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Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators

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InfoPlus May 2024

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ISTC visit to MOD, Abbey Wood, Bristol: 17th April 2024

Ian Milward, MISTC and MOD Technical Documentation Lead SME at MOD Abbey Wood, Bristol took part in a CPD networking session during a day-long event for staff in the Operational Delivery Function. Here representatives of Professional Bodies promoted their organisations, with particular emphasis on Continuing Professional Development.

This was an excellent opportunity to introduce the ISTC to the MOD’s technical communicators. We shared details of the benefits of ISTC membership including our CPD framework. We also spoke with MOD staff engaged in promoting membership of professional organisations.

We are looking forward to more networking sessions and to growing the MOD ISTC community.

UK Technical Communication Awards

Entries are now open for 2024 through the ISTC website. You can find out more at the UK TC Awards web page. Then fill out the UK TC Awards entry form to nominate yourself, your team or someone else.

Go on, you and your team deserve it!  If you need any help with your online submission, contact us at istc@istc.org.uk.

Please note for the UK Technical Communication Awards 2024 we are retaining the established guidelines. The awards are open to any individual or team, whether employed, self-employed, contracting, volunteering, permanent, temporary, full-time, or part-time. We continue to encourage entries of all types, from traditional documentation to those demonstrating technical innovation.

The Communicator Awards competition will be held for the fifth successive year. Details will be given in the journal with invitations for readers to vote for their favourite article and column.

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Become more involved in the professional community through the ISTC Area Groups, join us online at one of our monthly ISTC Meets events, and find us on social media (links at bottom of page). Members also have access to the ISTC Discussion Forums (login required).

If you wish to start your own Area Group, contact istc@istc.org.uk.

Area Groups

If you wish to start your own Area Group, contact istc@istc.org.uk.

Online meet-up with Cambridge Area Group

Open to anyone involved in communication from any location, the Cambridge Area Group hosts a regular, free Zoom meeting. It is the second Thursday of the month at 6pm for approximately 40 minutes. Contact cambridge_areagroup@istc.org.uk
for more information.

London Area Group

Dr Vladimir Izmalkov MISTC says that the Thursday 22nd May will be the date for the next London Area Group meetup. The location is, by default, The Southbank Centre – Royal Festival Hall.

However, for any last-minute updates and coordination, he has set up a WhatsApp chat for the group.

ISTC Meets

May 2024 Meet

Join us online each month, as we have a speaker offering a presentation on a topic related to technical communication, along with a chance to ask questions and join in a discussion about the topic – all in just one hour!

Wednesday 22nd May 2024 @ 13:00 – Jo Stitchbury: Beyond “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”: How to navigate open-source software documentation as a writer.

Click here to join in via Zoom.

Future Meets

June – 18th June 2024 @ 13:00 – Fireside Chat with Rahel Anne Bailie

July – 12th July 2024 @ 13:00 – Judith Fellowes – Tech writing and accessibility

For more information on all future ISTC Meets, please visit our website.

Social Media

Community Forums

The forums are available to all ISTC Members once you have logged into the ISTC website.

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Increase in unemployment levels in the UK

The amount of unemployment in the UK is increasing and not just for those within the Tech Comms industry. According to a report available from the HR Grapevine, entitled “2024 UK Labour Market Analysis | Navigating Dynamic Employment Trends”, the employment landscape of the UK is undergoing significant shifts.

While the highly competitive hiring environment presents challenges – particularly for high-demand job titles and AI-related skills – opportunities abound for organisations to leverage data-driven hiring strategies and rethink their value proposition to better source and retain top talent.

Note: To get the full report, you have to sign up for it via their website.

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This is a new section that will include interesting bits and pieces found online.

Microsoft Design has a number of articles on their website which may be interesting and/or informative, including articles on AI, UI/UX Design.

If you would like to recommend a page of articles that you think our readers would like to know about, contact the editor of InfoPlus with your recommendations.

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Evolution of Tech Comms

Would you like to expand and deepen your knowledge in the field of software documentation? If so, be quick and secure your early bird ticket by May 14th for Evolution of TC! Members of tekom and tekom Europe additionally benefit from a discounted price of 140 Euros for both days.

On 4th–5th, June 2024, our international expert speakers will cover topics such as

  • GenAI
  • ChatGPT
  • Visual Design
  • Cloud-native Docs
  • Translation … and many more.

Evolution of TC is the ideal platform to exchange knowledge and grow your network – don’t miss the chance to be part of it!

Adobe DITAWorld

This is a free online event hosted by Adobe. It’s spread over 3 days and full of talks on all things DITA.

Tuesday, June 11th – Thursday 13th June 2024.

For more details, see the Adobe DITAWorld website.

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Accredited courses have been reviewed by a professional panel of experienced ISTC members. A course listed as “ISTC Accredited” means that the panel believes the course meets its stated objectives and is suitable for its intended audience.

Course providers have to apply for renewal of accreditation every 2 years, which helps to ensure the courses reflect current best practice.

Armada

The Armada course (run over 5 days) is available either online or via an in-person classroom-based course. The next two dates are:

  • Reading – Classroom-based & Online – 10th-14th June 2024.
  • Bristol – Classroom-based & Online – 23rd-27th September 2024

There are also classses available at their Birmingham / Bromsgrove, Cardiff, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham and Sheffield Training Centres. These would need to be arranged upon request.

For further details, see www.armada.co.uk/course/tatp.

Cherryleaf

The Cherryleaf course is available online and can be booked for single tech comm people or as a group.

https://cherryleaf.teachable.com/p/technical-writer-induction-course

ESTON Technical/Commercial Authorship

This course run by Eston is online-only and is available any time. A discount is offered to ISTC members.

ESTON Technical/Commercial Authorship (Premier)

TCTrainNet – tekom Certificate training in Technical Communication

There are two accredited courses available from TCTrain and the dates they are run on are:

  • Professional Course – June 24th 2024, September 23rd 2024 and November 18th 2024
  • Expert Course – October 21st 2024

TCTrainNet

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InfoPlus is your go-to source for staying informed about our profession, featuring news not only from the ISTC but also from across the technical communication community.

This complimentary newsletter is emailed to approximately 1500 individuals.

Subscribe to InfoPlus here, you can unsubscribe at any time from within the email sent out each month.

For advertising enquiries, contact istc@istc.org.uk.

Submitting content

If you have noteworthy information to share with your peers, please send it my way at newsletter.editor@istc.org.uk. We want to ensure that your news reaches as many people as possible.

Published and distributed on the first working day of each month, InfoPlus occasionally experiences slight delays until the first week of the month. Keep this in mind when submitting time-sensitive information.

Please get the information for the June 2024 edition to newsletter.editor@istc.org.uk by Monday 20th May 2024.

About our publishers

InfoPlus, the Monthly Newsletter from the Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC), is a valuable resource for the largest UK body representing scientific and technical communicators. Whether you are involved in technical writing, technical illustration, or other forms of communicating technical information, ISTC is the professional association dedicated to supporting your career.

Explore the benefits of ISTC membership and find out how to join.

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