Friday , 21st November 2008

ACS news

ACS staff, Information Age

18/08/2006 13:35:55

Agilent solves recruiting challenges with ACS Foundation

The ACS Foundation's Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) Program is proving to be the perfect solution for the graduate recruitment challenges facing the Australian operation of measurement company Agilent Technologies.

Originally a spin-off from Hewlett-Packard, Agilent provides core electronic and bio-analytical measurement tools to advance the electronics, communications, life science research, environmental and petrochemical industries.

Agilent first established a relationship with the ACS Foundation at the end of 2004 and has since taken on no fewer than 25 students for a year of full-time project-based work experience, which is relevant to their academic studies. Each scholarship costs Agilent $34,000, but the company's HR specialist Chris Davern said the benefits far outweigh the cost.

"Not only does the scholarship program give Agilent access to outstanding third-year students from leading ICT degree courses for a 12-month scholarship period to supplement our team of professionals, but it allows us to put the students through their paces on real-life projects and consider their potential as future employees," he said.

The students undertake the year-long work experience during their third year of studies, returning to university to complete a fourth year of education before venturing into the workforce full-time. This scholarship period also allows the student to assess their own suitability to the ICT profession and determine which areas they would like to specialise in.

Chris said the calibre of students enrolled in the ACS Foundation program has been impressive and the company has already offered full-time jobs to several graduates and final-year students as a result of their scholarship experience.

"Graduate recruitment has always been important to Agilent, but our CEO has set some high targets in terms of our global recruiting and the percentage of new staff he wants to hire straight out of university," he said.

"These kinds of feeder programs provide a valuable opportunity for us to work with students for 12 months before they finish their university training and identify ones with whom we want to establish a longer-term relationship."

Agilent puts its students through a brief orientation program before allocating them to a team and manager in hardware development or, predominantly, in the software division where students undertake design, development or testing roles.

These projects are defined at an early stage and students are invited to apply for each allocated scholarship with selection by a professional industry panel.

Josh Anderson completed an ACS Foundation WIL scholarship with Agilent in 2005 during the third year of his Bachelor of Applied Science at RMIT in Melbourne.

His initial assignment project was to run the scripts used in the performance and scalability testing framework for a new router tester, but he was soon encouraged to begin developing his own testing scripts. Within a couple of months, he was consulting directly with customers, designing and implementing new tests and interpreting the results as well.

"I had a fabulous mentor: my manager Brett White really built up my confidence and encouraged me to try new things," Anderson said. "The atmosphere at Agilent is very relaxed and informal and I felt very comfortable after only a couple of months being here."

With a shift in focus to more marketing-focused visual testing in the middle of the year, Josh began profiling using industry-standard tools like Rational Quantify and working with embedded software.

"One of the great things about my scholarship, in addition to my project, was being able to put myself out there and say I was interested in different things. Towards the end of last year, I helped to rewrite a build and packing process using a new open source tool called Nant, which required me to learn XML and acquire some new skills so that was great," he said.

His technical facility and enthusiasm for his work led to him being offered a part-time job working with Agilent three days a week during his final year of studies, with a full-time position waiting for him in 2007.

"The experience I'm getting here is fantastic," Anderson said. "One of my goals is to move into systems architecture and I'm currently getting a lot of exposure to technical standards documents like RFCs (Request for Comment), which is a big plus for me.

"I really feel like I have an opportunity to have an impact on the project and to learn new skills along the way," he said. "Agilent operates in so many domains and there are certainly possibilities to travel and work overseas, so I'm keen to explore those opportunities down the track."

When Anderson begins work full-time with Agilent early next year, he'll already be completely up to speed and productive, able to make a significant contribution from day one.

"Keeping students in whom we are interested employed on a part-time basis while they finish their degree not only ensures they remain familiar with our organisation and the projects in which they're involved," said Davern.

"The ACS Foundation Scholarship Program has been a wonderful way for us to build relationships and encourage dynamic and creative young professionals who can not only make a contribution to Agilent right now, but who will be assets for our organisation and the greater Australian ICT skilled workforce well into the future," he said.

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New IT lab

A research laboratory dedicated to finding better ways for humans to interact with computers could secure Tasmania's place as a global centre for high technology development.

The Human Interface Technology (HIT) Lab Australia, one of only three such facilities in the world, will bring together academic and commercial experts to formulate new ideas and turn them into usable products.

Due to open in Hobart early next year, the lab will work closely with sister facilities in the US and NZ, attracting talented researchers and investment funds to the state.

Founder of the US HIT Lab, Prof Tom Furness, says the Tasmania facility will work on a range of targeted projects in fields such as medicine, communications and training.

Initially operating from facilities at the UTAS campuses in Hobart and Launceston, Prof Furness says others will eventually be established in mainland states.

