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Welcome to BCS Northampton Website

The Northampton branch membership has grown steadily from our start in 2004 and we now have over 900 members, mainly from Northampton, Milton Keynes and the surrounding areas. Our aim is to hold 5 committee meetings a year, with 4 or 5 events covering a variety of areas to provide interest for as many of our members as we can. Look at our forthcoming events page to obtain the details of our events planned for the 2010/11 season. Our AGM is held in September where we announce the winners of the Student Prizes and where you as a member are able to both stand as a committee member and vote for your choice of representative.

This years Students Prize winners are:
Best Student
Business - Sam Whitfield
Technical - Jonathan Stearnes
Most Promising Student
Business - Leanne Town
Technical - Liam Jackson

The committee is a relaxed group, made up of Business, Technical and Academic interests. We welcome new faces, both members and none members at our meetings & events. We see these not just as valuable opportunities to impart knowledge and understanding but as a valuable networking opportunity for likeminded individuals that have a career in our industry.

We would very much like to hear from anyone wishing to help by joining the committee, most meetings are now home based web meetings later in the evening so as to not impact too much on members home & work commitments

Next Events

NOTE: All our events are open to members and none members, no registration is required unless otherwise stated.



May 17th 2012 - Careers Event


On 17th May 2012, the Northampton Branch of the BCS is running a Careers event aimed mainly (but not exclusively) at young professionals in computing in Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes and surrounding areas. This builds on last years successful IT Skills for the Recession/Recovery event.

Questions you might want to use this session to help you with:
How do you know what skills are needed to strengthen your value to industry?
How do you prepare for a job search?
How do you set yourselves apart from your peers?


Provisional Timetable
6:30 - 7:00 Tea/coffee, students to visit stalls
7:00 - 7:20 First speaker : The Graduate (CVs/interviews)
7:20 - 7:40 Second speaker : Lydia Selby (Getting into the Business of IT)
7:40 - 8:00 Third speaker : Network Rail (Graduate schemes)
8:00 - 8:15 Refreshments
8:15 - 8:45 (may go on till 9:00) Panel


Alongside these speakers other potential employers are aiming to attend. More details about this event will follow.

Due to the need to monitor likely attendance levels at this kind of event which is likely to be very popular, we would ask everyone to preregister using the link below, there is no charge and the event is open to members and none members alike.

Location: Great Hall of the Newton Building, Avenue Campus


June 13th 2012 - Applications for RFID


Synopsis:
Andrew James RFID Sales Manager - Established a new business channel at Harland Simon with RFID as the underlying technology. Focus on delivering active and passive RFID solutions to deliver improved efficiency in busy, multi floor healthcare environments where location tracking is key. Recent successes include location tracking solutions at Cambridge University Hospitals, South Devon Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Milton Keynes General Hospital.

Declan Begley - Business Development Manager (RFID) - Declan has 15 years experience delivering IT projects in the newspaper printing industry across the globe but in recent years has taken an interest in using RFid to solve a range of everyday problems - include tracking the money on Channel 4's 'The Million Pound Drop'.

Subjects: Active and passive RF Solutions and introduction on latest miniature RF/GPRS/GSM/LF/GPS technology

Location: Room MB8 at University of Northampton Campus St Georges Road NN2 6JD


July 2012 - Student Prize Giving


Details to follow


    September 2012 - Branch AGM


    Details to follow


      October 2012 - Introduction to Cryptography


      Presenter: Sarith Chandra MBCS CISSP Security+ MSc(Info Sec) MSc(Eng) BEng(IT)

      Time: tbc
      Location: tbc

      Objectives:
      - Introduce Cryptography for Beginners
      - Refresh some Crypto concepts for Experts
      - Learn some Best practices
      - Interactive session with "Crack some code" examples

      Target Audience: Students, Fresh graduates, IT professionals, Developers/DBAs and anyone with general interest in Cryptography

      Detail:
      - Cryptology
      - Cipher Exercise
      - Cryptography
      - Cryptanalysis
      - Some Best Practices
      - Database Encryption
      - Crypto Challenge (competition)

      Pre-requisites:
      - You need to only have general awareness of IT and Computer Security concepts
      - Willingness to learn about this field and its concepts
      - This session does not delve into the mathematics of cryptography and is suitable for absolute beginners
      - If you like solving puzzles then you might enjoy some of the exercises during the interactive session

      Due to the need to monitor likely attendance levels at this kind of event which is likely to be very popular, we would ask everyone to preregister using the link below, there is no charge and the event is open to members and none members alike.


      For further queries please contact - csarith@bcs.org


        November 2012 - Social Networking And Pub Games


        Location. Pub In Silverstone


          January 2013 - New Colossus Gallery at Bletchley Park


          Location: Bletchley Park, Milton Keynes


          February 12th 2013 - Building Effective Problem Solving Groups


          Synopsis:
          The demand for increasingly sophisticated IT applications is leading to complex systems that are interconnected with other complex systems. This in turn is driving an increase in the number of difficult performance and stability problems.

          The cause of such problems is frequently obscure, which makes it difficult to allocate the problem to the correct technology team. Consequently the problem bounces from team to team, as each in turn ‘proves’ that their technology is not to blame.

          Many organisations are aware of this issue and are tackling it by creating a service-orientated Problem Solving Group (PSG).

          In this presentation we cover the need for PSGs, the benefits they deliver, their structure and strategies to optimise their effectiveness.


          Running Time: 55 minutes - 40 Mins presentation plus 15 Mins for questions


          Presenter: Paul Offord

          Paul Offord has had a 33-year career in the IT industry that includes roles in hardware engineering, software engineering and network management. Prior to founding Advance7 in 1989, he worked for IBM, National Semiconductor and Hitachi Data Systems.

          Paul is now the Development Director at Advance7 and has been pivotal in the development of the RPR® Method. He is a respected speaker on the subject of problem diagnosis and delivers RPR training both in the UK and internationally.

          Paul is a Certified IT Professional and a Fellow of the British Computer Society.


          March 2013 - International Women's Day


          Location: Avenue Campus


          March 2013 - National Science Week


          Location: tbc


          Contact the Branch


          Email: malcolm.collins@bcs.org

          Fax: 08707062488

          Letter PO Box 6416, Daventry, Northants. NN11 4XL

          Northampton @ BCS HQ

          The University Of Northampton Web Site and Directions