CEPIS Council Announcement and Computing in Schools, Sept. 2012

In this issue

We bring you information about the next CEPIS Council and Execom Elections. We invite you to join the CEPIS meeting on Computing in Schools and we bring you updates on the work of the Women in ICT Task Force. You can learn more about the latest European developments as well as events organised by CEPIS Member Societies in Belgium, Germany and Italy. If you have any feedback or you would like to send contributions from your society for the next update to be published in October 2012, please email Michel Krmek.

Save the Date: 49(12) CEPIS Autumn Council, November 22, Brussels

The 49th CEPIS Council meeting will take place at the Marriott Hotel in Brussels, Belgium on Thursday, 22 November 2012 from 08:30 to 16:00. There will be a welcome reception at 19:00 on Wednesday, 21 November, the evening prior to Council, in the hotel. This welcome reception will include a dinner buffet. In accordance with the Constitution, all Members will receive the convocation and invitation to register in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please save the date of 22 November in your calendar and if you have any other queries related to Council please contact Michel Krmek.

CEPIS Execom Elections - Nominations Open until Sept. 22!

The official invitation to Members to nominate candidates for the Executive Committee has been announced on behalf of Honorary Secretary, Bryon Nicolaides. The term of five CEPIS officers expires in November 2012. In accordance with the CEPIS Constitution, Members are invited to nominate candidates for election to the positions listed below at the forthcoming Council meeting in Brussels on 22 November: President Elect, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer, Vice President (2 positions). Nominations can be accepted until September 22nd. For further information please see the Member’s Area of the CEPIS website.

Have Your Say on Computing in Schools - October 10, Brussels

A meeting for CEPIS members on Computing in Schools will take place in Brussels, on Wednesday 10 October from 11:00 to 16:00. This meeting is organised following the interest expressed by many Members in the topic presented by Bob McLaughlin on IT in Education. Thanks to those who already registered. If you wish to attend, please contact Michel Krmek as spaces are limited.

CEPIS Professional Ethics Repository Launched

One of the key recommendations of the recently completed e-Skills and ICT Professionalism Project, carried out by CEPIS and its Professionalism Task Force, is to align the Codes of Ethics/Conduct of National Informatics Societies with a meta framework of ethical issues as part of establishing an ICT profession. A professional ethics repository was recently set up on the CEPIS website and contains Codes of Ethics and Codes of Conduct from a series of CEPIS Member Societies. This new section will act as a reference point and will enable Member Societies to engage in a long-term assessment of commonalities among those Codes of Ethics/Conducts with a view to driving the concept of ICT Professionalism forward. If your society has a relevant code that you would like to have included please let us know. View the Professional Ethics Repository

CEPIS Women in ICT Task Force - Role Model Interviews

CEPIS recently held a virtual meeting of the Women in ICT Task Force meeting with experts from Member Societies. As young women who are considering a career in ICT often lack strong role models, CEPIS will organise a series of interviews with women who have a successful career in ICT to start changing this situation. If you would like to suggest a person to be interviewed please contact us.

CEPIS at the World Computer Congress

The World Computer Congress (WCC2012) will take place in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from September 24-26. On the third day of the programme the focus will be on e-skills and professionalism, where the CEPIS’ work on e-competence and the development of pan-European framework will be presented in addition to the work of the CEN Workshop on ICT Skills. Education and IT professionalism are essential elements to achieve an innovative, secure and sustainable information society which is the theme of the WCC2012 Conference. Registration is still open. More on WCC2012

CEPIS at CONFENIS 2012

The 6th International Conference on Research and Practical Issues of Enterprise Information Systems (CONFENIS 2012) will take place in Ghent, Belgium, from September 19-21. This conference is co-organised by the CEPIS Member Society in Belgium, the Federation of Belgian Informatics Associations (FBVI-FAIB). CONFENIS brings together academicians and practitioners to share ideas and present original research in the field of enterprise information systems. A debate on ICT skills will be organised on the third day where CEPIS projects on e-Competence and ICT Professionalism will be presented. Register for CONFENIS 2012

German Informatics Organises Computer Science Competition for Young People

Informatik Biber is an annual computer science competition organised by German Informatics (GI) from 12-16 November. This competition targets children and young people with the objective of arousing their interest in computer science through exciting tasks that do not require any prior knowledge. Informatik Biber shows young people how computer science is versatile and relevant in everyday life, and it encourages them to pursue studies in this area. This initiative is increasingly popular with over 150,000 students throughout Germany having already participated. Find Out More about Informatik Biber

