The visit should last approximately 1 hour.

For safety reasons this event is limited to 20 people and preference will be given to BCS members. Therefore, book early.

As it is a standalone building airside, to get to it would mean requiring a security access and we will congregate at the entrance of the tower road, by the cargo buildings. For those unfamiliar with the area the following picture should assist.

Venue: Ronaldsway, Tuesday 31st August 2010. Assembly time 18:45 for an 19:00 start.

The technology overview will include the automated parliamentary transcription system (first in the world), the parliamentary electronic “blind” voting system (first in the world), the relationships between the legal processes / members / voters / website and new opportunities with new technology (leading and bleeding edge).

The visit should last until approximately  7pm.

For safety reasons this event is limited to 20 people and preference will be given to BCS members.

Those included in the visit should park their cars in the  nearby streets and walk the short distance to the  Main Entrance.

Venue: Tynwald, Friday 6th August 2010. Assembly time 17:30 for an 17:45 start.

* What attributes recruiters and employers are looking for in leading candidates
* What skills are in demand / decline
* State of the market
* What issues the IoM ICT recruitment sector is facing – jobs going offshore, skill shortages etc.

And other topics relevant to the recruitment of ICT professionals.

This talk will be of value to anyone looking to continue and develop their employment in ICT functions, whether hoping to change jobs in the near future or to gain a deeper understanding of what drivers influence employers and recruiters for their own medium-term career planning.

Employers and ICT Managers will benefit by gaining a better picture of the broad recruitment environment from which they hope to draw future candidates.

Students hoping to enter the profession will leave with a clearer vision of what they must do to deliver a relevant education and skillset that helps them to secure their crucial first employment in the ICT industry.

The talk is to be held on Monday 28th June 2010 at the Sanderson Suite, Claremont Hotel, Douglas Promenade, Douglas. Open at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start. Light refreshments will be provided. Attendance is free and open to the public. The talk will be approximately 30-45 minutes long and there will be opportunities to ask questions. The event is expected to complete by 8:00pm.

In order to give us a feel for numbers attending, please confirm attendance in advance by replying to: publicity06-at-bcs.org.im

Tony has been at the forefront of investigative journalism in the IT sector for the past two decades. He has alerted us to the FADEC software problems implicated in the 1994 Mull of Kintyre Chinook crash, the ongoing failings of the £12.7 billion NHS NpfIT programme, and countless other examples of public and private sector IT initiatives that have not worked out as desired. Tony is probably the single most influential journalist in the arena of Professional IT in the UK, and has uncovered and broken many stories which would otherwise have been unreported or covered up. The scrutiny he has brought to the world of government and corporate IT has undoubtedly raised standards within the IT profession and has stimulated mass-media reporting and parliamentary investigation into the underexposed back office IT functions of government and business that affect the majority of citizens in the UK. His Computer Weekly IT Projects blog can be viewed at http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/tony_collins/

Tony is visiting the Isle of Man as one of the primary speakers at the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association conference on the theme of “Technology and Democracy”, where he will be addressing delegates from the parliaments of the UK, Isle of Man and many of the other Island members of the Commonwealth. We are very grateful to have captured some of his time to speak to the Isle of Man BCS whilst he’s here.

The talk is to be held on the 12th May 2010 at the Sanderson Suite,Claremont Hotel, Douglas Promenade, Douglas. Open at 6:00pm for a 6:30pm start. The talk will be approximately 30-45 minutes long and there will be opportunities to ask questions. The event is expected to complete by 8:00pm.

If you intend to join us, please leave a message for Publicity on our contact form to confirm we have enough seating and refreshments.

Dr. Ben Hextall from OceanWeb.com is to give a talk on “Marine Communications and IT” at the next British Computer Society Event scheduled for April 20th

The talk will cover the challenges of getting reliable communications to and from a moving target somewhere on an ocean! Areas to be discussed include the superyacht IT, the on-board network, satellite communications, airtime provision, real-time tracking and future developments in marine communications.

Given the growth of yacht management services on the Isle of Man, we expect that this talk will be of interest to those involved not just in IT but also those in the superyacht and shipping industries. The Isle of Man Section of the BCS would like to extend the invitation to attend to all interested parties, as well as the BCS membership.

The talk is to be held on the 20th April 2010 at the Sanderson Suite, Claremont Hotel, Douglas Promenade, Douglas. Open at 6:30pm for a 7:00pm start. The talk will be approximately 30-45 minutes long and there will be opportunities to ask questions. The event is expected to complete by 8:00pm.

If you intend to join us, please leave a message for Publicity on our contact form to confirm we have enough seating and refreshments.

For safety reasons this event is limited to 20 people and preference will be given to BCS members. Therefore, book early by emailing publicity06-at-bcs.org.im.

Those included in the visit should park their cars in the adjacent Isle of Man college car park and walk the short distance to the Water Treatment Works. For those unfamiliar with the area the following picture should assist.
High heels should not be worn as much of the visit will consist of walking over gratings. Those who suffer from vertigo should inform the IOMWA staff to facilitate a less vertiginous route round the works.

