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ACS News

ACS staff, Information Age

14/12/2004 14:03:31

ACS Foundation strengthens business bonds

It's been a busy and successful year for the ACS Foundation with 119 scholarships awarded to IT students and major steps taken towards increasing that number significantly in the future.

The NSW Chapter of the Foundation recently staged a business dinner attended by 52 companies, including the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA). As the reputation and influence of the Foundation continue to increase, it is seeking to involve other ICT industry bodies in order to access a broader support network and provide wider representation for its scholarship and research funding programs. "Broadening our representation is a crucial step in enabling us to attract talented new students to study ICT degrees and then remain in the industry upon graduation," said ACS Foundation Chair John Ridge. "This has clear ramifications for women, who tend to leave the industry relatively early in their career."

"We've also been working very closely with ACS Branch representatives in different states and territories to ensure the society can maximise the benefits of being associated with the ACS Foundation."

Mr Ridge said the Foundation is working closely with the ACS to gain industry support for its Corporate Recognition Program and build closer ties between the ACS, its Foundation and the corporate world.

At time of writing, the Foundation was preparing to launch its South Australian Chapter on December 1, working with, and through, the SA Branch of the ACS to engage the Government and other stakeholders for this event.

"We are working more closely with ACS branch chairs around the country to identify and promote opportunities for the Foundation with local businesses," said ACS Foundation executive director Peter Rose.

New work-integrated learning scholarships

"We've developed a new program of work-integrated learning scholarships which run for a full academic year. In many instances, we'll be adding value to what is currently called an internship or sandwich-style work experience," he explained.

After initial discussions with employers and universities, the Foundation expects to award at 100 new scholarships in this category within the next 12 months.

The first few work-integrated learning scholarships have already been advertised and filled, with more expected in coming weeks and months. In each case, the student receives $28,000 in funding, plus a host of other benefits including: free ACS membership; software, training and licensing from InterSystems; industry mentoring; assistance in preparing a professional CV upon graduation; and the guarantee of at least one job interview from a major employer.

They also attract substantial recognition and status as the holder of an ACS Foundation National Scholarship, with all the associated marketing and promotional activities - definitely an attractive and valuable package for students.

Scholarship students impress

The Foundation congratulates the 17 scholarship holders who are graduating this year on their academic success, which continues to astound industry leaders involved in the organisation.

Eighty per cent of the students managed to achieve Distinction or higher for every subject throughout the course, while 35 per cent of them achieved only High Distinctions. The Foundation is succeeding in its goal to attract the best and brightest into the ICT sector.

Funding continues to grow

The ACS Foundation, in conjunction with Motorola Australia, has applied for a donation from the Motorola Foundation in America, and has just been granted $US20K to support scholarships for regional female students in Western Australia, South Australia and Victoria.

This latest success means that the ACS Foundation, after just three years of operation, has awarded a total of 152 scholarships and achieved donations and pledges of $4.5 million. The additional 100 work integrated learning scholarships to be awarded in 2005 will bring in an extra $2.8 million on top of that.

ACS National Computer Science School

Another important initiative has been the decision to support, with the aid of a donor, the Sydney University Annual Computer Science Camp. With the backing of the ACS, this camp will now be known as the ACS National Computer Science School, supported by the ACS Foundation.

Around 80 year 11 students will be invited to attend from across NSW, particularly from regional areas, along with one student from each state, who will be chosen by the organisers.

"The ACS and the ACS Foundation are excited about this venture as it represents a valuable opportunity to promote amongst year 11 students the opportunities available for talented students in the ICT industry," said Rose.

Smart Sparks Ball rescheduled for March 2005

After finding that the original date set for the Smart Sparks Ball clashed with two other major charity events, the ACS Foundation has deferred the gala event until March 19, 2005.

The premier fund-raising event for the ACS Foundation, the Ball will be held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Sydney with the theme of Love Boat, drawing on the popular 1980s television show for inspiration.

Set a course for adventure, find yourself a new romance, but don't forget your cheque book in order to take advantage of the wonderful items available through the silent and live auctions.