International Olympiad in Informatics Co-Organised by AICA

CEPIS Member Society in Italy, Associazione Italiana per l’Informatica ed il Calcolo Automatico (AICA) is is organising the 24th International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI) in collaboration with the regional education authority of Lombardy. This event will take place on the shores of Lake Garda, from 23-30 September, with representatives from more than 80 countries. Participants are all winners of national selections, not yet enrolled at universities, who will compete to design efficient algorithms. More about the International Olympiad in Informatics

ECDL Acknowledged in EC Analysis of Digital Competence Frameworks

The Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) is working on a project to develop a digital competence framework for use in education and examine its key components. IPTS recently published the first results of the project, which highlight several dimensions of Digital Competence, namely an encompassing definition, the identification of competence areas and competence levels for each identified area. These results are based on analysis of selected frameworks including ECDL. Read the Full Report

EU Legislation Increases Cyber Incident Reporting

The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) recently published a new study on cyber incident reporting in the EU. Cyber security incidents can have a large impact on individual users, on the economy and society in general. However many breaches remain undetected an thus neither reported to authorities nor known to the public. EU legislation can play an important role here as there is now a Directive, which has been transposed in national laws, obliging providers to report incidents to a national authority. Moreover, the European Commission is developing a European Cyber Security Strategy which aims to increase transparency about incidents, and ultimately to prevent them or limit their impact. Read the Full Report

EC Consultation on Open Education Resources

The European Commission (EC) recently launched a public consultation to assess the need for EU action to promote access to Open Education Resources (OER) and the use of ICT in education. Knowledge has become increasingly available thanks to the use of ICT in education which has also allowed more flexible and creative ways of learning. Respondents to the consultation are invited to share their opinion on the priorities for the development of OER in Europe. The results of the consultation will feed into a new EC Communication entitled ‘Rethinking Skills’ that will be presented in the last quarter of 2012. This consultation is open until 13 November. Take Part in this Consultation

EC Consultation - Improving Network and Information Security in the EU

Network and information systems, most particularly the Internet, are a core element of our economies and societies as they facilitate the cross-border movement of goods, service and people. However network and information security incidents are increasing and have a negative impact when affecting critical sectors such as finance or health. The European Commission (EC) recently launched a consultation to identify strategic actions to improve network and information security in the EU. The consultation also contributes to EC’s impact assessment regarding possible future risk management and security breach reporting requirements that would affect businesses in particular. The consultation is open until 15 October 2012. Take Part in this Consultation

ICT Proposers’ Day 2012 - Registration Still Open!

The ICT Proposers’ Day is a two-day event organised by the European Commission’s DG for Communications Networks Content and Technology (DG CONNECT, formerly DG INFSO). It will take place in Warsaw, Poland, on 26-27 September. This event offers a networking platform to build quality partnerships for participating in the new ICT Work Programme for 2013. The event will include presentations of project ideas, first-hand information from European Commission officials, as well as guidance on how to submit a successful proposal. Registration is open until 20 September. Click Here to Register

Call for Tender - Study on Web Apps in Europe

The European Commission recently published a call for tender regarding web apps and services in Europe. The study will analyse the impact of the apps economy on growth and jobs in Europe. More particularly, the objective is to know the size of the apps economy in Europe as well as the type of new jobs created. This knowledge together with the identification of the bottlenecks will pave the way to the preparation of a roadmap of policy actions to take the full benefits of the emerging apps economy for Europe. This call for tender is open until 21 September. More about this Call for Tender

October is European Cyber Security Month

The European Network and Information Agency (ENISA) is organising the first European Cyber Security Month (ECSM) in October to raise public awareness on cyber security. ECSM will feature a wide range of activities in six European countries (Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and UK) aiming to promote safer use of the Internet for all users. This event is in line with the Digital Agenda for Europe that highlights trust and security as fundamental preconditions for the wide uptake of ICT and therefore for achieving the objectives of smart growth laid out in the Europe 2020 strategy. More about European Cyber Security Month

Important Upcoming Events

19-21 September CONFENIS 2012 Ghent, Belgium. Organised by: FBVI-FAIB

23-30 September 24th International Olympiad in Informatics Lake Garda, Italy. Organised by: AICA

24-26 September IFIP World Computer Congress 2012 Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Organised by: IFIP

26 - 27 September ICT Proposers’ Day 2012 Warsaw, Poland. Organised by: European Commission

10-11 October Annual Privacy Forum Limassol, Cyprus. Organised by: European Commission, University of Cyprus and ENISA. Supported by: CEPIS

22 November 49(12) CEPIS Council Brussels, Belgium. Organised by: CEPIS. A welcome reception will take place from 19:00 on Wednesday 21 November, the evening prior to Council, in the hotel.