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Friday 9th September 2011 - Update from Maggie Berry, Managing Director, Women in TechnologyAutumn is well and truly upon us and despite the UK not really getting as much sunshine this summer as we would have liked, the latter part of the year does not have to bring doom and gloom. This week saw our training schedule kickstart with 'Stand Up to Stand Out' and we have an upcoming event with Microsoft 'Managing Your Online Brand' taking place in a couple of weeks, so there's lots to be excited about. There are lots of opportunities to get involved in as we ease back into our routines for the last part of the year. There are a couple of training workshops - namely Winmark's Women and Leadership and one we are hosting The Activity Illusion and The University of Chichester is looking for speakers for a girls' event in Bognor Regis. The awards and conferences season is also upon us with the Women's Engineering Society Annual Conference, IP Expo, TechWorld, Femmeonomics and NORA awards all coming up.
Please get in touch with the relevant contacts directly and feel free to forward the link to this page onto friends or colleagues who might be interested in the items. If you have any questions about Women in Technology or would like to make a submission for the next newsletter, please don't hesitate to contact Maggie Berry - thanks so much!1. Nominate Women in Technology for a NORAs Award by Friday 9th September 20112. Femmeonomics 50 Women to Watch in Tech - nominations needed by Friday 16th September 20113. Free webinar - Now Boarding: Readiness for International Assignments, 6.30pm on Monday 19th September 20114. The Activity Illusion - How to Achieve More by Doing Less, evening training course on Thursday 22nd September 2011, London5. 2011 Women in Games Conference on Thursday 22nd September 2011 in London 6. Information Technologists' Company - introduction to their mentoring programme, 6pm on Tuesday 27th September 2011, London7. Women’s Engineering Society Annual Conference on Friday 7th October 2011, London8. IP Expo - free event - on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th October 2011, London9. Women and Leadership one day workshop, 15th or 29th November 2011, London10. Looking for speakers for a girls careers event in Bognor Regis on Wednesday 16th November 201111. 2011 everywoman of Influence Dinner, in partnership with eBay at 6.30pm on Thursday 24th November 2011, London12. Are you up for the Computer Aid International challenge? 26th November to 3rd December 2012, Kenya13. Master of Information Leadership programme from City University London14. Introducing SavvyWoman15. Introducing Cloud Network of Women (CloudNOW)16. Experienced Business Consultants needed to assist on Government funded projects in Sri Lanka17. BBC Future Media: Women's Networking Event, Wednesday 14th September 2011, MediaCityUK, Salford Quays18. TechWorld, 16-17 November 2011, Excel, London1 - Nominate Women in Technology for a NORAs Award by Friday 9th September 2011We would like to ask you to help us out! We have been nominated to take part in the National Online Recruitment Awards (NORA) in the ‘Best Specialist Jobsite’ category. The awards recognise the very best in UK online recruitment from the perspective of jobseekers themselves. The NORAs focus heavily on the value, service and protection afforded to the general public in catering for their needs in an ethical, professional, secure and effective manner – all of which we believe Women in Technology delivers on. So what do we need from you? In order to ensure we get to the short-list stage, we need as many people as possible to nominate us. So If you think we provide a great service to our job seekers, please click here to register your vote. Thanks in advance to all those who put us forward and fingers crossed we reach the short-list stage! We’ll be sure to keep you updated on the progress we make. Nominations close today at 5pm.
2 - Femmeonomics 50 Women to Watch in Tech - nominations needed by Friday 16th September 2011Who do you know who could be nominated for the Femmeonomics '50 Women to Watch in Tech' - it would be great to have some UK names on there! The categories are: 1 - Unsung heroes: women working behind the scenes; 2 - Game Changers: women seeking to re-invent the industry; 3 - Stereotype Busters: women making waves in male-dominated environments; 4 - Aspiring Captains of Industry: women with great ideas who haven’t made it yet, such as early stage start-ups and 5 - Authoritative Voices: influential bloggers and writers. Submissions must be made no later than Friday 16th September 2011 - you can nominate yourself or someone else via Twitter to @Femmeonomics with the hashtag #Top50. You can also send your pitches to editor@femme-o-nomics.com. To be fair to those tweeting, they ask that people keep pitches to 140 characters with a link.