Products will range from paintings and wine through to electronic gadgets and sporting memorabilia. Sydney City Lexus is providing two cars - an $80,000 Lexus RX330 and a $15,000 Toyota Echo - for auction on the night, both with low reserves.

Entertainment will once again be provided by the very talented youngsters available through Out There Productions, and guests will also have the opportunity to meet some of the scholarship students who benefit from your generosity.

The ACS Foundation is grateful for the sponsorship of Altiris, InterSystems, eCorner, the ACS and Alt-U, which once again has provided administrative support for the organisation of the Ball.

Tables are booking fast, with tickets priced at $225 each or $2400 for a table of 12. For more information or to make a booking, call (02) 9299 3666 or e-mail smartsparksball@acs.org.au

ACS elects new Councillors The ACS's National Council, the Society's peak decision-making body, voted in new members at its Annual General Meeting on Saturday 20 November: a Vice President, Treasurer and other new Board Councillors.

Lawyer and prominent ICT ambassador, Philip Argy was re-elected into the position of National Vice President, which he has held for the past five years. Mr Argy's significant contribution to the ACS was recognised by the Council with an ACS Honorary Life Membership.

The role of National Treasurer was awarded to Dr Bob Cross - current Branch Chair of the ACS in Western Australia. Dr Cross succeeds Glen Heinrich, who has served as ACS Treasurer for the past 20 years and on ACS Council for 23 years. Heinrich will continue to serve in the ACS South Australian Branch.

"I would like to acknowledge Glen Heinrich for the significant contribution he has made to the ACS and ACS Council for the past two decades. He is one of our longest serving Council members, and like all our Councillors he has contributed his time in a voluntary capacity and has performed his role with enormous diligence. On behalf of the National Council I thank him for his ongoing commitment to the ACS and the Australian ICT community," said ACS President Edward Mandla.

With a strong focus on industry advocacy, the ACS Boards are tasked to develop policy, set and promote industry standards, create and implement initiatives to further the industry, and to represent the Society at a range of levels.

There are three classifications of Boards: Community Boards, Membership Boards and Academic (Technical) Boards. Each Director will be responsible for a specific area of strategic direction to promote and coordinate activities that further the objectives of the Society.

Mandla said the introduction of additional board positions, and the inclusion of "emerging technologies" to the existing Community board responsibilities, reflects the importance of these areas to the continued growth of the ICT industry. ACS has also separated out board responsibility for women in the ICT sector - to align with the increased focus this area will be given by the Federal Government.

"We welcome our new board members and look forward to the significant value they will bring to the ACS policy agenda and our overall industry profile in the coming year.

"This year the ACS received the largest ever number of board nominations - all of an extremely high standard. This is a very exciting trend, which reinforces the ACS' position as the core representative body for ICT professionals. It also demonstrates that a growing number of industry leaders share the ACS vision and want to help move our industry forward in a very powerful way.

"Our new Board members all demonstrate outstanding experience within the ICT sector and they all employ the honorary role as guardians of professionalism and ethics within the ICT industry," he said.

New Board Directors for ACS The successful candidates and their areas of responsibility include: Community boards - Communications Technologies (broadband, the Internet, digital and interactive media): Prof David Everitt Community Affairs (ICT work life issues, social and legal implications of ICT, the application of ICT in health and education, biotechnology and emerging technology): Jerry Casburn Young IT Professionals (promoting ICT as an attractive career choice and serving the needs of young professionals): Anastasia Govan ACS-W (encouraging greater participation and retention of women in the ICT sector): Su Spencer Membership boards - Membership Lifecycle (membership growth and retention, marketing, member advocacy and corporate recognition): John Ridge Membership Standards (membership guidelines and standards): Martin Hale Professional Development (professional development, knowledge acquisition and skill development): Wayne Knack Accreditation, Assessment & Appeals (course accreditation, immigration skills assessment and matters related to Appeals): Prof John Hughes Academic (technical) boards - Computer Science (ICT security, programming, data communications, Artificial Intelligence, computer science, expert systems): Prof Vijay Varadharajan Computer Systems & Software Engineering (safety critical systems, software engineering, industrial automation, standards, software process improvement and software quality, computer architecture, web and e-commence tools): Associate Prof Karl Reed Information Systems (electronic service delivery, e commerce, enterprise architecture, IT governance, human - computer interaction and information systems): Prof Steve Elliott.

