The South West Branch of The British Computer Society (BCS), the chartered IT body for the IT profession, is holding a presentation at The Bridge Inn (in the Malt House room) in Topsham at 7:30pm on Tuesday, 10th March 2009.

The speaker will be Master Brewer Tim Machin, who will be drawing on his 30 years experience with Bass to review the recent history of process automation within the brewing industry. Tim has helped develop the industry standard approach to process automation during this period of rapid technological change, whilst maintaining a healthy interest in the end product.

Martin Peniak has been awarded the 2008 Revell Research Systems Prize at the University of Plymouth. Mr Peniak attained the highest final marks in the university's BSc(Hons) Computing programme in 2008, achieving a first class degree in the subject.

Mr Peniak, who graduated in the summer, was presented with the prize by the consultancy's Managing Consultant, Alastair Revell, at a small ceremony on Monday, 1st December 2008.

Martin Peniak, who is from Slovakia, came to the United Kingdom in June 2004 to initially study English. He subsequently enrolled as a student on the BSc(Hons) Computing programme at the University of Plymouth.

Since graduating from the programme, Martin has started a PhD at the university researching artificial intelligence under Professor Angelo Cangelosi.

The consultancy has awarded the prize annually since 2006 to the best undergraduate on the BSc(Hons) Computing programme. The scope of the prize will be widened from 2009 onwards to include degrees combined with Computing at the university. The prize was established in 2006 to mark the practice's twenty-first anniversary. Revell Research Systems was founded in 1985 by Alastair Revell.

Martin Peniak (centre) receiving the 2008 prize from Alastair Revell, 
with his tutor Dr Nigel Barlow (right) looking on.

The British Computer Society (BCS) has voted in favour of creating a registration body to license other organisations to award the Chartered IT Professional (CITP) qualification. Currently, only The British Computer Society can confer chartered status on IT professionals in the United Kingdom.

The vote, which took place on Thursday, 6th November 2008, was carried with 91.2% of the society's professional members that voted being in favour.

The vote means that the BCS will now seek the approval of The Privy Council, which oversees the chartered professions in the UK, for the change to be made. Once this is given, the BCS will be able license other bodies to make the award, while its maintains both ownership and control of the standard, which will make the qualification open to members of other professional societies involved in Information Technology.

BCS President Alan Pollard is quoted as saying "The IT profession now encompasses everything from business change to service delivery, from information security to solutions architecture. Consequently there are significant numbers of IT professionals belonging to other professional bodies in areas such as engineering, accountancy and information management.

"By licensing other bodies to award CITP, we can join forces to make it a truly world class standard, increasing the recognition and standing of the profession in the UK and internationally."

The Chartered IT Professional (CITP) qualification is on a par with other chartered qualifications in the United Kingdom, such as chartered accountants and chartered surveyors; and is regarded as such by HM Government.

I am pleased to report that John Thompson has been awarded The Institution of Analysts and Programmers 2008 Prize at the University of Plymouth. He graduated on 24th September 2008 on The Hoe in Plymouth.

John Thompson (Centre) receiving the 2008 IAP Prize from 
Alastair Revell (Left) with Dr Andy Phippen (Right) 
from the University of Plymouth

The British Computer Society is proposing to change its bye-laws at its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Thursday, 6th November 2008. Special Resolution 1 proposes changes that will enable the BCS to license other bodies to grant Chartered IT Professional (CITP) while maintaining control of the qualification, subject to approval by the Privy Council.

The BCS believes that this will accelerate the take up of the CITP qualification.

All Professional and Chartered Members (MBCS, FBCS, MBCS CITP and FBCS CITP) are entitled to vote.

The Institution of Analysts and Programmers (IAP) has recently announced that its Spring Seminar 2009 will be held on 24th April 2009 at the Museum in Docklands, which is close to Canary Wharf in London.

The exact programme has not been announced yet, but the speakers are expected to talk about the modern developments that have transformed the Docklands area into a world-class centre for newspapers, banking, investment and trade.

Microsoft's Windows XP operating system will become increasingly difficult for consumers and small businesses to get hold of as from today.

Microsoft will no longer be providing OEM licences to manufacturers, such as Dell and HP, which means that the Windows XP operating system will not be sold pre-installed, once current stocks sell out.

Firms will be able to downgrade to Windows XP from Windows Vista and they will be able to buy licences for the operating system through Microsoft's volume licensing programmes.

Following my recent article on Chartered IT Professionals (CITP), I was interested to read a report by Computer Weekly (published on 12th June 2008) that covered the recent IT salary survey undertaken by research firm Celre, which stated:-

BCS Chartered IT Professionals (CITP) are the top earners with an average salary of £54,080, indicating that companies are paying top price for business and IT experience.

Revell Research Systems has long understood the importance of combining business and IT expertise. We believe that the Chartered IT Professional (CITP) qualification, which is equivalent in status to other chartered qualifications, such as Chartered Accountants and Chartered Surveyors, is extremely important.

All professional work undertaken by Revell Research Systems is closely managed by a chartered professional, which ensures clients that our work is executed to the highest of professional standards within Information Technology.