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Thursday 9th February 2012

Thursday 1st April 2010 - Update from Maggie Berry, Managing Director, womenintechnology.co.uk

It's been a couple of months since we sent our our last round up newsletter so there's quite a number of events, opportunities, courses and free offers included in this one! March was an incredibly busy month - as well as celebrating our fifth birthday on the 8th, we hosted two evening networking events, ran an employment law workshop and three professional development training courses, hosted an employment breakfast briefing and we attended two external networking events. We're hoping April is slightly less frenetic! As ever if you're interested in anything below, please follow up with the relevant contacts directly - thanks so much!


  1. Two Free Tickets to Legende ‘Teens Unite Cancer Charity Event’ - Tuesday 6th April 2010

  2. We're looking for a coaching case study...please get in touch

  3. London European Professional Women's Network Mentoring Programme - looking for mentors

  4. Free training for budding conference speakers

  5. GreenSTEM helping unemployed female science and engineering graduates in Leicester

  6. IT Career Survey for Women in Technology

  7. Donate Your  Unwanted Computers to Charity!

  8. 20% discount on training courses - 28th April and 25th May

  9. London College of Beauty Therapy aims to create a new Guinness World Record - 13th May 2010

  10. FREE Personal Style Guide worth £30 for every female member (until the 18th April 2010)

  11. Future Leaders Award Nominations Sought

  12. Events with the BCS Consultancy Specialist Group on 13th April and 12th May 2010

  13. CARE International IT Challenge, 12th - 13th June 2010

  14. Cyber Security Conference 2010 - Thursday 17th & Friday 18th June - looking for speakers

  15. Hike for Hope – the Kerela Adventure, November 2010

1. Two Free Tickets to Legende ‘Teens Unite Cancer Charity Event’ - Tuesday 6th April 2010
We have two tickets for the Legende ‘Teens Unite Cancer Charity Event’ on the 6th April at Embassy London. The beneficiary of this event will be teens:) Unite.  Richard Evans, who is the CEO of Legende Celebrity Art, has very kindly agreed to host an event in which the proceeds would be donated to the UCLH Cancer Centre Appeal. The evening with provide you with a unique opportunity to see some fine photography. Mike Read, DJ and TV Presenter will be holding the auction and you will be entertained by the Ricky Lopez Ratpack and Swing Show. Should be fun! More information about the event can be found here. Please get in touch with me asap if you are interested as the tickets will go to the first person to contact me - mberry@womenin.co.uk

2. We're looking for a coaching case study...
We are putting together an evening event about coaching in London in May and we're currently looking for a 'case study' to speak at the event. We are looking for a woman...
  • Who can relate/connect to/is a part of the technology industry/function
  • Who is an advocate of coaching to help people progress and develop their careers (rather than seeing it as a remedial service)
  • Who has experienced coaching first hand and/or who buys/promotes it for their direct reports and thereby is able to share stories of how coaching has improved performance/career success (in whatever shape)
  • Who pushes individuals to take responsibility for their career
If this is you and you'd be potentially willing to take part in this event, please contact me - mberry@womenin.co.uk or 020 7422 9214 - thanks so much!


3. London European Professional Women's Network Mentoring Programme - looking for mentors
There are many research papers focused on female development and progression which have sited mentoring as one of the most significant contributions to individual success and career progressions  Similar research also quotes that both the mentor and the mentee gain a great amount from the relationship, with learning and development experienced by both parties. London EPWN are currently on the lookout for members who are interested in becoming mentors and mentees. You don’t have to be operating at board level to add value to someone else through a mentoring relationship. All they ask is that you have a level of personal and career experience that can be shared. You can also be a mentor and a mentee, depending on the time you have available. 
There are a number of ways to get involved:
  • Complete the mentor and / or mentee form(s). To gain a copy of the form(s) please email
    epwn-london@europeanpwn.net     stating ‘mentoring – form request’, in the subject line.
  • Attend the mentoring overview event scheduled for Wednesday 28th April (location tbc) where you will have the opportunity to meet others who are keen to get involved with the programme.

If you complete and return the mentor / mentee forms prior to the event the information you share will enable us to recommend a number of people you may want to meet on the 28th April to progress your mentoring relationship. You can also attend the event on the 28th April to find out more before completing the information forms. Copies will be available on the evening to confirm your interest
If you do have any further questions please direct them to epwn-london@europeanpwn.net stating ‘mentoring question’ in the subject heading. They will respond to your query as soon as possible. If you would like to take advantage of the mentoring programme, along with the other benefits of EPWN membership please visit www.europeanpwn.net to find out more about becoming a member.
 

