PRESIDENT’S REPORT Niko Schlamberger CEPIS President CEPIS Council 2008, Brussels

Council of European Professional Informatics Societies Established 1989 To represent European IT professionals’ community – the voice of European IT professional To define proper user and IT professionals skills and competences To develop applicable certification schemes and products for both To take an active part in European developments Member Societies regardless of countries’ integrations

ACTIVITIES Publications -Upgrade and Upnet -Reports, Position Papers Special Interest Networks -LSI -ISYP Task Forces -Professionalism -Education and Research

ACTIVITIES EC-related -e-Skills -Harmonise -Euro-inf Member Societies Related -ASTIC Conference Turkish Computer Society Conference Polish Information Society Day Hungarian Computer Society 40 Anniversary Serbian Computer Society – Diskobolos 2008

ACTIVITIES Regional Information Technology Standing Regional Committee (IT STAR) NDU i-12

Institutional Relations European Commission Collaborating with IFIP I3P on Professionalism ECDL Foundation Industry Leadership Board

PLANS Continue activities – Projects, SINs –Professionalism –Education and Research –Skills Seek input from Member Societies Keep relations with Member Societies Promote Professionalism –Price of Incompetence What About Universities? 20th Anniversary Event in 2009

ON PROFESSIONALISM

PRACTITIONER OR PROFESSIONAL ? Practitioner - performs a task or a job Professional – understands the theory behind - believes in what one is performing

CHARACTERISTICS OF PROFESSIONALISM Knowledge formal – education informal - training Experience practice references Qualification formal – diploma informal - certificates Ethics

PLAYERS HOUSEHOLDS BUSINESS CIVIL SOCIETY PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS

HOUSEHOLDS “we take what we get (or what they give us)”

BUSINESS “we do it for money” looking after qualified peopple in-house training dilemma: to train or to educate?

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS “we educate” where comes the practice from?

CIVIL SOCIETY “we hold the mirror” independent represents groups of citizens proposes criticizes warns offers second opinion takes initiative!

THREE INITIATIVES CEPIS European Certification of Informatics Professionals Professionalism Programme IFIP International Professional Practice Partnership

BACKGROUND: A CEPIS study of 2002 has forecast a shortage of 2,5 milion IT professionals in 2005 in Europe only. Both CEPIS and IFIP are membership societies thet need to be responsive to needs of their constitutencies and of the society at large.

CEPIS EUCIP Professional certification and competence development scheme for IT practitioners and undergraduates Aims: to meet the demands to to define a standard for informatics professionals. contribute to closing the IT skills gap in Europe. to offer a life-long learning and competency enhancement Learning Providers Test Centres Operatonal and available

CEPIS Professionalism Programme Initiative started in 2006 Aim: To develop a programme for promoting, supporting, and reinforcing professionalism three “stages”: Engage and educate CEPIS member societies Provide positive help, to those wishing to subscribe Encourage members to maintain the relevant standard, and to promote the profession within individual countries In progress

IFIP I3P Emphasis on knowledge, experience, competence and integrity Aims global programme promote professionalism in IT define international standards and a global infrastructure recognitions Under development

CEPIS EUCIP & PP, IFIP I3P: A comprehensive comparison hard to make as two of them are under development A considerable overlap among CEPIS and IFIP Member Societies Collaboration between CEPIS and IFIP in I3P Projects to result in complementary rather that competitive products

Thank you for your attention!