"This is a national project and Tasmania will be its headquarters," he says. "We would expect the HIT Lab to become a magnet for post-graduate students from Australia and around the world."

The lab's operational model, which requires financial support from both government and the private sector, has been shown to work in both the US and NZ. The US facility has already been responsible for spinning off 24 start-up companies based on technologies developed by its researchers.

Prof Furness says Tasmanian companies will be invited to join the Virtual Worlds Consortium which is allied to the research labs. For their financial support, consortium members are able to interact with researchers and gain early access to developments.

"Eventually the Tasmanian lab will be financially self sustaining through licensing the intellectual property it produces," Furness says. A company, called HIT Lab Australia Limited, will be established to manage this process.

"I can see the point -- a few years down the track -- where this company will grow to be able to list on the Australian Stock Exchange, creating a fully sustainable, long-term business."

UTAS School of Computing head Prof Young Choi says the university is committed to the HIT Lab and will be seeking establishment funding from the state and federal governments.

"The NZ lab is doing well, but it struggled for the first couple of years," he says. "I want this lab to have the facilities it needs to make an impact within its first year."

Choi says he expects around 60 post-graduate students to work in the lab, supported by a full-time dedicated staff and academics from the university.

"The aim is to transfer new technology to industry, generating income both for the lab and for the country as a whole," he says.

ACS president Philip Argy welcomed the lab's announcement, saying it will help to position the country as an "international research centre of excellence".

"It is important for Australia to make itself an attractive place for the best and brightest minds in the world to work," he says. "Projects such as the HIT Lab will help us achieve this."

Furness says early projects undertaken in the lab could focus on new technologies to help communications in remote areas and the development of new computer-aided training techniques for facilities such as the Australian Maritime College in Launceston.

At the US HIT Lab, recent projects have included using virtual reality techniques to overcome human phobias and the development of immersive, three-dimensional learning environments for school children.

The NZ lab's projects include techniques to allow the use of real objects in teleconferencing sessions and the overlaying of computer generated data on real-world scenes in a technique called augmented reality.

Furness says that as computers become more powerful and an ever more important part of everyday life, finding news ways for people to interact with them is increasingly important.

"To do this we need to harness the raw talent of our brightest young people, and this is what the HIT Lab is all about," he says.

He says Tasmania has all the requirements to become a world renown research centre and the new lab will aid in the process.

"Exports from this process will be 'bits' rather than 'atoms'," he says. "Tasmania's enviable lifestyle, stable economy and government make it an ideal place for such research to take place."

+++++ Young IT Professionals

Success in ICT means adding a range of personal, soft skills to ongoing professional development - and if that means going bowling to develop networking skills, then go.

Young IT (YIT) professionals and students attacked the pins while getting to know 100 or so of their colleagues and peers at the recent Brisbane YIT conference, and in between times plunged into presentations and discussions on employment trends, career path building, IT certification and skills shortage.

Deloittes partner Peter Bars, one of 20 speakers from Queensland and further afield, stressed the importance of gaining business knowledge if IT was to deliver to its unique potential.

His address reflected the themes of other business speakers calling for ICT professionals to understand business milestones and progress indicators, and the challenges facing their clients and their competitors.

Issues workshop subjects included the industrial stature and professional profile of ICT practitioners and ways to increase the flow of career candidates into the profession, and the steps being taken by the ACS to resolve them.

Convener Cindy Tong said that essentially the conference supplied the knowledge and experience not gained in formal education: "We got insights from luminaries in our profession, real workplace information that doesn't often arise in formal courseware.

"Going bowling with these people let delegates mingle with industry leaders to make new contacts with them and other delegates in an atmosphere more conducive to networking than a formal dinner."

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Computer Professional Program - the journey so far

The CPP program is gathering momentum as its components come online, reports CPP registrar Pam Barnes

The Computer Professional Program (CP Program) replaces the successful Certification Program which commenced in 1993. Led by Gerald Murphy (FACS) from 1991 to 2005, the program was very successful at the height of the IT industry boom.

With Kate Behan (FACS and Honorary Life Member) as the subject developer and a team of industry experts assisting each specialist area, the program was highly respected.

The CP Program evolved after a review of the Certification Program during 2004 and 2005 when it was decided to change the delivery method and outcome, and focus on the PCP qualification with the CP Program as a means to obtain PCP. After many meetings, discussions, reports and a Strategic Plan, the CP Program was approved at ACS Council in November 2005.

Continual work on the Strategic Plan, including reporting structures, content, delivery and marketing, was undertaken during late 2005 and early 2006 and from this an implementation plan was devised to take the CP Program forward.