4. Free training to budding conference speakers
Andy Budd is the MD of Clearleft and he is keen to encourage more female speakers into the "conference circuit" so they've decided to run a free conference speaking workshop in Brighton. They're primarily aiming for a design audience, albeit web design, so if this sounds like it could be of interest, read on...
They would start with how to plan, research and design a talk that delights your audience, paying special attention to story telling and narrative. They would then move onto the delivery and performance side of things; teaching people how to project their voice, vary their tone, use the stage and work the audience. To ensure everybody gets the individual attention they need, the even will be for a limited number of people - probably no more than 12. Everybody will be expected to present a short practice talk and they'll video each session so the attendees see how they improve over the day.
This workshop is aimed at people who are really keen on breaking into the conference speaking circuit and need some coaching and improvement - so it’s not for folks who want to brush up on their general speaking skills.
In order to select the best candidates, Andy is asking people to record a short 5 minute presentation, post it up on Vimeo and then add the link in the comments on this blog posting (where further information can be found).


5. GreenSTEM helping unemployed female science and engineering graduates in Leicester
GreenSTEM is an initiative run by women's charity LeicestHERday and the British Science Association to help unemployed female STEM graduates in Leicester and Leicestershire to:
  • develop innovative business ideas for green-themed products and services
  • support each other in a network
  • receive training in business, communication, web and marketing skills
  • experience presenting ideas to the public and businesses
  • enter for the title of ‘GreenSTEM Entrepreneur 2010’ and a cash prize

In addition, applicants who have been in receipt of JobSeekers Allowance for six months or more will be paid a salary. The project is especially interested in engaging women from ethnic backgrounds or with a disability but will be happy to consider any science or engineering female graduate. Ideally candidates will be able to attend regular meetings in Leicester but the project is also able to provide on-line and telephone support to individuals working remotely.Further details can be found on the GREENstem website: greenstem.org.uk


6. IT Career Survey for Women in Technology
Do you want to carve a successful career in IT? Unlocking The Cage, a training and coaching organisation with many years experience in IT and career management, is developing a one day workshop to help women in IT (and some men!) understand more about what it takes to get ahead. Whilst there are many career or soft skill training courses out there, there are far fewer that are industry specific. Quite often after candidates attend the training session, they ask “How do I apply this to the real work environment then?” Their training courses provide candidates with relevant, industry specific samples that are readily applicable to real work situation. All of their workshop facilitators have extensive industry experience and have lived and worked through different sectors in IT. To help us to further clarify the specific requirements for the initial workshop, Unlocking The Cage is inviting you to take part in a survey and as a reward, you will be entered into an optional draw to attend the first workshop for free and to receive a free two hour diagnostic coaching session, with a total value of up to £400. The survey can be found here.


7. Donate Your Unwanted Computers to Charity!
Over one million tonnes of waste from IT equipment is dumped in landfill in the UK every year so consider donating your unwanted PCs to Computer Aid International. They're based in north London, are a UK charity and the world's largest provider of refurbished PCs to the not-for-profit sector in the developing world. Their aim is simple: to bridge the digital divide. They aim to make donating your old IT equipment as easy as possibly, offering a UK wide collection service, data wiping to U.S military standards and full WEEE compliance. Plus, through their asset tracking system you can find out which community your donation is helping to support. For more information, please click here.


8. 20% discount on training courses - 28th April and 25th May

'Speaking with Impact' - Effective Presentation Skills Workshop at WallaceSpace, Euston, London
Wednesday 28th April 2010, 9.30am to 4.30pm. £395 + VAT per person to include breakfast, lunch and course notes **There's a 20% discount for womenintechnology members so the day would cost £316 + VAT**
More info can be found here.

'Leadership in Turbulent Times' - A Practical Leadership Workshop at WallaceSpace, Euston, London
Thursday 25th May 2010, 9.30am to 5.00pm. £375 + VAT per person to include breakfast, lunch and a copy of the book 'What do leaders really do? **There's a 20% discount for womenintechnology members so the day would cost £300 + VAT**
More info can be found here.


9. London College of Beauty Therapy aims to create a new Guinness World Record
On Thursday 13th May the London College of Beauty Therapy plan a record breaking attempt at the most mini-manicures completed in one day. The aim is to try and raise £10,000 from the world record attempt with a goal of 2,000 treatments for a £5 donation each. For more information, please click here.


10. FREE Personal Style Guide worth £30 for every female member (until the 18th April 2010)
We’ve teamed up with award winning online personal stylist and shopper, iStylista.com, to give every one of our female members a complimentary ‘Style Goddess’ style guide worth £30. After completing a few simple questions about yourself you’ll be able to download your very own personalised style guide (totalling over 25 pages) offering heaps of advice specific to you, including ideal clothing styles to wear for your body shape, your best colours, dressing troublesome body areas and heaps of essential styling tips you can start using, to name but a few. Once you’ve downloaded your complimentary style guide you’ll have free access to an online changing room where a stylist will suggest items of clothing best suited to your body shape, natural colouring etc. on a weekly basis. Simply visit www.iStylista.com/womenintechnology and follow the instructions.