3 - Free webinar - Now Boarding: Readiness for International Assignments, 6.30pm on Monday 19th September 2011This short course covers the basic concepts you need to know when accepting an international assignment and will cover the following: What is Globalisation?; Understanding the Global Environment; Why Choose to Take an International Assignment?; Managing the Expatriate Career Life Cycle; Negative Aspects of an International Assignment; Issues in IHRM (International Human Resource Management); What Do I Need? The Expatriate Package. More details about what will be covered can be found here.4 - The Activity Illusion - How to Achieve More by Doing Less, evening training course on Thursday 22nd September 2011, LondonIn an age of being forever “too busy” and being connected 24/7, how do we reclaim time and energy to be effective in our jobs and create space for life outside work? CEO-turned business psychologist Ian Price, author of the Activity Illusion and writer for The Guardian, shares the latest thinking on the science of work and offers practical solutions that he has used in his own companies and with clients. Workshop outcomes include: how to minimize the impact of the things that soak up time and energy such as meetings and emails; how to focus for optimal effectiveness; leveraging your organisation and getting the best out of people. As part of what promises to be an engaging and impactful session, attendees will receive a signed copy of Ian’s book, the Activity Illusion. Ian Price's career of 20+ years includes senior corporate roles in the telecoms and payments industries along with leading a number of start-ups as Chief Executive. Most recently he was founding CEO of AIM listed mobile technology start-up, Broca plc. He returned to academia to pursue a Masters degree in Occupational Psychology at Birkbeck College, London which he was awarded in 2010. He is also on the steering committee of the Information Overload Research Group. Ian set up Grimsdyke Consulting to consult to leaders and organisations on leadership and effectiveness in the 21st century workplace. For more information and to download a booking form please click here.5 - 2011 Women in Games Conference on Thursday 22nd September 2011 in London The focus of the conference is career development for women within the European games industry and it features keynote and specialist speakers giving practical advice on getting into and getting ahead in the games industry where as few as 1 in 15 people are women. The conference is aimed at both women in games education and women with firmly established careers in games development and games publishing across Europe – it's a ‘must attend’ event for women seeking to progress their careers in the male dominated games sector. Tickets cost £30 + a service fee but we have negotiated a reduced ticket cost of £20 + a service fee - please use the discount code WIT2011 when booking your ticket. More information can be found here.6 - Information Technologists' Company - introduction to their mentoring programme, 6pm on Tuesday 27th September 2011, LondonThe Information Technologists' Company (WCIT) was granted livery status in 1992 becoming the 100th livery company of the City of London. Their work brings together the centuries-old livery tradition and Information Technology, the key industry of the 21st century. As well as working to promote the industry, they run a significant programme of charitable and educational activities. Today around 720 leading IT practitioners belong to their Company and their members come from all sides of the IT sector - suppliers and users, hardware and software, and from established multinational companies to newly created start ups. They would like to invite Women in Technology members to a Journeyman ‘Speed Dating’ event. This promises to be a fun and lively event where potential Journeymen can meet the WCIT mentors, in an informal and flexible environment. The Journeyman Scheme is essentially WCIT's mentoring programme for young, qualified IT professionals with potential to become leading IT practitioners. Historically, Journeymen were young craftsmen who had served their apprenticeship were sufficiently experienced and qualified to work for an employer but not yet masters in their own right. Being a Journeyman was an intermediate stage between basic knowledge of a trade and full mastership – in modern terms between early experience after qualification and becoming a leading practitioner. This event is free to attend and refreshments will be provided. Please note - membership of the Journeyman Scheme is £400 for the three years. More information can be found here. 7 - Women’s Engineering Society Annual Conference on Friday 7th October 2011, LondonGetting There - connecting technical women in road and rail research, design and implementation. Working in any aspect of road or rail transportation? Interested in the technical aspects of other transport? Then this conference is for you! Working with the IET and WTS, WES are bringing together an inspiring technical yet accessible programme and some useful CPD enhancing workshops around road and rail. By taking part in ‘Getting There’ you will be connecting with other technical professionals working in road and rail. Whether you are senior or junior you will have the chance to meet with and inspire others as well as raising awareness of the current topical issues and policy drivers, sharing good practice and showcasing