From the President
September 2016
Today we call for presenters at Collaborate 2017 (Auckland 10-12 April 2017). Meanwhile we have great news about the Wellington branch, a reminder about our business partners Optimal Workshop and Adobe, and my musings on the importance of the liberal arts in a thriving technology economy.
Correction: in last month's TCW, I said that the grace period for membership renewals closes on 1 September. That was my mistake – you have until 30 September to renew your membership without having to pay a rejoining fee.
Collaborate 2017
The TechCommNZ Conference team has been busy getting the Collaborate 2017 website ready, and we're now calling for presenters! A big shout-out and thank you to Cindy Staudt, who took our design brief and worked her information design magic on all the graphics. It's time for you to take a deep breath and get ready to share your stories of collaboration with your peers.
We also need volunteers, and specifically a sponsorship coordinator. Keep an eye on the conference website for details of how you can get involved.
Core team enlivens the Wellington branch
I'm thrilled to announce that two of the Core Education team have offered to organise branch events in Wellington – Jane Armstrong and Elizabeth Craker are planning events, rolling up sleeves, and preparing to unfurl banners. The Core office is conveniently located at 121A Thorndon Quay, within walking distance of the CBD and with great parking nearby. We'll be in touch with more event details, but in the meantime if you're Welly-based and have specific topic ideas or a presentation you'd like to share, please email Jane and Elizabeth at wellington@techcomm.nz.
Please support our business partners
A big thank you to Optimal Workshop, who this week confirmed their ongoing Gold Business Partner contribution to TechCommNZ. We'll be at UX New Zealand, and in this edition of TCW, Jimmy from Optimal Workshop has outlined a few reasons why you should be too.
Meanwhile congratulations to our Gold Business Partner Adobe. The team has launched an XML documentation add-on to Adobe Experience Manager and the reviews are excellent. Take a look and please get in touch if you're using this add-on so we can share your story.
Full stem ahead?
I was interested to read Robots and work: are you ready for life in the machine age? in Saturday's Press.
STEM has become the educational mantra. Science, technology, engineering and maths. These subjects are prioritised over the arts...
At a rough but conservative count, nearly 50% of the technical communicators who completed the TechCommNZ salary survey in December 2015 are arts graduates. Look at us all, contributing to technological innovation!
I believe that technical communicators – along with others – are needed in the mix, and many of us will not be engineers or scientists. We need to be encouraging students to study widely and bring diverse skills, knowledge, and interests to the workplace. There's a place for the liberal arts in the world of technology and TechCommNZ has a role to play in spreading this... news. It's not just me saying this! A quick Google search of "liberal arts needed any more?" provides plenty of reading on the subject.
Meanwhile TechCommNZ is planning to start a programme of outreach to graduates next year. Each of the NZ universities provide opportunities for industry to talk to people who are completing their degrees and planning their next step. We all have a role to play in helping the next generation into meaningful and satisfying work. If you're interested in being involved in presentations, please email thepresident@techcomm.nz.
October workshops
There's still time to sign up to our two wonderful workshops – don't miss the opportunity to learn web coding from Dave Gash the Entertrainer, and content strategy from Rahel Anne Bailie. Tickets to several of these sessions are going fast though, so don't delay!
Bravo! Spring is on its way. Until next time,
Regards, Em