11. Future Leaders Award Nominations Sought
Sponsored by Barclays Wealth, this new award recognises high-potential females in the early stages of their management career and nominations are sought for women whose management remit falls within either a professional role (eg qualified lawyer/accountant) or a support role such as marketing, HR, and IT. Nominated women must be based in London's business hubs - the City, Canary Wharf and the West End and work in the following professional sectors: Accountancy, Facilities Management, Financial Services, Insurance, Legal Services, Property (including Architecture). If you know a woman (or indeed if you are that woman, you can nominate yourself) who is making a contribution beyond her functional, technical or specialist area and is committed to personal and professional development; has leadership potential, strategic networking capability and self-awareness, then make your nomination now. As with all Women in the City Awards, they have developed a fabulous Prize Package which includes a place on Cranfield University’s highly acclaimed Accelerated Talent Development Programme. More information can be found here.


12. Events with the BCS Consultancy SG on 13th April and 12th May 2010

How to get greater-than-expected financial returns from projects in shorter-than-expected timescales.
Tuesday 13th April, 6.00pm for 6.15pm (ends 9.30pm)
Venue: BCS London Office, First Floor, 5 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7HA
Many projects involving the introduction of new business processes and/or IT have either been cancelled or failed to deliver the expected benefits whilst incurring runaway costs. The topic has been the subject of much research and numerous publications but unfortunately projects continue to fail and some have even claimed that many projects fail before they have even started.
Fortunately some projects have been very successful. Their two experts will explain how projects can succeed with a powerful yet easy and simple to apply method/system. Registration required. Cost including buffet and VAT: £11.75 for students, BCS & JCF institution members. Non BCS members £17.63. Full details and on-line registration here.

The Drowning Director
Wednesday 12th May 2010. 6.00pm for 6.15pm start (ends 9.30pm)
Venue: BCS, Southampton Street, London, WC2E 7HA
Title: Out with the Old - In with the New
Speaker: Geoff Codd - Geoff’s talk is based on his book ‘The Drowning Director’ where he reviews IT exploitation management and organisation practices over the years. More importantly, he challenges the established 'wisdom' that has largely failed to deal with huge project management issues. Geoff then proposes a way forward that creates a much needed unity of purpose between business people and their technology professionals. Such change opens up new horizons of opportunity based on business reality, rather than on technology innovation that is insufficiently close to that reality. Registration required. Cost including buffet and VAT: £11.75 for students, BCS & JCF institution members. Non BCS members £17.63. Full details and on-line registration here.


13. CARE International IT Challenge, 12th- 13th June 2010
Overseas and development agency CARE International helps more than 59 million people a year in over 70 countries to find routes out of poverty. Much of CARE’s work focuses on women - women's well-being is often what drives vibrant, healthy societies, as they tend to invest in the whole family. As a way of raising funds, they run the CARE IT 3 Peaks Challenge which is open to any IT professionals or suppliers to the IT industry. They would love to see more UK female technology workers to join their care IT 3 Peaks Challenge in June. If you'd like to find out more, please contact Calista Holmes, Challenge Marketing & Communications Executive - 020 7934 9412 or holmes@careinternational.org


14. Cyber Security Conference 2010 - Thursday 17th and Friday 18th June - looking for speakers
This event is being organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) with the backing of the UK Office of Cyber Security (OCS) and the Department for Business Innovation and Solutions (BIS). Participation for Public/Not-for-profit organisations is free. They are currently in the process of inviting speakers for the conference on the following topics:
  • The State under threat
  • Individuals and children under threat
  • CERT: Successes, challenges and the way forward
  • Appropriate legal frameworks for cyber security
  • Cyber security through international cooperation
  • Organisation structures for effective cyber security
  • Technical responses to cyber security

If you are interested in participating, please contact Rumana Bukht, Marketing and Communications -
The Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) is an international development partnership between the Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth governments, ICT regulators, ICT operators and manufacturing businesses, and civil society organisations. The CTO supports the international community’s objective to help bridge the digital divide and achieve social and economic development, by delivering to developing countries unique knowledge-sharing programmes in the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Click here to download the full event information.
 


15. Hike for Hope – the Kerela Adventure, November 2010
A 10 day hike led by Marcus Setchell and Roger Kirby to raise funds for Wellbeing of Women and Prostate UK. If anyone within the Women in Technology network is interested in joining the trek, further particulars are be found on this link.