UK computer expert shares his knowledge with students and IT sector

Saturday 15 February 2014

A former president of the British Computer Society was in the Island recently to share his expertise with students and the local IT sector.

Professor Jim Norton, is an independent director, policy adviser and public speaker. He is Fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering, where he is a member of the Engineering Policy Committee and an external member of the Board of the UK Parliament's Office of Science and Technology.

The Chairman of British Computer Society (BCS) Jersey, Ronnie Isherwood, said having someone of Professor Norton’s calibre to address both students and IT professionals was incredibly valuable.

“We’re extremely grateful that Professor Norton took the time to meet with us and give us an insight in to both the future of IT and the future of the IT profession. I hope that the students in particular came away with a clearer understanding of where their careers could take them,’ he said.

Professor Norton gave a presentation on eBusiness to students at Highlands College. He also addressed about 50 IT professionals at an event held at the Royal Yacht Hotel.

His talk to local professionals was aimed at encouraging businesses to take infrastructure vulnerability more seriously. He highlighted the need by pointing out that over half of the UK’s power companies rely on mobile phones for communication in an emergency, yet mobile firms require electricity to work.

He also recommended developing secure systems to adopt full method software engineering, saying that a systems architect should play a key role in designing systems.

In addition to the need to engage systems architects at the planning stage, Professor Norton also said that the IT profession needs to play a role in building resilience in UK infrastructure by increasing the pace of professionalisation