FOREwORd bY bCS PRESIdENT PROFESSOR JIm NORTON

Foreword by BCS President
Professor Jim Norton
Welcome to our annual review covering
a year that has seen several major
developments in our continued growth
and success. Since we launched our new
strategy and identity in 2009, bringing
to the fore our chartered status, many
further exciting opportunities have arisen.
Last year also saw us hold an EGM which
called for heart-searching on all sides
and produced a resulting vote that fully
endorsed the Institute’s direction.
Over the last year, in accordance with the
presidential theme chosen by Elizabeth
Sparrow, we ran four major public
engagement programmes to help the
general public understand the value of
information and information technology
and the value that the IT profession
brings to every aspect of our society.
The programmes included Savvy Citizen, a
resources website where we were able to
partner with many organisations to bring
useful information on such topics as health,
information security and communication
through social networking and so on,
to those who are new to the internet.
We also, via our Information Dividend
research and subsequent reports, were
able to establish a correlation between
happiness and the use of IT. This is
particularly important when we consider
that IT is central to our society today.
Our Information Pioneers project
captured the imagination of the
public and IT professionals alike. A
healthy debate developed to select the
information pioneer of our time. Alan
Turing was voted the all time great, in
good time for his centenary in 2012.
This campaign really bought to attention
the amazing contribution information
technology has made to society today.
As in previous years, I am delighted to
announce that our membership has
continued to grow steadily, as practitioners
realise the value of their professional
status despite the challenging economic
climate. In line with this, we are continuing
to strive to ensure that our professionalism
programme, working with public and
private sector organisations, realises our
goal of raising IT to at least the same level
as the more traditional professions.
I want to build on this during my year
as president. My own theme for the
year ahead will be raising the profile of
computer science and ‘computational
thinking’ in schools and on increasing
the direct relevance of the Chartered
Institute to students at all levels. We need
to encourage more children and young
people to be interested in computer
science and IT, as subjects, and to
understand the potential career options
open to them through the IT profession.
I also want to work on projects to
allow us to enhance our engagement
with our own volunteers throughout
the UK and around the world.
These continue to be very exciting times
for BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT,
and I am looking forward to my year as
president. I believe that the president’s
role must reach out to all the different
communities that together comprise
the Institute and its sphere of influence.
I am looking forward to doing this and
working to help IT to be recognised as a
profession that young people want to join,
is respected by the general public and
peers and to see us achieve our mission
to enable the information society.
Jim Norton
BCS President
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