SCALE 21: The Next Phase

A Conference entitled “Building Britain’s Brainpower” will take place on Monday 11^th February 2002 in the Faraday Theatre of the Royal Institution, Albemarle Street, London W1, starting at 10.30 a.m. It will bring together over 450 IT leaders and entrepreneurs to review the pathfinder research of the three SCALE21 working parties and propose recommendations to take this project forward. Douglas Alexander MP, Minister of State for e-Commerce and Competitiveness has agreed to give the keynote speech. Lunch will be provided by courtesy of the Office of Science & Technology, Department of Trade and Industry.

We’ve reported on SCALE21 (chaired by Charles Ross, FIAP) before, but just to remind you, the working parties’ briefs are:

1. To produce an inventory of the myriad IT courses, qualifications [nearly 1000 and counting!], examining bodies and initiatives. This will form the basis for a “One-Stop Shop” Web portal to help people who are considering IT as a career to investigate the professional opportunities open to them.
2. To identify the underlying skills that have made members of the IT profession successful. Calibrand, Reed in Partnership and Computer Weekly are directly involving some 150,000 IT professionals in this process, making it the most comprehensive study of its kind ever undertaken.
3. To make it easier for the next generation to create the new, innovative businesses that will underpin the economy in the future by bringing together a large number of successful entrepreneurs to identify the barriers and impediments they have experienced in the education system and in industry. It also considers the various tax and financial measures that discriminate against entrepreneurs, accumulated unintentionally over the years.

To ensure a reservation, visit www.scale21.org, fax 020 7592 9138 or write to SCALE21 Reservations, 1 Castle Lane, Victoria, London, SW1E 6DR.

Don’t forget to email eo@iap.org.uk with items of news about you or your company.

N�H S
��+�+lum “Mauna Loa”)

Warneckii (Dracaena “Warneckii”)

Other plants that are effective include Weeping Fig, Golden Pothos, Aloe Vera, Heart Leaf Philodendron, Mini-Schefflera, Dwarf Date Palm, Rubber Plant, Boston Fern, Ficus Alii, Areca Palm and Peperomia.

Using plants to improve air quality makes sense, as they can clean the environment without using chemicals – chemicals that could themselves contribute to pollution. Plants are economical in that they can replace air filters, require no electricity and have the added advantage of enhancing the workplace both aesthetically and chemically. Also, in removing impurities, most emit oxygen.

Thus the overall effect of their use is that the risk of human sickness and stress is reduced, leading to increased productivity. Nobody can guarantee that having a plant next to your computer will improve your code, but you never know, with better air quality, it may allow you to think more clearly!

Something you’d like to get off your chest? Email me (Robin Jones) at eo@iap.org.uk.