women at their best. Learn how other companies are working to “Build a Better World” and how you and your company can make a difference. Networking opportunities galore: this is an ideal opportunity to meet industry experts from different disciplines and with panel and workshop sessions you will find a format to inspire you. This event is open to all women, whatever stage of their career. Men are welcome to attend too. Sponsorship packages are also still available. Early bird discounted rates will apply until 18th September 2011. Members and affiliates: Early bird rate is £65, standard rate is £100. For non-members: Early bird rate is £110, standard rate is £150. Student rate is £55 restricted to 20 places. Don’t delay, sign up today! Contact conference@wes.org.uk for any queries and more information can be found here.8 - IP Expo - free event - on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th October 2011, LondonIP EXPO, the UK's largest and fastest growing IT infrastructure event, has come a long way since its launch in 2006. Now six leading events in one, IP EXPO is the UK’s only end-to-end IT infrastructure event, providing a complete view of the latest technologies and how they work together. CIOs, IT directors, heads of IT and IT managers attend IP EXPO to network, learn and keep up-to-date through the free seminar programme of over 240 sessions covering IP Networks, Virtualization, Wireless, Storage, Cloud Computing and Security. Highlights include: over 240 FREE seminar sessions, partner zones from VMware, Microsoft, Citrix and Cisco, 250 exhibiting companies, hands-on lab sessions, datacentre showcase and HP Experience. Seen as an opportunity to do three months research in just two days, visitors can hear from visionary keynote speakers, talk to the key players in the market and get technical in the VLabs and CloudLabs. This year’s sponsors include: Aruba Networks, Brocade Communications, Cisco Systems, Citrix Systems, Dell Compellent, EMC, Fusion-io, Hitachi Data Systems, Hewlett Packard, Huawei, Microsoft, NEC, Oracle, Quest Software, ShoreTel, Symantec, Veeam, VMware and Vodafone. Register for your FREE place now here. 9 - Women and Leadership one day workshop, 15th or 29th November 2011, LondonResearch has shown that companies with three or more women on their boards had a 53% greater return on equity than companies with the lowest representation of women, a 42% better return on sales and a 66% higher return on invested capital. Despite this women are still in the minority on UK boards – nearly half the FTSE 250 do not have women on their board – and the aim of addressing this has become a high priority at both company and government level. Winmark have designed a one day workshop to enhance women’s knowledge of what makes them successful and their leadership style – effectively promoting better performance, together with understanding the influence of the context in which they are making their decisions and how to make that work for them. The workshop will consider the multiple demands and roles women undertake and how they make their decisions in those roles at the organisational, team leader and individual level. The next Women and Leadership courses will be run on Tuesday 15th November and Tuesday 29th November 2011 in central London. The cost of attending the workshop is £695 + VAT but Women in Technology members will receive a 15% reduction so the course will cost £590.75 + VAT. For further information please contact Janet Baker on 020 7605 8000 or janet.baker@winmarkeurope.com. More information about the workshop can be found here.10 - Looking for speakers for a girls careers event in Bognor Regis on Wednesday 16th November 2011The University of Chichester is holding an event to inspire and motivate young women to consider the widest range of career possibilities to ensure they reach their full potential. Last year, their ‘Enterprising Women’ event was attended by over 150 girls aged 14-16 from local schools and colleges who took part in a business breakfast with guest presenters discussing their progression paths from school to where they are today. The event was featured in the local newspaper and on their local TV channel Meridian ITV. This year's event will provide the girls with the opportunity to meet successful business women and learn about their progression pathways from school to where they are today. The purpose of this event is to raise the aspirations of the girls attending. The Widening Participation Team would be extremely grateful if any Women in Technology members would consider being a speaker for this event. They are looking for successful business women who are happy to be interviewed by groups of 10/15 students on their progression pathway from school to where they are today. The event will also involve a business panel where each group will have the opportunity to ask the panel any questions. The event will take place on Wednesday 16th November at the University of Chichester, Bognor Regis Campus. It is proposed that registration will start at 9.30am with a business breakfast, presentations at 10am and the event finishing at approximately 12.30pm. If you would like to discuss the event in more detail please contact Lesley-Anne Holder, Widening Participation Officer, University of Chichester - 01243 812079 or l.holder@chi.ac.uk. 11 - 2011 everywoman of Influence Dinner, in partnership with eBay at 6.30pm on Thursday 24th November 2011, Londoneverywoman