BCS Northern Ireland branch has been operating for over 60 years to support IT professionalism in Northern Ireland region and the work of BCS as a whole. We provide local representation for Northern Ireland's IT professionals, and promote IT in the wider community. The branch maintains a strong link with local schools, colleges and universities promoting the discipline of computer science. BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, is the largest society within the European group of 33 countries making up CEPIS (Council of European Professional Informatics Societies) and is responsible for issuing the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) within the UK. Almost 10 million of these have been issued within Europe (500,000 in Ireland) to a wide spectrum of the public interested in using and improving their computer skills. BCS has established the BCS Academy as part of a major transformation programme, which is bringing together the academic, commercial and government interests, to establish CITP as the standard for IT professionals throughout the world. The Northern Ireland Branch has a varied events programme, which includes academic lectures and seminars as well as social events. We often collaborate with BCS Specialist Groups and other professional societies to organise large scale events with something for everyone.