Everything about The British Computer Society totally explained
The
British Computer Society (
BCS) is a body that represents those working in Information and Communications Technology
ICT. Established in
1957, it's the largest
United Kingdom-based professional body for
computing.
With a world-wide membership of over 63,000 members in over 100 countries, BCS is the qualifying body for
Chartered IT Professionals (CITP) 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 also a registered
charity. In 2007 BCS launched
BCSrecruit.com
- a jobsite specifically aimed at IT professionals. BCS is a member of the
Council of European Professional Informatics Societies (CEPIS).
BCS is licensed by the
Engineering Council UK to award
Chartered Engineer status (CEng) and
Incorporated Engineer status (IEng); and more recently by the
Science Council to award
Chartered Scientist status (CSci).
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.
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.
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.
Charter
The BCS hold the Charter for IT Professional, granted to them by the
Privy Council. Chartered IT Professional (
CITP) can be applied for directly via the BCS.
Chartered IT Professionals may use the post nominal letters
CITP.
Membership & Chartered status
The society has different grades of membership:
Professional grades;
Ordinary grades;
Associate Member (AMBCS)
Affiliated Member
Students
Additionally, all suitably eligible Members and Fellows may apply to be awarded Chartered IT Professional status (CITP). The Society is able to award on CEng, IEng, and CSci. Members may also apply through the Society to FEANI for European Engineer (Eur Ing) status.
Those members with CITP status are entitled to use the title "Chartered IT Professional" or if they're fellows the title "Chartered Fellow". The BCS keeps a register of current Chartered Members and Fellows.
Group and corporate 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. (External Link)
Certifications
The Society provides a range of qualifications both for users of computers and IT professionals.
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)
Other Certifications
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 and covers seven modules:
Basic Concepts of IT
Using Computers & Managing Files
Word processing
Spreadsheets
Databases
Presentations
Information and Communication
ECDL is available from test centres across the UK (External Link).
ECDL Advanced
The advanced course ("ECDL Advanced") has four sections, each a qualification in its own right:
Word Processing
Spreadsheets
Databases
Presentations
Upon achieving all four advanced qualifications, the individual can 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 (External Link).
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 (External Link).
ISEB
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 (External Link).
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 53 specialist groups.
Regional Branches
Aberdeen
Bedford
Belfast
Berkshire
Birmingham
Bristol
Cheltenham & Gloucester
Chester & North Wales
Coventry
Dorset
East Anglia
Edinburgh
Essex
Glasgow
Guildford
Hampshire
Hertfordshire
Humberside
Inverness (Sub-Branch)
Kent
Kingston & Croydon
Leicester
Lincolnshire
London (Central)
London (North)
London (West)
Manchester
Merseyside
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Northampton
North Staffordshire
Nottingham & Derby
Oxfordshire
Preston & District
Scotland Region
South Wales
South West
South Yorkshire
Southampton
Sussex
Swindon
Tayside
Teesside & District
Telford (Sub-Branch)
West Yorkshire
Wolverhampton
International Sections
Belgium
Guernsey
Hellenic Section
Hong Kong
Isle of Man
Jersey
Malta
Mauritius
Middle East
Pakistan
Rideau, North America (Ottawa)
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Switzerland
Upper Canada (Toronto)
USA
Specialty Groups
APSG (Advanced Programming Group)
Artificial Intelligence
ASSIST
BCSWomen (Women in IT)
British APL Association
Business Information Systems
Computer Arts Society
Computer Conservation Society
Configuration Management
Consultancy
Cybernetic Machine
Data Centre
Data Management
Disability
Electronic Publishing
ELITE
Financial Services
BCS-FACS (Formal Aspects of Computing Science)
Fortran
Geospatial
Health Informatics (Interactive Care)
Health Informatics (London and South East)
Health Informatics (Northern)
Health Informatics (Nursing)
Health Informatics (Primary Health Care)
Health Informatics (Scotland)
Health Informatics (South West)
Independent Computer Contractors (ICC)
Information and Technology Training
Information Retrieval
Information Risk Management and Assurance (IRMA)
Information Security
Information System Methodology
Interaction (formerly HCI)
Internet
IT Can Help
Law
Mathematical Programming
Methods and Tools
Natural Language Translation
Open Source
Parallel Processing
Payroll
Performance Engineering
Project Management (PROMS-G)
Quality
Requirements Engineering
Scottish Testing
Service Management
Sociotechnical
Software Practice Advancement (SPA)
Software Process Improvement Network (SPIN-UK)
Software Testing
Wireless Information Technology
Young Professionals
Trustees
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's 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)Further Information
Get more info on 'British Computer Society'.
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