PG Program Advisory Board

John Warren, Microsoft Research Asia

John Warren is the University Relations Manager, Microsoft Research Asia.

"Having worked in the IT industry in Australia and Asia since 1977, I have seen a lot of change. The IT landscape today is very different to what it was 10 years ago. Successful career advancement requires us to stay ahead of the game ensuring that we position ourselves for the ever changing demands of employers. Visionary employers require visionary employees who have invested in their own self development, who have anticipated where technology is going and have prepared themselves in advance.

The University of Sydney’s postgraduate programs in IT certainly cover the basic IT skills required of those who see IT as an area where their education and knowledge requires further development. But this is not enough in today’s environment. More importantly the programs provide opportunities for students to acquire knowledge in developing areas such as Integrated Enterprise Systems, Managing Change, Project Management, Business Process Modeling and Knowledge Management.

The Postgraduate Program Advisory Board comprising the University of Sydney teaching staff as well as industry practitioners ensures that the programs are in touch with industry requirements and future direction."

Jeff Findlay, Compuware Asia-Pacific

Jeff Findlay is Field Technical Support Manager (OptimalJ/Uniface) for Compuware Australia & New Zealand. He has extensive international experience in Architecture and Software Development.

"Architecture and software development have remarkable similarities. Both rely on an understanding and execution that follow client needs. They require careful planning where ‘form follows function’ and benefit from ‘best-practice’ integrated modelling. With the introduction of a model-driven, pattern-based approach to software development, IT has caught up with established practices of the building industry. It’s no longer expedient to write an application at code level, independent of the initial business model. This is similar to individually drafting every drawing required for a multi-story building.

OMG (Object Management Group), Compuware and other likeminded companies have come together to establish common standards for the IT industry. One of these initiatives is the Model Driven Architecture, a concept that realises the transformation of business models to technology models and then automation of application code in a code model."

As a member of the Postgraduate IT Advisory Board, Jeff provides valuable information about technology trends and emerging industry standards. This allows the course curriculum to stay in tune with industry expectations about MIT graduates.

Other members of the Board

Professor Ross Jeffery
UNSW

Dr Philip McCrea
Chief Executive Officer
Australian Centre for Advanced Computing and Communications

Jim Jefferis
Client Executive
Imagine Essential Services

Venky Raman
Executive Chairman
Foundation Technology Services

John Ridge
Executive Director
ACS Foundation

Phil Robertson
Director
Canon Information systems Research Australia (CISRA)

David Maunsell
Partner
Accenture Australia

Jerry Meades
Executive Director
Information Services Division
Treasury & Commodities Group
Macquarie Bank

Jon Gray
NICTA

Amol Mahamuni
Senior Project Manager
IBM Software Labs India

Brindala Ananthram
President & COO
IonIdea

George Kelly Flanagin
Bright-Crayon, LLC