Welcome to the BCS Bedford Website
Next Meeting
| The future programme of events is being planned, please check back soon. |
News
BCS (Bedford Branch) Schools Cyber Challenge 2023.
Welcome to the 2023 programmes
Thank you for visiting our website. The last year has been one of many changes and the Branch committee wishes it has been working well for you.
We are very pleased to start our new programme rhythm with a meeting every second Tuesday of the month. The committee want these meetings to be conversations and not a one way lecture. While we are coming together online, we want to create the environment that you come to share your experience, and network with like minded professionals. We want you to find your community here.
Branch Background
BCS Bedford Branch has about 950 members registered, about 400 are based in the Bedford area and another 360 in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire. We also have members as far afield as Auckland, Texas, Singapore, Karachi and Lagos.
The geographical area is largely rural with concentrations of business and professional employment in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes. A sizable body of professionals commute to work in London. There are four universities in our patch and a number of FE colleges.
We have meetings most months. The main series of meetings is in the Mercure Hotel in Bedford. These meetings are opened to non-BCS members and have been well supported by local business and students.
BCS Bedford Branch has two strategic initiatives in our local area. Since the 2013 academic year, we have been running an annual school competition to encourage Key Stage 3 students (11-13 years old) to develop coding skills and take up Computing as one of their GCSE subjects. The Branch has also been working with the Bedfordshire Police Cyber Hub since its launch in 2015 to help in their Prevent agenda, promoting knowledge to avoid citizens and businesses becoming victims of cybercrime
We work with the local IET branch, the Royal Aeronautical Society as well as the Federation of Small Business to coordinate meetings.
Student prizes are awarded to all four local universities.
Receiving Information about BCS Bedford activities
The branch has a LinkedIn Group open to all members and those interested
if you are not a member of BCS and would like periodic updates about forthcoming branch events and other items which we feel may be of interest to you then you can subscribe to our email list. You can subscribe to our email list by sending a blank email to bednonmem-join@lists.bcs.org.uk. Please note that by subscribing to the email list you are not joining BCS Bedford Branch.
We will only use your email address to advise your about forthcoming BCS Bedford Branch events and other items which we feel may be of interest to you. To remove your email address from the BCS Bedford Branch email list please send an email to groups@bcs.uk with ‘Unsubscribe from bednonmem@lists.bcs.org.uk’ as the subject.
