP WCC 2008 in Milan, Italy. For details see http://www.wcc2010.org

Papers describing original work are invited in the areas of Artificial Intelligence for oral presentation at the conference. Acceptance will be based on quality, relevance and originality and the practical value of the work.

More information: http://www.ifiptc12.org/ifipai2010

NZCS 50th Anniversary Conference, 16-18 September 2010

www.Innovation.org.nz - 50 years of ICT Innovation in New Zealand

Plans for the 50th Anniversary Conference are progressing fast, and we'll be making an announcement later this week with a list of keynote speakers and other information.

The New Zealand Computer Society (NZCS) is proud to announce a special conference to celebrate 50 years of ICT Innovation in New Zealand.

We will not only reflect on our 50 year journey, but more importantly the next one to come. Kiwi ingenuity is needed today more than ever, so we shall embrace this.

Distinction Hotel in Rotorua, 16 - 18 September 2010.

The 50^th Anniversary conference will bring together the people who deliver results for New Zealand - business entrepreneurs, visionary IT academics and industry professionals, a veritable "who's who" of ICT innovation.

Mark this date in your diary to celebrate New Zealand's achievements over the past 50 years, learn from our collective experience and listen to the innovators and entrepreneurs of the future.

International Keynote Speakers include Kiwis who have proven to be highly successful on the international arena of ICT and wish to share and inspire us with their stories.

This conference is immediately prior to the Brisbane World Computer Congress, hosted by IFIP (International Federation for Information Processing) http://www.wcc2010.com and the Call for Papers for both conferences will be advertised by both organizations in September 2009.

Breaking from the traditional approach to conferences, one of the three streams will be "Concept to Reality" where we will focus on a series of promising ideas to assist the initiator to progress, pragmatically, to the next stage.  We will also award a prize to the best ICT Post Graduate, and include an "unConference", where

Sponsors and Trade Exhibitors are encouraged to register their interest as early as possible. The brochure is available now - just email conference@nzcs.org.nz

More information at www.Innovation.org.nz.

Elizabeth Eastwood
Chairman, 50^th Anniversary Conference

"Free Software" IT Vendor Capability Survey

Victoria University (in association with the NZ Open Source Society) are currently undertaking a survey which seeks to identify vendors with capabilities to offer desktop supply, implementation, training and support services around free software.

This forms part of the NZOSS "Public Sector Remix" project, which involves a number of central, regional and local government agencies working together to trial free software for common desktop tasks such as document management, mail, calendar and browser-based information services.

You can complete this Survey online here.