ACS elects Fellows and Honorary Life Members

The ACS (Australian Computer Society) National Council awarded two Honorary Life Memberships and elected seven Fellows at its Annual General Meeting held in Sydney in November.

ACS National President Edward Mandla said the Honorary Life Memberships recognised outstanding contributions to the life and growth of the ACS, while Fellowships were awarded to those who had given significant service to the wider ICT sector.

"We're incredibly fortunate in having these extraordinary achievers as part of the ACS and continually benefit from their commitment to their industry and their profession," he said. "Fellowships and Honorary Life Memberships are a small way in which the ACS can acknowledge and elevate the status of these outstanding individuals."

Honorary Life Members

Philip Argy was awarded Honorary Life Membership for his outstanding contribution to the ACS - serving as National Vice President for five years, NSW Branch Chair for two years, Chair of the Society's Ethical, Legal and Social Implications Committee (ELSIC) for the past nine years and as a member of the ACS Disciplinary Committee since 1996. During this time, He has successfully combined his significant legal and ICT expertise to assist the ACS on a number of important projects - including authoring numerous submissions to government, and appearing as an expert witness before Senate committee hearings. In addition to his voluntary contribution to the ACS, Argy is the National Chair of the eCommerce Committee of the Law Council of Australia, and is on the World Intellectual Property Organisation Panel of Arbitrators. He is also past president and founding member of the NSW Society for Computers and the Law. In 2005, he will continue his role as National Vice President, working alongside National President Edward Mandla.

Richard Hogg was awarded Honorary Life Membership for his long-term contribution to ACS - serving as ACS National President from 2001 - 2003, and as a member of the ACS Victorian Branch for the past 17 years, including three years as a Branch Chair and member of the National Council. He has played a key role in influencing government policy outcomes at both State and Federal levels. In 2001, Hogg was awarded a Centenary of Federation Medal for his voluntary contribution to the ACS and the wider ICT community. He currently serves as Vice-President of SEARCC (South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation) and Chairman of SEARCC 2005. He has been admitted to the rank of Pearcey Companion by the Pearcey Foundation as a reward for his contributions to that body.

New Fellows The ACS Council also elected seven new Fellows at the AGM - recognising the important contribution each has made to the broader ICT industry. Those elected were: Agnes Vokovic was acknowledged for her pioneering work advancing the influence of women in ICT and for promoting TAFE in the ICT education sector. Since she commenced her career with NSW TAFE in 1982, Vokovic has been responsible for developing learning materials to support the national skills-based curriculum and implementing new teaching and learning practices tailored to the needs of the ICT industry. She has been a member of the ACS since 1968 and is currently a Chairperson of the National Competency Implementation Network. Prof Andreas Koronios has made a distinguished contribution to ICT in both academia and industry. Under Prof Koronios's leadership, the School of Computer and Information Science at the University of South Australia has rationalised IT courses (both undergraduate and postgraduate) and dramatically elevated the research profile of the School. He also instigated a professional doctorate and established two Cooperative Research Centres at the School.

He has been active in the wider ICT community, furthering the efforts of the industry's "Women in IT" initiatives, as well as playing a key role in increasing the number of indigenous students enrolled in ICT. He has authored more than 10 books in the field of ICT and produced more than three papers each year for the last five years. Gerald Murphy has made a distinguished contribution to ICT through his pioneering work in cooperative education in IT at Swinburne University (formerly Swinburne Institute of Technology). Murphy was instrumental in establishing the Bachelor of Information Technology at Swinburne in 1998. The program was initiated by the Business Council of Australia and generates around one million dollars in scholarships annually. He has also introduced other innovative courses at Swinburne, including gaining recognition for "IT Management" as an independent course. Since retiring from Swinburne University, he has continued his work on innovative industry programs through the ACS Certification Program. John Debrincat: A member of the ACS since 1975, his high-profile career in the ICT industry has spanned more than 30 years. Debrincat has made an outstanding contribution to ICT through his Directorship of the ACS Foundation. He was instrumental in gaining the cornerstone funding for the Foundation, which ensured its establishment and ongoing success.

