British Computer Society
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| Type | Professional Organisation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1957 |
| Origins | London Computer Group |
| Staff | HRH The Duke of Kent, KG (Patron) |
| Area served | UK and worldwide |
| Focus | Information and Communications Technology |
| Method | Chartered status, Industry standards, Conferences, Publications and regulation of ICT education |
| Members | 68,000+ |
| Website | www.bcs.org |
The British Computer Society (BCS) is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in Information Technology. Established in 1957, it is the largest United Kingdom-based professional body for computing.
With a worldwide membership of over 68,000 members in over 100 countries, BCS is a registered charity and was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1984. Its objectives are to promote the study and application of communications technology and computing technology and to advance knowledge of education in ICT for the benefit of professional practitioners and the general public.
BCS is a member institution of Engineering Council UK, and therefore is responsible for regulation of ICT and computer science fields within the UK. The BCS is also a member of the Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS).
BCS has offices off the Strand in Southampton Street, south of Covent Garden in central London. The main administrative offices are in Swindon, west of London. It also has an office in Sri Lanka.
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[edit] History
The forerunner of BCS was the London Computer Group (LCG), founded in 1956. BCS was formed a year later from the merger of the LCG and an unincorporated association of scientists into an unincorporated club. In October 1957, BCS was incorporated, by Articles of Association, as The British Computer Society Ltd: the first President of BCS was Dr Maurice Wilkes, FRS.
In 1966, the BCS was granted charitable status and in 1970, the BCS was given Armorial Bearings including the shield and crest. The major ethical responsibilities of BCS are emphasized by the leopard's face, surmounting the whole crest and depicting eternal vigilance over the integrity of the Society and its members.
The BCS patron is HRH The Duke of Kent, KG. He became patron in December 1976 and has been actively involved in BCS activities, particularly having been President in the Silver Jubilee Year in 1982–1983.
In 2007 BCS launched BCSrecruit.com - a jobsite specifically aimed at IT professionals.
[edit] Governance
The Society is governed by a Trustee Board comprising the President, the Deputy President, the immediate past President, up to nine Vice Presidents (including Vice-President Finance), and five Professional Members elected by the advisory Council.
The BCS advisory Council elects the Honorary Officers - the President, the Deputy President and up to nine Vice-Presidents, together with the immediate past President and five members of Council.
The advisory Council provides advice to the Trustee Board on the direction and operation of BCS; in particular it is consulted on strategic plans and the annual budget. The Council is a representative body of the membership, with members elected directly by the professional membership, and by the Branches, Groups and Forums.
List (Historical) of Trustees Elected by Council
- Mr A. S. Brown, MBCS (2005–2008)
- Dr D. Holdsworth, CEng, FBCS, CITP (2005–2009)
- Mr R. A. McLaughlin, CEng, FBCS, CITP (–2006)
- Mrs E. K. Somogyi, FBCS, CITP (2005–2008)
[edit] Chartered IT Professional
The BCS is the only professional body in the United Kingdom with the ability to grant chartered status to IT professionals under its Royal Charter, granted to them by the Privy Council. Thus having the ability to grant Chartered (Professional) status to both its Fellows and Professional members. Known as Chartered IT Professional, they are entitled to use the suffix CITP. The BCS keeps a register of current Chartered Members and Fellows.[1]
[edit] Membership
The society has different grades of membership:
- Honorary grade
- Distinguished Fellow (Only 24 awards since 1971[2])
- Professional grades
- Fellow (FBCS)
- Member (MBCS)
- Ordinary grades
- Associate Member (AMBCS)
- Student Member
- Group, corporate and other membership categories
- Affiliate: for those with an interest in IT but not yet employed in an IT role.
- Group membership: nearly 200 organisations now encourage their IT professionals to join the Society through its Group Membership Scheme. This demonstrates the collective commitment to professionalism and confirms the organisation's status as an employer of IT practitioners.[3]
- Education affiliates: education intuitions can also be accredited by BCS[4].
- Chartered designations
- The Engineering Council UK has licensed the BCS by to award Chartered Engineer status (CEng) and Incorporated Engineer status (IEng).
- The Science Council has licensed the BCS by to award Chartered Scientist status (CSci).
- Members may also apply through the BCS to the European Federation of National Engineering Associations (FEANI) for European Engineer (Eur Ing) status.
[edit] Certifications
The Society provides a range of qualifications both for users of computers and IT professionals.
[edit] BCS Professional Examinations
The BCS conducts its own professional examinations in many countries. The levels are;
- Professional Graduate Diploma in IT (equal to a British honors degree)
- Diploma in IT (equal to the second year of an honors degree)
- Certificate in IT (equal to the first year of an honors degree)
[edit] Other Certifications
BCS also offers professional qualifications via its Information Systems Examination Board (ISEB).
ISEB provides a wide range of qualifications for IT professionals covering major areas including Management, Development, Service Delivery and Quality [5].
European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
The BCS is licensed to offer the ECDL qualification in the UK. The qualification is the international standard for users of computers.
The advanced course of ECDL ("Advanced ECDL") has four sections, each a qualification in its own right. Upon achieving all four advanced qualifications, the individual will receive a qualification as an "ECDL Expert" — in the UK, this confers upon the person Associate Membership of The British Computer Society, should that person wish to sign up to a code of conduct and join BCS.
e-Citizen
The e-Citizen qualification allows beginners to get online and start using the Internet. The qualification has been designed to provide a basic understanding of the Internet and to start using the web safely, from reading email to shopping online [1].
e-type
e-type is a qualification that allows indiviuduals to improve and certify their typing skills. The average user can save up to 21 days a year by improving their typing speed as well as preventing repetitive strain injury (RSI). e-type comes with full support materials and computer based courseware before allowing the user to assess their skills using a simple online test [2].
[edit] Structure
In common with many professional institutions, BCS has a number of regional branches and specialist groups. Currently there are 45 regional branches in the UK, 16 international sections and 50 specialist groups.
[edit] Regional Branches
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[edit] International Sections
- Belgium
- Guernsey
- Hellenic Section (Greece)
- Hong Kong
- Isle of Man
- Jersey
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Middle East
- Pakistan
- Rideau, North America (Ottawa)
- Singapore
- Sri Lanka
- Switzerland
- Upper Canada (Toronto)
- USA
[edit] Specialty Groups
Various elements of the BCS promote career development, including the British Computer Society Young Professionals Group, for members who are young in the profession and ELITE for directors and executives working in leadership roles.
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[edit] See also
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) (related organisation in USA)
- Australian Computer Society (related organisation in Australia)
- IEEE Computer Society (IEEE CS)
- Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET)
- International Federation for Information Processing
- Mountbatten Medal
- New Zealand Computer Society (related organisation in New Zealand)
