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BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) Knowledge Today’s economy is built on knowledge and it’s on our ability to process, share and manage information that our society thrives or dies. How well the UK does these activities will in the end determine our financial standing. This information is the most vital commodity we possess. We increasingly rely upon it to protect us from crime and terror; diagnose and treat us when we are ill; monitor and mitigate our impact on a wounded planet; provide open access to goods and services to fulfil our human needs; help us to save and spend our money wisely and profitably; collect, allocate and redistribute our taxes; ensure efficient and transparent markets; and work more effectively and efficiently on a daily basis. Ultimately, we rely upon information-based technologies to support the most human need of all, to communicate: sharing our needs, desires and aspirations with others. Information society IT could reasonably be called the first truly global profession, and the world needs an organisation that leads an IT profession fit to drive the information society, not just to follow it. The Institute is intent on becoming that organisation, and this re-launch is our next major step in a long-term plan to achieve this position. To put IT to work, we must actively address a range of social integration challenges: The digital divide. Contrary to popular belief, the digital divide has not closed. We too easily mistake broadband access for information literacy. A real and persistent gulf exists between the information haves and have-nots. Information vulnerability. From identity theft to benefit fraud, money laundering and deception – information is still not secure. Lax information management. The value of data is still not highly valued by the public, by modern institutions or even our profession. Project failure. Many public and private IT projects still fail to deliver: too often, and too often on a grand scale. Skills shortages. Nationally, and even globally, too few people are training in IT and too few are trained in the underlying fundamentals of computer science to solve our pressing problems. Lack of a clear career path. Finally, too few of those who do train actually make it up the chain of command into management whether inside or outside the IT function. We have developed a clear strategy based around five specific pillars, which you will see much of in the coming years, in order to address these challenges. They will support: 1 Bridging the gap between education practice and research. 2 Giving practitioners the professional development and career support they deserve. 3 Informing public policy on how IT can contribute to society. 4 Ensuring everyone benefits from IT. 5 Championing the global IT profession. As the natural leader of the IT profession, responsible for awarding the much sought-after Chartered IT Professional (CITP) status, we must stand up and act, as a hugely respected and independent professional body, for the benefit of the entire industry. - 8 -
BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT TRUSTEES’ REPORT (continued) 3. Activity Reports An overview of the key activities of the Institute is included in the President’s Message and Chief Executive’s Report on pages 4 to 6. A summary of the activities and achievements of each individual Board during 2009/10 is described by the respective Vice-President below: BCS Academy of Computing Vice-President & Chair: Dr Liz Bacon Vice-President & Ambassador: Professor Alan Bundy The BCS Academy of Computing (Academy) was launched in October 2009. Its purpose is to advance the creation, study and application of knowledge in computing. It is a collaborative partnership between the Institute, Council of Professors and Heads of Computing (CPHC) and the UK Computing Research Committee (UKCRC). Computing has joined disciplines such as mathematics, physics and medicine as one of the UK’s foremost intellectual outputs. The subject is not only vibrant and growing, but more rigorous, more interdisciplinary, more experimental and more user-oriented than ever. Examples of ingenious computational ideas that have had significant impact include the use of programming languages to model cell biology, retrieving documents from the internet based on quantum theory, and building new kinds of massively parallel computers that mimic the human brain. Also, computing has a distinguished heritage, emerging from a rich variety of other disciplines including mathematics and engineering sciences such as electronic engineering. Consequently, the advancement of computing and IT as an academic discipline needs a unifying forum to provide integration and coherence across education, research and business. The Academy will enable the consistent and structured development of computing as well as its continued relevance and value for academics, industry professionals and society as a whole. The Academy will address how best to: � nurture continued ingenuity, inventiveness and innovation in computing; � develop and support a cohesive community inclusive of scholars, researchers and professionals with a shared commitment to the advancement of computing; � facilitate the scientific and engineering based application of computing knowledge within organisations to support transformational change; � endeavour to ensure the relevance of computing knowledge throughout the education, business and research sectors; � promote excellence in the creation, study and application of knowledge in computing; � engage with the public in order to facilitate a greater appreciation of the successes and challenges of computing, and facilitate informed debate about the roles computing should play in society at large. By addressing these aims, and others, in practical ways, Academy is fostering the creation and use of IT knowledge for maximum economic value and social impact. One of the Academy’s most important activities during this year has been supporting the transition of the Computing at School (CAS) group to a formal membership body run under the Academy. CAS was created to support and promote the teaching of computing in UK schools. CAS membership is broad, including teachers, examiners, parents, university faculty, and employers. CAS directly supports specialist ICT/Computing teachers, by providing them with teaching materials, training, local hubs, and the opportunity to meet with like-minded colleagues. This year has been especially fortunate for CAS who have received significant financial support from Microsoft Research Cambridge, the Department of Environment funded initiative Vital and Google. - 9 -
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