ITP Techblog

We had a great Thursday Live webinar yesterday featuring Greg James, head of transformation at IRD, who talked about their huge transformation project - what went right, what didn't, and some unique insights and war stories. ITP members can view the full webinar on the ITP Video Library.

Also, after a very short notice period, Expressions of Interest are about to close for the Interim Establishment Boards for the Workforce Development Councils, part of the Review of Vocational Education. Wow, what a mouthful. Basically if you're keen to help shape the organisations that will define the future of tech-related vocational education, this is for you.

Speaking of events, we're looking forward to hosting Punakaiki Fund founder Lance Wiggs at our next Webinar in a fortnight, and don't forget the monthly Tech Chat Tuesday next week. What else is going on? We open up our new-look mentoring programme to Mentor registrations next week and we're also looking for awesome tech people to virtually judge our in-school 123Tech programme. So much awesome!

Tech Media Panel now on TechBlog

Starting this week, our popular Tech Media Panel (part of our Thursday Live Webinar) will be included free on TechBlog and in our weekly Newsline. Again, ITP members can view the full extended webinar, including a talk, interview and Q&A with Greg James who heaps up Inland Revenue's massive transformation project, on the ITP Member Library.

WDC Interim Establishment Boards - closes 9am Tuesday

Following the Budget announcements on 14 May, Education Minister Chris Hipkins announced the establishment of six interim Establishment Boards (iEBs) to help establish the Workforce Development Councils (WDC) as part of RoVE. These are the new industry-focused standards-setting bodies within the vocational education sector.

If you don't know what any of that means, take a look at the link below.

We really want to see some strong representation from the tech profession in these interim boards. The roles are paid, however will take about the equivalent of 3-4 days a month for the next 6 months. And the big drawback is applications must be in by 9am next Tuesday.

A strong preference is given to those supported by their professional body, and ITP has been heavily involved in the process to date. Thus, we would like to endorse 2-3 people to take these roles.

Being a member of our sector's iEB offers the chance to set future WDCs up for success in a way that works for industry and the wider sector.  They will be instrumental in helping fast-track the formation of all six WDCs. 

Through the EoI, TEC are looking for iEB members with industry connections and mana; strong governance experience; excellent communication and collaboration skills; and a fundamental understanding of the value of education and training in skills development for individuals and industry.  

Each iEB's primary role is to establish the WDC as a legal entity.  Where possible and practical, the iEB will also work with transitional Industry Training Organisations, the New Zealand Institute of Skills and Technology (NZIST) and other providers to inform the tertiary education system's response to Covid-19 impacts.

Find out more about the Expression of Interest here.

As mentioned above, ITP would like to endorse the application of 2-3 people for the tech-focused WDC. We can only endorse ITP members and have a preference for those with Chartered IT Professional NZ certification. If after looking at the above you would like to be endorsed by ITP, drop me an email over the weekend.

We've established a quick process for determining how we will select 2-3 for endorsement and can turn this around over the long weekend, given the extremely tight deadline.

The next Thursday Live: Punakaiki Fund founder Lance Wiggs

The next free ITP Thursday Live webinar will be at 4pm on 11 June and will feature a talk and Q&A with one of my favourite people in the sector, Lance Wiggs. Lance will talk about what's happening in the tech startup community, trends and opportunities for pivot and investment, impact of Covid and his general view of the world.

Those who know Lance know that he's never short of an opinion or two, and this will be a fascinating session. As always, the Thursday Live Webinar will kick off with our Tech Media Panel talking through the big stories of the week and finish with an extended Q&A with Lance.

The Media Panel will feature TechBlog's Paul Brislen and Peter Griffins, and CIO Magazine editor Sarah Putt.

You'll be able to register for this one on the ITP website next week. 

ITP Mentorship Program - Call For Mentors next week 

As you know one of ITP's core values is supporting the IT community, not only in support and opportunities for those starting out, but for those in senior positions to give back to the community.

One of the great opportunities that we offer to our community members is "professional development" or career-focused mentoring, providing guidance of a professional who has been there before. Our mentorship program has kicked off again for 2020 and we are putting the call out for senior professionals who would like to step up as mentors. 

Getting involved with this program is absolutely free, other than a commitment of time - one hour a month over twelve months. The full Mentoring Guidance document is provided free for those participating in the programme.

Becoming is a mentor is a worthwhile experience to give back to our community and is a great way to get your continued professional development hours for certification. We would love to have you onboard and will be opening up for Mentors from next week. Keep an eye out!

123Tech - Call For Virtual Judges

The 123Tech challenge has been running full steam ahead throughout the lockdown period, and we are inching closer to the first of the first heat of finals.

Each school participating in the Challenge can select their best teams to go onto the Regional 123Tech Championships. Teams selected for the Regional Championship will pitch their idea and learning journey via video to a virtual judging panel of local tech industry and education experts.

And this is where YOU come in! We are on the hunt for the perfect candidates to be judges in the Championships. We're looking for industry experts that have a passion for supporting the next generation and can give great positive and constructive feedback. As judging takes place all online, you will join a virtual panel with your fellow judges.

Time commitment isn't huge - probably 2-3 hours over the space of a month. We'll also give you the option of taking on more or fewer panels.

If this sounds like something you'd love to be a part of, get in contact with the team at [email protected]

REMINDER: International review of tech-related degrees

As mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the Computing Curricula 2020 (CC2020) is a joint project launched by professional computing bodies like ITP to examine the current curricular guidelines for academic degree programs in computing and provide a vision for the future of computing. 

It's exciting to report that this global initiative has been co-chaired by ITP Fellow Alison Clear who, along with a strong international taskforce of 50 people, have been working on this in-depth since 2017. A huge amount of work has gone into it.

They've now produced a draft report and need your input. This will help shape tech degree qualifications internationally for the next few years, so it's essential we all get this right. They're looking for feedback from everyone - industry, academia, students, etc.

More details on the draft report here, and the feedback form is here.