Institution of Analysts and Programmers

Alastair Revell, the new Director General of The Institution of Analysts and Programmers, has announced that a new executive structure has been created to lead the specialist professional body forward into the next phase of its development. The move creates a number of executive posts designed to take the thirty-year old Institution into its next decade. Mr Revell said: “The Institution has some very ambitious plans. I have been appointed to realise these plans and the management team I am announcing today will help me fulfil them. The new Executive Board will be critical in driving the Institution forward. We are opening a new chapter in our history today and we are looking at a very exciting future.”

The new team includes:

• Robin Jones, Director for Professionalism and Education
• Paul Lynham, Director for Member Engagement with responsibility for improving the services the Institution offers its members
• John Ellis, Technical and Communications Director for the Institution, responsible for its ICT requirements.

Robin started his career with the BBC’s Engineering Department in the 1960s. He subsequently spent many years lecturing in both further and higher education, before joining the Institution in 1997. He has written some nineteen books, which have been translated into every major European language and has contributed articles to numerous technical magazines. He also used to have his own column in the French edition of Scientific American.

Paul has extensive experience as a freelance software developer. He has worked in a wide variety of sectors. He has been the technical director of a company producing call centre software as well as a lecturer in software for the Open University.

John began his career in the private sector as a programmer before moving into local government to become an IT Development Manager. He then moved into the Insurance sector and most recently has been in the Financial Services industry, working on ISAs, Tax Exempt Bonds and Child Trust Funds.

Yesterday (February 1^st) the Livingstone-Hope Skills Review was published. Don’t feel bad if your response is “Livingstone-who?” It didn’t receive a huge amount of publicity. On the same day, Pfizer announced the closure of its main research facility in the UK to an avalanche of Press concern.

Now, of course I’m not suggesting that Pfizer’s announcement shouldn’t have been given the prominence it was afforded. It is a very serious matter for British science as a whole. But let me tell you why I think the Livingstone-Hope Skills Review matters.

First, it’s about the UK Video Games industry, the fourth largest in the world. Who knew? Not many people according to Livingstone and Hope. In fact, only 3% of young people realised that ‘Grand Theft Auto’ is a UK-produced game, version IV of which, by the way, grossed $500M world-wide in its first week, three years ago. Perhaps worse still, only about a fifth of their teachers in the relevant subjects (mathematics, science, ICT and art) were aware of this. Physics, in particular, is central to games development, which less than 5% of this group of teachers appreciated.

In 2009, the UK games industry as a whole had a turnover just shy of $4 billion and, at that stage, was expected to grow to around $5.3 billion by 2014. Livingstone and Hope think that could be improved by around 10% with careful husbanding.

They have several key recommendations:

1. Computer science, not just ICT, must be part of the school national curriculum.
2. Young people must be given more opportunity to study art and technology together.
3. Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) should include industry-accredited specialist courses in video games and visual effects in their list of ‘Strategically Important and Vulnerable’ subjects that merit targeted funding.

What do you think? We need to hear your views so that we can develop appropriate policies to present to Government and Industry bodies. Go to the IAP’s LinkedIn group to let us know. That’s only available to IAP members, of course. But other interested parties are welcome to contact me with their thoughts at eo@iap.org.uk.

Robin Jones

We’re very pleased to announce that Alastair Revell has been appointed as the IAP’s Director General, following the retirement of Mike Ryan. Alastair, who is Chairman of the Exeter-based management and technology consulting practice Revell Research Systems, has been an elected member of our ruling Council since 2009, with responsibility for the Institution’s membership.

Alastair says about his appointment, “Professionalism within IT is extremely important, especially in relation to the development of software solutions. Society increasingly relies on the work of those engaged in software development and the Institution plays an important role in promoting high standards in this field. It is a tremendous privilege to be asked to lead the Institution. We have some very ambitious plans for the future and I look forward to the challenges ahead.”

IAP President, David Morgan, said, “We have every confidence that Alastair will be able to lead the Institution forward into the next phase of its development. We are excited by his plans and look forward to their coming to fruition. The IT world is changing and so is the Institution. Alastair has a strong background in software development and systems analysis himself. He is a respected IT consultant, having, in 1985, established his own consultancy, which continues to expand.”

Alastair graduated from the University of Birmingham with a degree in Mathematics and is both a Chartered IT Professional and a Chartered Engineer. He was admitted to the Institution in 1988 and was elected as a Fellow in 2006. He is also a Fellow of the RSA.

Retiring Director General, Mike Ryan said, “We have been looking for my successor for some time. Alastair has strong leadership skills and is a very experienced IT consultant, with a significant background in software development. The Appointments Committee was struck by his proven track-record as a business leader and his ideas for the Institution’s future development.”