Island resident Steve Burrows, a Chartered Fellow of the BCS and member of the elite CW500 IT Directors club, until recently Group IT Director of a large UK B2B company, will recount his experience of deploying a sophisticated and complex high-end CRM system, with illustration of the capabilities it provides and the business benefits realised. Steve will explain how he used CRM to increase sales and profitability, how he was able to integrate the activities of the different customer-facing functions within the business, streamline the activities of office and field-based customer-facing staff, and facilitate significant organisational growth, leading to UK market dominance.

This talk is a “must attend” opportunity for business directors, senior managers and IT function heads to gain insights about the use of technology in business to provide real competitive edge.

All are welcome, attendance is free.

Venue: Claremont Hotel on Wednesday 24th February 2010. Doors open at 18:00 for an 18:30 start.

Please confirm attendance in advance by replying to: publicity06-at-bcs.org.im

Gabriel Karawani has an extensive career in IT and software development for both enterprise and web systems. He has gained his professional experience in IT consulting, project management and network management both in Denmark and London. Gabriel holds a MSc in Engineering.

Gabriel has provided consulting services on SharePoint since 2005 with particular expertise in ECM and Document Management. He was instrumental in ClearPeople’s selection for Microsoft’s Partner Evidence Programme (PEP), for SharePoint 2010, and has spoken at a number of events including the Butler Group’s Strategy Briefing earlier this year

We look forward to your attendance at this event.

Venue: Claremont Hotel on Monday 30th November 2009. Doors open at 18:00 for an 18:30 start.

Please confirm attendance in advance by replying to: publicity06-at-bcs.org.im

• Slides and Feedback Form
• Isle of Man Sharepoint User Group

This year’s BCS Christmas Pub Quiz will be on Tuesday 8th December. With prizes for “General Knowledge” and for the “Geeky IT Questions”, this event has proven a great opportunity to practice “teambuilding”, test your knowledge, network with other BCS members and guests, and enjoy a few drinks. Complimentary light refreshments will be provided.

The Quiz will commence on Tuesday 8th December 2009 at 1900 at the Prospect Pub in Douglas (doors open and the light refreshments available from about 1815).

Please assemble your teams (maximum 4 persons per team) and kindly confirm attendance in advance by replying to publicity06-at-bcs.org.im

The first session will start at 5.30pm and is entitled Understanding and applying your relationship tendencies.  There will then be a short break for tea/coffee etc, and the second session will start at 6.45pm and is entitled Managing conflicts collaboratively.

Session 1: Understanding and applying your relationship tendencies
There is much talk about relationships and that all good customer service starts with a good relationship. However, all too often, these are just words and seldom turned into action.

What many people are not aware is that in psychology, relationships between people are a well-researched and understood field. Not only that, but there are many proven and practical assessment tools available. Some of these delve into one’s personality such as Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI®). Others stick with the more visible and hence more manageable external behaviour such as FIRO-B®, which stands for Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation – Behaviour

At a time when business is increasingly competitive, fast-moving and challenging, there is a tendency to avoid building long-term relationships and go for quick-win transactions. This is a mistake. A short-term small gain may prove to be a long-term large loss.
Charles Chang will describe an extremely useful tool to help you understand the underlying behavioural issues behind how people have natural tendencies in their interpersonal behaviour. With this knowledge you will be better equipped to analyse a situation and determine how to handle it positively and productively.

Session 2: Managing conflicts collaboratively
At a time when the economy is in recession and many organisations are under great pressure, tension and conflict can become more frequent and intense within a team, leading to non-optimal decisions and impaired performance. Even in the absence of overt conflict, disagreements on how best to achieve shared objectives when external factors are changing rapidly and multiple options exist can undermine the best laid strategies.
Charles will describe a Method to help you understand the underlying behavioural issues behind conflicts and how to move to a win-win collaborative position. His talk is based on the Thomas Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI®) which is the leading instrument for conflict resolution. By measuring and modelling an individual’s behaviour in conflict situations, it helps to open discussions about personal and group dynamics.

Charles Chang FBCS CITP is a management consultant who works with CIOs and Heads of IT to improve the business leverage of their IT investment through supporting them on the ‘softer’ issues of IT management – achieved through highly interactive workshops, often using proven psychometric tools.
He also works with major IT vendors to further their understanding of business and management issues facing CIOs.

Charles developed his IT skills with IBM in the US and with ICL in the UK over 15 years – late 60s & 70s. His consulting and research skills were developed over 25 years at Butler Cox, Wentworth Research – which he co-founded – and Gartner, where he was a VP of EXP: Executive Programs for CIOs – early 80s to 2004.  Charles is the author of numerous reports and has addressed business and IT executives internationally.

Recently, Charles has become heavily engaged in voluntary activities for the BCS and is an Advisory Councillor as well as chair of the Management Forum. He also sits on several other BCS boards and committees.

Venue
Claremont Hotel on Monday 19th October 2009. Doors open at 17:15 for an 17:30 start.

Handouts from event
Understanding and applying your relationship tendencies
Managing conflicts collaboratively