Dr David Lindley was appointed as principal of the program in April. With more than 10 years' experience as an IT practitioner and 13 years as an educator and academic, he has worked in Australia, the UK and Malaysia, and as a visiting lecturer in Sri Lanka, India and China. His specialisation is learning by working adults using networked and distance-independent teaching methods.

Bob Hart, (manager, Professional Standards and Development) and Wayne Knack (Professional Development Board Director) oversee the program.

Assessors of the CP Program are ACS members with extensive experience in industry and academic plus expert knowledge in their subject assessment area. Assessors are also members of the Academic Board.

The academic content of the program is governed by an Advisory Board which comprises of employers (large and SME), professionals and leading academics. This board will establish program objectives, including the knowledge, skills and competencies expected of graduates. They will monitor the program against those objectives and required outcomes. The board will meet annually. We are seeking nominations for the Advisory Board membership from significant organisations in government, education, private and specialist ICT industries.

The Academic Board comprises the subject development and assessment staff plus two nominees from the Advisory Board. This board will translate program objectives to an academic plan and oversee the development of subjects. They will also ensure academic standards for the program and the moderation of all assessment. The Academic Board will report to the Advisory Board against the stated objectives and required outcomes and meet regularly. The executive staff of the Academic Board will be the Principal Developer and Principal Assessor.

The Subject Reference Groups will comprise the Principal Developer and Principal Assessor, developers and assessors associated with the subject, plus industry experts in the specialist knowledge area. The Reference Groups will advise the Principal Developer and Principal Assessor on changes in the knowledge area. They will also oversee the development of a subject and determine pedagogy for delivery to ensure students acquire the required body of knowledge and competencies defined for the unit on a triennial basis.

Delivery of the CP Program has changed from hard copy study guides with many readings, plus textbooks, to online learning. This will involve students being involved in discussion forums, e-mail groups and online information platforms.

The first subject for online delivery will be Business, Legal and Ethical Issues which has been part of the original subject suite since 1993 but is seen as an integral area for IT students to have a broad knowledge in.

Part of the CP Program assessment will include a Professional Practice Report which is a reflective online diary providing students with an opportunity to record their experiences while enrolled in the program, and to reflect on how they acted and what they might have done to improve their performance.

Specialist subjects currently include Project Management and Managing Technology and Operations with Software Quality Improvement on the agenda for 2007.

Our implementation plan for marketing the CP Program consisted of meetings with the Marketing Manager of the ACS, Simon Kwan, discussions with the advertising agency and we realised there was much to do to promote a new program.

One of the aspects of the CP Program is the cost, at $625 per subject for ACS members, this is a significant price reduction from what was previously offered and what the marketplace dictates. Postgraduate study at this price is affordable for all members, and we see it as a member benefit.

Since Council gave approval for the CP Program to begin in 2006 we have constructed a new Web site www.acs.org.au/cpprogram, distributed information and training to Branch and National office staff and also informed BEC members about the changes. The welcome pack for new members includes information and a link to the new Web site and as from June 1, new members must complete the CP Program to obtain PCP status.

Ads in Information Age are the first to be designed show how we intend to promote the ACS and the PCP status to the wider community in the near future.

All current and past CMACS students have been informed of the changes and reports have been provided to Council in May this year. The education of staff and ex officio members on how the program works is paramount to the success of the Program.

Our President Philip Argy is enthusiastic about the CP Program and the idea of PCP post-nominals being recognised as the optimum qualification in the ICT industry. A postcard for event promotion and prospective member information has been produced and further marketing material will be developed during the year.

Articulation pathways for further postgraduate study towards Graduate Diplomas and Master's awards will continue with partner organisations and universities. We will work towards articulation with most Australian universities in the future.

We will register the CP Program as a Graduate Certificate with the Australian Qualifications Framework in later 2006 and the program will then be a recognised postgraduate award. The Australian Qualifications Framework is a national system of qualifications encompassing all post-compulsory education. The more people who know about the CP Program and spread the word, the easier it will be to have it accepted and recognised as a world-class qualification.

We have come a long way since 1993 and will continue to offer quality postgraduate professional development to our members in the future.

Pam Barnes is the registrar of this program, and of the Diploma of Information Technology examinations which are conducted by the ACS. She is an experienced education administrator with indepth knowledge of university systems of student administration.

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Members and consultants get together online

The ACS Web site is offering new functionality for both consultants and members to list personal and/or professional details to help make contact with their peers, or find new clients.

For members, there is a section of the MyACS (Members Only site) where a member can choose to display contact information that can be searched by other members.

This is effectively a "member meet member" function allowing a search for other members (who have subscribed to the service through their user preferences) by various fields such as location, industry, job function, interest and languages spoken).

For Professional Members there is a Consultants Directory where personal and business details for public viewing can be listed. Any visitor to the Web site can search the subscribed members by location, industry, job function, expertise and languages spoken.

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