New Zealand Computer Society

New Zealand Computer Society Inc

Type	Professional Organisation
Founded	October, 1960
Location	Wellington, New Zealand
Key people	Ray Delany (President), Steve Davis (Deputy President), Paul Matthews (CEO)
Area served	New Zealand
Focus	Information and Communications Technology
Method	Events, Networking, Advocacy, Certification, Mentoring, Education, Scholarships
Members	Approx 2,500
Website	www.nzcs.org.nz

The New Zealand Computer Society Inc (NZCS) is a non-profit incorporated society in New Zealand. As New Zealand's ICT professional body, the NZCS exists to promote education and ensure a high level of professional practice amongst ICT professionals.

1 Mission and Vision
2 Objects
3 Code of Ethics
4 Membership
5 Structure
6 Advocacy
7 Certification
8 Events
9 History
10 Honorary Fellowships
11 International Relationships
12 References
13 See also
14 External links

Mission and Vision

The Society's mission is NZCS promotes education and sets policies, standards and practices for ICT in New Zealand., with a vision To advance ICT Professionalism and Education for the benefit of New Zealand^[1].

Objects

The Objects of the New Zealand Computer Society, as provided in the Society's constitution^[2], are to:

develop the discipline of information technology in New Zealand.
foster the training, education and qualification of persons practising or intending to practise within the discipline in New Zealand.
promote proper conduct within its membership and to set ethical standards for the discipline.
grant qualifications and classes of membership to members in recognition of their proficiency within the discipline.
develop or provide lectures, meetings, conferences and publications and to promote research within the discipline of information technology.
take a public position on matters of concern to the Society and make submissions or advise government as appropriate.
promote any other related activities that are in the interests of the Society.

Code of Ethics

All NZCS members must formally agree to a Code of Ethics.

The NZCS Code of Ethics is mostly concerned with the Community, Qualifications and Competence, Clients and Employers, and Ethical Dilemmas^[3], and contains the following 8 tenets:

Members' responsibility for the welfare and rights of the community shall come before their responsibility to their profession, sectional or private interests or to other members;
Members shall act in the execution of their profession with integrity, dignity and honour to merit the trust of the community and the profession, and apply honesty, skill, judgement and initiative to contribute positively to the well-being of society;
Members shall treat people with dignity, good faith and equity; without discrimination; and have consideration for the values and cultural sensitivities of all groups within the community affected by their work;
Members shall follow recognised professional practice, and provide services and advice carefully and diligently only within their areas of competence;
Members shall develop their knowledge, skills and expertise continuously through their careers, contribute to the collective wisdom of the profession, and actively encourage their associates to do likewise;
Members shall apply their skills and knowledge in the interests of their clients or employers for whom they will act without compromising any other of these tenets;
Members shall take reasonable steps to inform themselves, their clients or employers of the economic, social, environmental or legal consequences which may arise from their actions; and
Members shall inform their clients or employers of any interest which may be, or may be perceived as being, in conflict with the interests of their clients or employers, or which may affect the quality of service or impartial judgement;

Membership

The NZCS has an estimated membership of approximately 2,500 individual members, plus around 80 Corporate Partners^[4] (businesses who have joined on behalf of their staff) resulting in an estimated representation of over 10,000 ICT professionals.

NZCS provides for multiple membership levels depending on a member's stage of career and requirements. All members must agree to abide by the NZCS Code of Ethics.

Professional Membership

Professional membership is for those in the ICT profession who meet certain requirements in terms of experience and qualifications.

Associate Member (AMNZCS) is the entry-level professional membership level
Member (MNZCS) is the full membership level
Fellow (FNZCS) is the very senior membership level

Affiliate Membership

Affiliate is for those that wish to have membership of the NZCS but do not meet the requirements for professional membership
Student is for students studying fulltime in a recognised course of study
Graduate is for those that have graduated or left school within the last 12 months

Honorary Membership

Honorary Fellow (HFNZCS) is a title conferred on a small number of individuals who have had a major impact on the sector, and is regarded as the highest honour in the ICT profession

Organisational Membership

Corporate Partner is for organisations wishing to align with and support the work of the NZCS (includes significant benefits for staff)
Educational Partner is for educational institutions wishing to align with and support the work of the NZCS (includes significant benefits for staff)

Structure

The New Zealand Computer Society is a single nationwide non-profit incorporated society.

Within the Society are five branches based on geographic location, being Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, Waikato/Bay of Plenty, and Otago/Southland. The NZCS also encompasses a number of Specialist Groups in topics such as Software Testing and Computer Security. NZCS branches and specialist groups are staffed by volunteers.

The Society is governed by a National Council made up of the NZCS President, Deputy President, and five Councillors, with each councillor being appointed by one of the branches of the Society.

The Society maintains a fully staffed operational head office in Wellington and is managed by a Chief Executive who also sits on Council in a non-voting capacity.

Advocacy

NZCS is regarded as the voice of the ICT profession in New Zealand and undertakes significant advocacy on behalf of the profession and wider sector.

NZCS is represented on most ICT-related advisory groups, panels and public ICT-related boards in New Zealand, and was a founding member of the Digital Development Council^[5], a body set up by the New Zealand Government to help achieve New Zealand's digital potential^[6].

The Society is engaged with Government (both ministerial and official level), Industry and Academia and works as a catalyst and conduit for these three important sub-sectors to work together in the interests of the overall ICT Sector, both in the area of ethics and professional practice as well as to solve issues such as the current ICT skills shortage^[7] and drop in tertiary ICT enrolments^[8].

NZCS also takes an active interest in educational issues and in 2008 completed a detailed analysis of ICT-related NCEA Achievement Standards in secondary schools^[9]^[10] and outlined a number of significant and serious problems with these standards.

The Society also promotes digital literacy^[11].

Certification

In 2009 the society released an internationally-aligned ICT professional certification in New Zealand, the Information Technology Certified Professional (ITCP) qualification^[12].

Events

The NZCS runs numerous events throughout New Zealand, but predominantly in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton and Dunedin.

As well as around 20 local events a month, the Society began a monthly nationwide Innovators of ICT event series in August 2008, taking notable and successful entrepreneurs such as Rod Drury and Don Christie on a speaking trip to the five cities above to promote innovation and "thinking outside the square" to New Zealand's development and ICT community.

History

The Society was founded in October 1960 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Honorary Fellowships

The NZCS occasionally confers the title of Honorary Fellow of the NZCS (HFNZCS) on an individual who has made a significant contribution to the ICT sector in New Zealand over a period of time, or the Society over many years.

Recent HFNZCS recipients include former Minister of ICT Hon David Cunliffe^[13] and ICT entrepreneur Rod Drury. There are currently 21 Honorary Fellows^[14].

International Relationships

The NZCS is a full member of the International Federation for Information Processing^[15] (IFIP), an international umbrella organisation originally set up by UNESCO, and South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation^[16] (SEARCC).

The society also works with other professional bodies around the world, such as the Australian Computer Society and the British Computer Society.