would like to invite you to join them for an informative and inspirational networking dinner for business leaders, their teams and their clients. Two of the country’s most inspirational women in business will talk about how they have achieved success, the challenges they have overcome and their thoughts on what it takes to lead an innovative and creative business: Kate Burns, Senior Vice President - Sales and Operations at AOL Europe and Christina Vaughan, Founder & CEO of Image Source. Diversity pioneer and business leader Larry Hirst CBE, exChairman of IBM EMEA, will give his views on why inclusion is imperative in business. There will also be an opportunity to join in the after dinner discussion with their three inspirational role models. Guaranteed to be a thought provoking and fun evening, your team, clients and those you depend on to make your business more successful will thank you for inviting them. Why not invite your company’s future leaders to join you to hear their speakers share their views and experiences of business – it’s set to be a truly motivational evening. Have your thinking challenged and leave inspired to be an agent for change in your business. Table sponsorship includes the following: One table, company branded, ten seats; key mention, thanks and branding in the welcome address; company logo in the dinner brochure; logo on the event website. Cost of Table - £1,500 + VAT. Individual tickets available at £150 + VAT. More information can be found here.12 - Are you up for the Computer Aid International challenge? 26th November to 3rd December 2012, KenyaLeave the rain behind and set off on a unique ten day African adventure! Cycle across lush highlands and vast open savannas and descend into the spectacular Rift Valley on this unmissable cycle challenge. Departing from London on 26th November 2012, you’ll be cycling 400km from the foot of Mount Kenya to the shores of Lake Victoria - cycling across the equator along the way! This incredible challenge will be taken on in aid of Computer Aid International who combat poverty with practical ICT solutions. You’ll be able to visit a school using PCs provided by Computer Aid on route to see first hand the difference you will make - your participation will fund the delivery of an entire computer lab to a school for the very first time! This incredible challenge is suitable for both experienced cyclists and those of average fitness (with training!) and everyone is welcome from individuals to teams of colleagues, clients or friends. The trip includes everything from flights and hotels to bike hire and full back up from an experienced and ATOL accredited tour company. Minimum sponsorship is required and Computer Aid will be there every step of the way to support you in your fundraising and training. Sign up by the end of October and pay just £199 registration fee (£299 thereafter). Places are strictly limited on this once in a lifetime opportunity so get in touch today! Email events@computeraid.org or call Rachel on 020 8361 5540 to find out more or simply click here to sign up today!13 - Master of Information Leadership programme from City University LondonAre you thinking of advanced education to enhance your career prospects and skills? Does an MBA just not appeal? Then consider the Master of Information Leadership programme offered by City University London. This is the only public open programme specifically designed for aspiring and new CIOs. It is like an executive MBA but focuses on the agenda of the Information Leader (CIO, Business Change Director, Chief innovation Officer). The course is taught at weekends by academics and current CIOs and more information can be found here.14 - Introducing SavvyWomanSavvyWoman.co.uk is a female friendly finance website aimed at helping women get more from their money. It was set up two years ago by personal finance journalist Sarah Pennells, who’s regularly appeared on BBC Breakfast and who has written several finance books. Sarah launched SavvyWoman because she believes that a lot of the personal finance articles and information available online aren’t written with women in mind. We often have different financial priorities to men and have a different way of looking at issues such as spending money, investing, pensions etc. but that’s not often reflected in finance articles. SavvyWoman aims to cover a broad range of money issues with articles on everything from getting a good deal on your credit card, how state pension changes affect women, how to work out how much of a risk taker you are when it comes to investing, whether you and your partner are financially compatible to what to do if your parent becomes ill. The website is completely free to use and has over 600 articles plus budgeting tools and calculators, discounts and offers and a 15-strong panel of experts, including a financial adviser, divorce lawyer, consumer rights specialist and pensions expert, who can answer money questions free of charge. If you’d like to get a free fortnightly SavvyWoman email newsletter with money saving tips, offers and advice, email Sarah - sarah@savvywoman.co.uk - with the words ‘sign up’ in the subject header. You'll receive a £20 Virgin Wines voucher as a 'thank you' and you can opt out at any time.15 - Introducing Cloud Network of Women (CloudNOW)CloudNOW is a non-profit consortium of the leading women in cloud computing, focused on using technology for the overall professional development of women from