| | | | 1. Nomination to IFIP Technical Committees: International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is an umbrella body consisting of the leading National Computing/IT Societies in the world including IEEE Computer Society, ACM and SEARCC. Since its inception, the CSI has been representing India in the IFIP and has been striving to bring IFIP events and technical activities to India. The IFCAI conference in Hyderabad, Bio-Informatics conference in Surat, Networking 2010 in Chennai, Working Group meeting on HCI at Pune are the most recent IFIP events held in India. As per the CSI’s set convention, our Immediate Past President Mr. S. Mahalingam is currently the official representative in the IFIP General Assembly. Recently, the IFIP has also approved an additional candidature of our Past President Mr. Lalit Sawhney in his individual capacity acknowledging his strategic contributions. Indeed, this is a testimony of CSI and its senior officials’ international standing and contributions. The CSI President has also approved a list of CSI Representatives to serve on 14 IFIP Technical Committees following a blended approach of continuity and change. The role and responsibilities of these representatives include working at various levels in IFIP TCs, bringing high-quality IFIP events to India and to enhance global visibility for CSI programmes and activities. The Chapters may please use expert services of these representatives and IFIP global resources while organizing conferences and events.
2. Membership Development Programme: The President and Membership Committee appeal to the CSI members for volunteering their services in the membership development programme. The newly appointed full-time staff at Mumbai and Chennai is gearing up for a renewed membership drive. The members at the Chapters and Student Branches may prepare action plans for the proposed CSI’s Out Reach Programmes (6 major sectors namely - Business, Industry, Govt., Academic, Research and Consultancy). The volunteers will be provided with the necessary supporting CSI multimedia presentation/PPT slides/brochures and possibly list of potential organizations’ contact details which could be of help. The members may send their suggestions/inputs to enhance the membership value and benefits keeping in view of globalized scenario.
3. Impetus for Research and Publication Activities: The Chapters, Student Branches and members are requested to seek guidance from the Hon. Research Directors nominated by the President. The members may identify potential research areas relevant to CSI objectives and National priorities. The Hon. Research Directors’ vast experience and research credentials will be a great help to young faculty, researchers and students. The CSI Education Directorate has been funding minor research projects of students and young faculty for many years. It is highly desirable to publish the research outcomes of such projects in CSI Publications or other reputed publications with appropriate acknowledgement about CSI funding support. The CSI has also been providing a partial grant for foreign travel by our members to present their technical papers. The members are requested to send their proposals/suggestions towards enhancing CSI research and publication activities.
4. The Chapter and Student Branch Activities: The Chapters and Student Branches are the most important constituents of CSI serving its members and reaching out to the unrepresented areas and segments of Indian society. These constituents play crucial role in promoting, ICT education, research and development/deployment among the stakeholders. The Chapters are guided by the Regional Vice President concerned on the operational/execution aspects and by Divisional Chairpersons on the domain-specific matters. In addition to the above, the Chapters may seek support from CSI Special Interest Groups (SIGs), IFIP Technical Committees, partner societies e.g. IEEE, BCS, PMI, C-DAC, DOEACC and professional/industry associations.
5. Regional Events: As per the CSI Constitution and Bye-laws, The Regional Vice Presidents (RVPs) facilitate the Chapters, Student Branches and Member Institutions in organizing CSI events catering to the needs of the regions and other entities concerned. The RVPs provide leadership and formulate strategies to organize national/international events in association with CSI Divisions, Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and Partnering professional societies, educational & research organizations and industry associations. It is expected that each region host at least one national/international and four regional events in a year. These events may focus on the aspects relevant to industry verticals and societal needs of the region. The outcomes of these may include conference proceedings, region-specific findings, road-map for ICT deployment, strategic recommendations and prospective HRD programmes. The Chapter Chairpersons and members at large may send their proposals and suggestions to the RVPs concerned for organizing various events.
6. Activities of Divisions & SIG: As per the CSI Constitution and Bye-laws, the fields of relevance to CSI objectives have been grouped into five Divisions. A CSI Division may include a few Special Interest Groups (SIGs) formed by members with the desire to pursue significant technological activities in emerging areas or specialties of CSI interests. The Divisional Chairpersons and SIG Conveners are expected to prepare technology road-map in-line with the national priorities and societal needs. They may also serve as resource persons as well as organize the divisional/SIG events – such as technical seminars, workshops/tutorials, research symposia and FDPs. While the Divisional Chairpersons focus on broad subject matter aspects, the SIG Conveners go deeper within a subject matter. The Divisional Chairpersons and SIG Chairs/Conveners are expected to interact/collaborate with the IFIP TCs, IEEE TCs, ACM SIGs and other subject matter experts at national/ international level. The outcomes of Divisional/SIG events include conference proceedings, state-of-the-art technical reports, technology forecasting and assessment, benchmarks and standards, curricula/syllabi of new academic programmes, strategies for promoting research and innovation. The Chapter Chairpersons and members may send their proposals and suggestions to the Divisional Chairpersons and SIG Chairs/Conveners concerned for organizing various events.
7. CSI Events: Apart from the flagship event the CSI Annual Convention, the RVPs/Divisional Chairpersons/SIG Conveners Divisions/SIGs have been organizing various events with a view to cater to the region/domain-specific needs of members. Most of the CSI Chapters and Student Branches have also been organizing events of different kinds to meet the local needs and aspirations. The critical success factor is the well-understood objectives and target audience so that these events do not substantially overlap in their organizational process and expected outcomes. The Seminars, workshops, conference, symposia, user conferences, summits are the type of events that are usually hosted by professional societies such as the Computer Society of India. Choosing the right description for the event is critical because it communicates volumes about the type of experience the participants can expect. Our Hon. Chief Editor, CSI Communications has provided a quick explanation of each type of event. For more details please visit: http://www.csi-india.org/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=5db2dfaf-b72d-4d3d-8742-f161bf0cf10a&groupId=10616
8. An Appeal from CSI-HQ: With a view of revitalizing various functionaries to take CSI programmes and activities to next-higher level, a set of minimum expectations (listed on next page) has been arrived at for the perusal of our members and necessary action.
Prof. H R Vishwakarma
Hon. Secretary, Computer Society of India
E-mail: secretary@csi-india.org | |
