Winter is coming… but the 4th edition of our quarterly volunteer newsletter is already here! Over the past few editions, we’ve witnessed exciting growth, shared remarkable stories, and provided valuable insights, all thanks to our incredible volunteer community. With each issue, we strive to bring you relevant updates, and inspiring content that keeps you informed and engaged.
We’re delighted to announce that we have a new Community Co-Ordinator who has joined the BCS team – Emma Lane. Emma joins Kerry, Mandy, Marie and Beccy in providing dedicated support to our Specialist Groups, Branches and Sections. Emma is working closely with our health and social care groups under the Faculty of Health and Care.
We are immensely grateful for your continued support and the feedback you recently shared with us via our annual Volunteer Satisfaction Survey. Your feedback is extremely valuable to us, as it helps shape your volunteering experience by highlighting not only the positives, but also key areas for development.
Thank you all for all the fantastic work you do with BCS.
The Community Spotlight Series highlights the extraordinary impact of our volunteers and member groups. We want this to be a platform for sharing triumphs and inspiring others.
We’d like to congratulate several BCS members, many of whom are active within the BCS Community, for being noted on the Computer Weekly’s shortlist for Most Influential women in UK Tech 2024! The list recognises role models in the UK tech industry to provide inspiration for women and underrepresented groups within society and foster a more diverse and inclusive industry.
We’d like to spotlight the following nominees:
Akua Opong, RITTech, CITP
Charlene Hunter, MBCS
Deborah O’Neill, FBCS
Liz Williams, MBCS
Nicola Martin, FBCS
Tristi Tanaka, MBCS
Whilst voting has now closed, you can see full details of all the fantastic nominees on the Computer Weekly website.
As per usual with the commencement of Q1 of the BCS financial year, the Community team are all geared up for a busy events season. In order for the team to process your requests as seamlessly as possible, we ask that all event requests are submitted via the appropriate Event Request Form. We ask that you try to give the team at least six weeks notice to process your request and allow for sufficient advertising time.
Should you not have all applicable details to formally request your event setup, or if you only require a Zoom license or room reservation, you should instead complete the Reservation Request Form.
Completing the appropriate forms ensures that your request is placed in your coordinators queue for processing and allows for the request to be processed during periods of team absence.
We greatly appreciate your support and patience during this busy period.
AGM Season
With the kick off of a new BCS financial year comes AGM season. As most groups will be hosting their AGMs in the coming weeks, we wanted to reiterate that in accordance with the Member Group Rules, groups must provide their members 14 days written notice prior to the date of the AGM.
To allow your coordinator adequate time to create the booking link for you to share in-line with the stipulated notice, we encourage all AGM event requests be submitted 28 days in advance of the anticipated event date.
Anticipating an influx of new committee members across the community, we wanted to signpost several resources that may be of use to incoming committee members:
Something we’ve missed? Have a suggestion? The BCS Community Support committee would love to hear from you! The CSC facilitates the identification, development, adoption and sharing of good practice within the community and encourage Member Groups to do likewise for the benefit of BCS members and in support the Institute’s Royal Charter and strategy. You can submit your suggestions here!
CPD Digital Badge Launch
The BCS Learning and Development team are excited to share that we have recently launched our new digital badging platform. The initiative sees members have the ability to claim digital badges upon the completion of a several online BCS CPD courses.
We aim to expand this functionality over time, but as of now you can claim digital badges for CPD courses including:
All your digital badges can be viewed in the MyBCS portal under my digital badges.
Don’t miss out! As a valued BCS member, you’re entitled to an exclusive 20% discount on our online courses with code MEMBERS20%. Unlock these savings today and take full advantage of one of your many membership perks!
Zendesk Email Update
We’ve recently noted an increase in volunteers noting that they have not received emails that were sent from the Member Groups email using Zendesk. Zendesk tickets are sent from: support@bcscustomerservice18.zendesk.com.
We have investigated this internally and cannot find an obvious reason as to why this issue is occurring. Whilst we investigate this further, we ask that those contacting the Member Groups email to review their inbox settings to ensure that their own email provider is not triaging these emails to spam/junk folders upon receipt.
To assist you, here are several handy links to amend your spam/junk filters:
Once you’ve raised a ticket with the Community team via Zendesk, we highly recommend replying directly to the ticket messages (even if your query has been marked as ‘solved’) as opposed to raising a new request. This allows a clean trail of communication which helps us to resolve your query in a timely manner.
BCS is a key partner in a new programme designed to help people from marginalised communities launch tech careers while also helping employers fill their IT vacancies.
Mark your calendars! Join your fellow community members for a plethora of events, both online and in person. Curious about what's coming up? Check out the community events calendar here!
Learning from Horizon: Discover firsthand experiences of the impact IT systems can have and what actions we, as IT professionals, should take.
The BCS Council nomination window is open!
This is an excellent opportunity for current community members to engage with BCS Governance. The BCS Council serves as our advisory board, elected by members to offer guidance and feedback to the Trustee Board. In essence, the Council represents the membership, advising on key areas such as direction, strategy, and budget, while also acting as a vital communication link between the Trustee Board and our members.
As a committee member of one of our member groups, we encourage you to apply, or nominate a peer, for one of the following vacancies:
Specialist Group Constituency – 2 vacancies
Regional (Branches) Constituency – 2 vacancies
Be sure to check out our video series on the BCS Council and the nominations process for valuable insights into what to expect from a role on the BCS Council.
Nominations close on 5 December 2024 at 3:00pm GMT.
If you’re interested in any of the vacancies, apply or nominate today! The nomination form and guidance notes are available here.
Impact Highlights
Community Board Updates
We are thrilled to announce that the Community Board have recently appointed several new members. Please join us in congratulating:
Callum Kidd CEng FBCS
Irene Kujembola MBCS
Tania Mahmood MBCS
Rem Noormohamed MBCS
Rob Plummer CITP MBCS
Jordan Trigg MBCS
You can find out more about the Community Board on our Boards and Committees page.
Chartered IT Professional (CITP) Registration Update
You wouldn’t trust an accountant who wasn’t registered—so why should anyone trust an IT professional who isn’t?
CITP is the only Chartered registration that validates both technical expertise and ethical accountability in IT. With the tech sector evolving rapidly, we need trusted, qualified professionals to ensure the technology we rely on every day is robust, reliable and safe.
Why now is the time to take another look:
When technology goes wrong, the consequences can be devastating—and with tech, those effects can ripple across the globe in seconds. Recent media events highlight just how critical reliable tech is—and how closely tied it is to the success of other industries. You can be a part of the solution.
Being accepted as a Chartered member of BCS proves that you operate at the highest levels of technical and professional competence and your skills are matched by your ethical integrity, helping you to distinguish yourself. The CITP registration process has recently been updated following independent research with industry leaders, input from CITP peers and approval by the BCS Registrations and Standards Committee. These updated to the CITP standard reflect the shifting digital landscape, ensuring that you stay at the forefront of the profession.
When you make your application, you can now define your field of specialism by evidencing your skills and understanding in that area. CITP specialist registration is now available for the disciplines of cyber security and data and analytics, with more specialisms being introduced in the coming months! But don’t delay your application; become a Chartered member now and you can apply to add your specialism to your registration when it becomes available.
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