British Computer Society Young Professional Group: The ITWales Interview

by Sali Earls

Max Davis is senior developer at Cardiff based Medelect, and has been actively involved in the British Computer Society (BCS) since 2005. He now acts as co-ordinator of the Young Professional Group (YPG), representing the young professionals with BCS membership in South Wales at a national level, offering advice and support on careers, and technical issues, as well as organising events tailored to their needs. Davis reports to the YPG national committee in London, meeting annually to discuss issues and plan for the year ahead, and also holds a position on the press team for the national YPG committee, writing articles for BCS publications.

Davis has recently been joined in the role by Gareth O'Gorman, a graduate management trainee for the NHS and together have plans for larger scale events for the membership. As the South Wales branch covers a wide geographical area, Davis and O'Gorman have embraced social networking with the launch of a Facebook group as a way for members to get to know each other and find out about forthcoming events in their area.

Sali Earls spoke to him about his wide ranging enthusiasm for computing, and his commitment to the BCS YPG.

What inspired you to take up a career in computing?
I think I've always known I'd end up in computing - my interest started when my school had its first BBC Micro and I showed all the teachers how to set it up - when I was 7!

My real inspiration came from seeing what could be done with a computer, the sheer intelligence and power that can be programmed to do everything from present a document to mapping the human genome.

Once I started discovering the Internet and the ability to share knowledge with people from across the globe, I was hooked!

I consider myself a logical person and my scientific and mathematical background have helped me progress my technical knowledge and led to my career in computing.

How did your teaching in schools and university impact on your current career?
I've been fortunate to have grown up with computing throughout my education career - my junior school was one of the first in my area to own a computer and I started to learn word processing, graphic design and more. By the time I reached my GCSE in IT, my interest was being fuelled every day with the popularisation of the Internet and by seeing what could be done with programming languages such as basic and Pascal.

Personal web development was in it's heyday at about the same time I was taking my A level in ICT and therefore was a big part of the course - it played a large part leading up to my current position in the field.

I took a few years out before starting my degree in Computer Studies, but I'm glad because it meant I began the course with a focus on what I wanted to do and I picked modules that I needed to study and develop myself and my career.

At all levels of my education I've been taught by impassioned teachers and lecturers and I think a passion for the subject is essential for getting students interested in any field, especially computing.

Where there any related skills you were taught that you now depend on, consider useless, or wish you had been taught?
When I was being taught at GCSE and A level grades, I remember much of the subject matter was technical - web development, programming, databases etc. and this basis was all essential and I'm still using them all today.

That said I feel the lessons I learnt in university that helped develop my analytic skills and business sense were possibly even more important. IT is an extremely fast moving subject and the ability to learn a programming language and apply them, design as well as implement software and databases and being able to lead a project initiation meeting (for example) are the really essential skills to learn for the workplace.

If education can prepare students to make presentations, be confident in their skills and develop business acumen as well as technical knowledge, they will be more prepared for they're careers when they begin.

The perception that many young people have of the subject is one that is often boring or geeky. If you had the opportunity to rewrite the school syllabus from scratch, what would you teach the pupils?
Rather than start from scratch and change the whole syllabus, I think that education and industry need to work together to motivate students.

It's hard to change the perception of IT for students as I myself found many of the lessons I attended were boring or not essential and yet they've become my most useful skills in the workplace!

I think by trying to relate what is taught in the classroom with possible careers and demonstrating the application of knowledge as well as learning the facts, people will find subjects more interesting.

What would you do to alter the public perception of IT and computing?
It's true that the IT profession and those who follow it as a career or hobby don't have the best public image - I'm not sure where the 'geeky' perception of IT comes from and it can be one of the most interesting careers to follow.

I think films and television play a large part in painting the stereotypical image of an IT person and sure, many people involved in IT are fanatical about their technology and knowledge, but this passion in any other field is embraced and encouraged. IT underpins all areas of society now and working with the BCS we are trying to raise awareness of this, and the importance of professionalism in what we do.

What IT really needs is some role models, people who both IT students and non-technical people can look up to and aspire to be. I think kids would do better looking up to successful and interesting people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Kevin Rose and Eric Schmidt than premiership footballers and z-list reality TV 'celebrities' - all we need to do is publicise them!

Why should students and young IT professional consider joining the BCS?
Anyone studying or professionally practising IT should join the BCS - that is my absolute belief. I share the view that professionalism is essential in our careers and as the main certification body for our profession, BCS membership means we can represent IT and have our credentials, experience and qualifications validated by the society.

As a college of mine in the BCS analogised, if you plan a holiday, you wouldn't accept a half-price flight if the pilot hadn't finished his aviation exams. This should be true of IT and yet many IT practitioners are perfectly willing to take a job on that they know will fail, but that they will be hired because their price is cheaper than the next person. In the previous analogy, we should also realise that the person who is keeping the plane in the air is also the IT professional, so their experience and knowledge is doubly important!

Operating under a code of practice and conduct means our clients can believe in what we can deliver and this can only be a good thing for us.

How do the activities of the Young BCS differ from the general regional BCS?
For the first time in BCS history, the average age of a new member has dropped to 28 - within the Young Professional Group (YPG) age-range of 18-35. We're not an ageist society and are open to all members, but the group aims to represent younger members who may feel out of depth and out of touch with the wider society. The YPG aims to give support to members and allow them a voice in the BCS.

Many BCS events are aimed a higher level or are organised by older branch members who may not know what interests us as young professionals with relation to IT. YPG events centre on soft-skills workshops and networking events where attendees can meet and develop essential skills, contacts and have some fun at the same time!

YPG-based branch events also have topics which we of interest to us such as IT in sports, gaming, Web 2.0 and other bleeding-edge technologies and are held in alternative venues, some of which have included bars, clubs and even a cruise on the River Thames!

You're holding a career networking event in Cardiff later this month - what can delegates expect to learn?
Career networking is the second social networking event we've held in South Wales, a format made very popular in London and which translated very successfully to Cardiff last time. Out main speaker is Roy Shepherd, development manager from BCS HQ and one of the creators of the tools we can use to professionally develop, Career Builder and the SFIA+ framework.

I've also arranged for a panel of representatives from South-Wales-based companies and career consultants. Delegates can ask the panel career-related questions; what is out there after graduation and why should students stay in Wales instead of following the bright career lights of London?

I'm hoping that as well as learning about career progression from the panel and personal development from Roy, attendees will learn more about networking, build some contacts and have some fun!

What technologies do you think society will be depending on in five years time, and beyond?
Wow, five years is an extremely long time in IT and predicting future trends is a highly-sought after skill in it's own right!

Firstly, I think the existing interest in digital music and portable video will increase exponentially. Flash memory and hard drives are dropping in price and the cost of storage is dropping every day. The ability to hold all your entertainment media digitally will become common place.

Green technologies have to become more important in the next five years - a topic I have great interest in following. Low power processors, high capacity batteries and re-usable materials are all essential to help the environment, especially now so many people own technology like computers, MP3 players etc. that are all seen to be throw-away items.

Integration between Internet-based and desktop applications is also a technology I see becoming more common-place - the ability to work on and store files on-line but simultaneously being able to access them off-line is a thing everyone will come to depend upon.

Useful links:
South Wales branch site: southwales.bcs.org/index.htm
YPG site: www.bcs.org/server.php?show=nav.9223
Facebook group: www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=4258056068