He has also been appointed an Honorary Life Governor to the Sydney University Foundation for Information Technologies. He is currently the CEO and Managing Director of eCorner. His previous roles include Group Managing Director and Vice President Asia Pacific for Compuware, seven years as Director, Shareholder and General Manager of Executive Computing and 11 years with US software and services company Cincom.

Su Spencer has made an admirable contribution to ICT, actively promoting the advancement of women in IT through her roles in private enterprise, government and academia. She has had a key influence on South Australian and Tasmanian government policy in respect to the introduction of portals, e-commerce and e-Services and the continuing development of ICT infrastructure for societal change and access. She currently works as an academic engaging in curriculum review, teaching and research, and has authored numerous academic papers.

Anthony Ablong has had a long and influential career in ICT, and is widely recognised for his leadership role in numerous large-scale successful ICT projects. In 2000 he engaged in two multimillion dollar Federal Government projects - the roll-out to agencies in the Woden precinct of the ICON optic fibre and the GAVIN voice integrated networks. Through his role as a senior academic, He has provided advice to numerous organisations, governments and industry professionals on ICT issues, has presented numerous ICT papers and has been widely published. Warren Hosey has made an important contribution to ICT through his foresight and leadership in the management and expansion of computing courses at the newly established University of Western Sydney. He was instrumental in establishing the School of Computing and leading it to a professional maturity in terms of staff profile, the range of courses offered, professional accreditation and internationalisation. Hosey is highly respected as a hands-on practical academic. His support and mentoring of students at University of Western Sydney has helped grow the reputation of the course and elevated enrolments.

ACS stalwart given honorary doctorate

The ACS congratulates long-time member and former Membership Board Director Gerry Maynard on being the first person to receive an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University.

He was awarded the honorary Doctorate of Informatics in recognition of his 60 years of service as a leading IT educator and practitioner during a formal presentation in mid-October.

A Fellow and Honorary Life Member of the ACS, he is an industry veteran who continues to make an enormous contribution both to the Society and to the wider industry.

Professor Ron Weber, Dean of Monash University's Faculty of IT, said he was pleased to acknowledge Maynard's outstanding contribution to the development of Australian IT.

"His exceptional contribution has been made in a variety of forums including the Australian public service, the Caulfield Institute of Technology, the former Chisholm Institute of Technology and the Australian Computer Society," said Professor Weber.

"He is truly a veteran of IT who continues to make an enormous contribution to the development of Australian IT as a professionally active and energetic septuagenarian, soon to become an octogenarian.

"Gerry has a special link with Monash as he played a key role in introducing one of the first degree courses offered by the Caulfield Institute of Technology, the Bachelor of Applied Science (EDP). This degree, which has been undertaken by thousands of information technology professionals, was the forerunner of Monash University's Bachelor of Computing."

Vale Ormonde Brown

Ormonde Brown, a distinguished figure in the Australian IT industry, has died after a long illness at the age of 82.

Brown joined a forerunner of ICL in 1939 and after six war-time years in the Australian Army became, in turn, general manager in New Zealand; managing director, Ireland and marketing director, Australia.

After about 30 years with the company he formed one of Australia's first software houses, International Programming, which he ran until he retired in 1981.

In addition to his professional career, Brown was very active in the IT industry and was a Fellow of both the British and Australian Computer Societies.

Brown was inducted posthumously into the Pearcey Hall of Fame recently.

He was appointed director of the government-funded Computer Industry Training Program (CITP) in 1982 responsible for the selection, training and job placement of hundreds of young people in NSW.

Brown was also consultant to the Research Foundation for Information Technology at the University of Sydney and for many years managed the highly successful Professional Development scheme within the ACS (NSW). He later became executive director of the NSW Branch.

The Society's condolences go to his family.