around the world by providing a forum for networking, knowledge sharing, mentoring, and economic growth. CloudNOW offers members opportunities to creatively approach the technological challenges of cloud today, working in partnership with the tech industry, cloud visionaries, and global media. Forming a collective, together they are the voice of authority for women in cloud and emerging technologies. Their membership comes from EMC, HP, Intel, IBM, Salesforce, successful startups, the tech media, and noted analysts. Membership is free and open to anyone currently working in cloud or interested in doing so. Opportunities are available for corporations to support, sponsor and underwrite. They are building their advisory board, leadership team and special interest group liaisons covering such topics as security, convergences/web 3.0 as well as offering deep technical forums. Contact them with your ideas, interests and let them know how your expertise can contribute to this forum. Visit their website: cloudnetworkofwomen.com and register. For more information, contact Jocelyn DeGance Graham, Founder, Cloud Network of Women - Jocelyn@cloudnetworkofwomen.com or @JocelynDG
16 - Experienced Business Consultants needed to assist on Government funded projects in Sri LankaChallenges Worldwide is a pioneering not-for-profit organisation that facilitates impact investment and business support and advice for SMEs in low and middle-income countries. They recruit, train and manage expert volunteers to carry out short assignments for social enterprise in developing countries. Their core purpose is to provide organisations, from the smallest social enterprise to national judiciary, with the support they need to achieve their objectives and contribute to the development of their local economies. Currently Sri Lanka’s consultancy capacity is immature and the few local firms qualified to provide a consistently satisfactory level of service focus overwhelmingly on Colombo and its environs. The needs of SMEs in more remote rural areas tend to be ignored. It is this gap in the market that the Sri Lanka Enterprise Development (SLED) programme will address. SLED is a Scottish Government funded project that aims to provide a world class consultancy service to MSME’s (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) in Sri Lanka, with a particular focus on remote rural areas. In addition SLED aims to develop a sustainable programme of training and mentoring directed at creating and expanding a pool of qualified business consultants capable of delivering a range of services tailored to the needs of Sri Lankan SMEs. Duties and responsibilities include: to conduct training courses and related mentoring and field work, which will be based on a syllabus developed by the UK Chartered Management Institute and lead to the award of the Certificate in Management Consulting Essentials (CMCO) to successful candidates; provide support and training to Sri Lankan trainers to help them develop and service the demand for professional consultancy services in Sri Lanka and provide excellent professional consultancy services to Sri Lankan firms at key points in their development. The skills and experience required are: experience of researching, developing and writing business and strategic plans; experience of setting and devising objectives, strategies and tasks; experience of project planning, management; experience of providing training and professional, flexible, resourceful, adaptable, creative and culturally sensitive. Please note that this is a voluntary position funded by the Scottish Government. Volunteer consultants are provided with return airfares, insurance, accommodation in-country, a contribution towards the cost of inoculations and a daily stipend. This is ideal for a career break or for people looking to gain experience in the not-for-profit or international development sectors. To learn more read their volunteer blogs here. If you would like more information on this or another volunteer opportunity or would like to apply please contact Ruth McNeil at ruth.mcneil@challengesworldwide.com or 07884 001 032.17 - BBC Future Media: Women's Networking Event, Wednesday 14th September 2011, MediaCityUK, Salford QuaysThe Future Media Women’s Networking event will be hosted by the BBC at their brand new offices in MediaCityUK, Salford Quays. This will be an opportunity for technology professionals to learn more about how technology is transforming the delivery of their TV, radio and online content to their audiences. There will also be information available about careers in BBC North and Future Media. There are still some spaces available. More details can be found here - sign up by Monday 12th September 2011.
18 - TechWorld, 16-17 November 2011, Excel, London The UK's ICT sector is the largest in Europe. Employing more than one million people, the industry is expected to be worth more than £29 billion by 2012. TechWorld is the UK's largest technology event, where top talent, from small businesses to blue chip companies, will meet a truly global audience to discuss investments, partnerships and deals. It provides access to around 2000 industry decision makers, including technology consultants, chief scientists, venture capitalists and business owners. In addition to exhibitors, UK and international delegates, more than 100 British and 400 international entrepreneurs will be visiting TechWorld. Click here for more information and to book
