Bangalore STC India Unconference May 30, 2008

Dear Members

The STC India Chapter is pleased to announce an unconference for technical writers in Bangalore on May 31, 2008 at Sasken. SASKEN is sponsoring this unconference.

What is an unconference?
According to Wikipedia, the term unconference is applied to a wide range of gatherings that tries to avoid one or more aspects of a conventional conference such as high fees and sponsored presentations. For example, in 2006, CNNMoney applied the term to diverse events including Mashup Camp, Bloggercon, and several BarCamps. This means participants can come to the conference and speak on a topic they are interested in.

But wait, there is more to the upcoming technical writer unconference in Bangalore. We are combining the conventional model of conferences with the unconference model. We have four speakers speaking at the event. And we are opening the rest of the timeslots for the unconference model.

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REGISTRATIONS CLOSE ON May 23, 2008
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Here are the event details:

Registration Details
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To confirm your participation, please send an email to Rajdeep at [email protected]. You can also reach him at 990017161.
Please do not inquire about the unconference on this mailing list. Your participation is confirmed only if you receive a confirmation mail from Rajdeep.

Participation fee
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Rs.100/= for non-STC members
Free for STC members

Venue:
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Sasken Communication Technologies Ltd
139/25,Amar Jyothi Layout,Ring Road,
Domlur Post Office,
Bangalore, 560071, India
Tel: + 91 80 3989 1122

For directions, please click the following link: http://maps.google.co...

Agenda:
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9 AM-10 AM- "Exploring Semiotics in the Realm of Technical Communication" by Anil Pinto of Christ College
10 AM-11 AM- "Aligning Knowledge Management to Business Strategy" by Dr.Madhukar G of AOL India
11 AM-12 pm- Unconference speaker 1
12 PM-1 PM- Unconference speaker 2

Lunch Break- 1 PM-2 PM

2 PM-3 PM- "Usability Testing & Evaluation Techniques of User Interface" by Puneet Syal and Sameer Dwivedi of Infosys Technologies
3 PM-4 PM- "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technical Communicators" by Sandhya Prasad of BEA Systems
4 PM-5 PM- Unconference speaker 3
5 PM- 6 PM- Unconference Speaker 4

Tips for the unconference speakers:
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- Mention the topic in the chart put up at the venue
- Your time limit for speaking on your favorite topic is 45 minutes
- Rather than presenting, you are also welcome to start a discussion on your topic too

Speakers profile and Presentations abstract:
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[1.Exploring Semiotics in the Realm of Technical Communication: Anil Pinto is with Department of Media Studies, Christ College, Bangalore.

Semiotics is a scientific study of signs. It treats all the things around us of which we make sense as signs. It argues that humans understand the world through signs and communicate to each other also through signs.

Anil's presentation will try to explore semiotics in the realm of technical communication. The presentation will see technical writer or communicator as a mediator of meanings working within a specific sign system. In demystifying the technical jargon and simplifying complex technical concepts into simple language, the technical writer has to present information in a manner that best suits cognitive and psychological needs of the readers, so they can respond as the author intended. In order to achieve this, the technical writer falls back on a specific sign system or a symbolic order. This presentation will try to through light on sign system of the technical writer, with the assumption that it might open news ways of looking at technical writing in India.

The presentation will be for about 50 minutes, which will be followed by a 10-minute question-answer session.

2.Aligning Knowledge Management to Business Strategy- Dr. MadhukarG works as a Knowledge Architect for AOL and has been earlier the Director of Learn 2 Turn Pvt Ltd.,( A KM in Healthcare consulting Company). He is a Senior Consultant and practice leader in Knowledge Management, Change Management and Strategic Planning for Organizational Learning. He has a PhD in 'Mathematical models in knowledge management'from Univ of Lanc, UK and a PG in Strategic Management from IIMC.

Knowledge Management (KM) has received extensive business press over the last two years, and offers substantial promise for long-tern gains in competitiveness and organizational effectiveness. Since the field has expanded greatly, it has become difficult to understand what?s KM, what?s worthwhile, and understanding how it might benefit organizations and their overall business. Knowledge management requires you first understand the business need. Knowledge drives strategy. Strategy drives knowledge management. So this presentation is about what is knowledge management, how can it be aligned to the business goals, how to implement it within teams, how to measure the success of KM programs, the cultural aspects of KM.

3.Sandhya Prasad: Sandhya has twenty two years of global experience in technical communications and training. She has worked across geographies and cultures in Singapore, US, and India. She has been in management for the past twelve years and is currently the Director, APAC, at BEA Systems (now bought by Oracle). She has made numerous contributions to STC events and publications in the US and India.

Based on her experience, Sandhya encapsulates the ?The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Technical Communicators? that helps a writer benchmark themselves at world-class standards. The habits span technical, soft skills, project management and self management.

4. Puneet Syal holds a diploma in Industrial Design. He has worked in many design verticals, including product design, automotive design and software interface design. Puneet currently works as a Principal User Interface designer with Infosys. And, Sameer Dwivedi works as a user interface designer in Infosys and has expertise in Usability Evaluation, Testing and Eye-tracking.

Usability Testing & Evaluation Techniques of User Interface - An interactive presentation on usability testing and evaluation techniques, with case studies on Eye-Tracking, Heuristic Reviews and User Research.]

Please note:
Participants can leave cash in sealed envelopes for the contact person with the security personnel at any of the following venues (please ensure that you include your name and contact info on the envelope):

Akash Dubey
Interwoven Software Services India Pvt Ltd
#99-100, 9th Floor, Prestige Towers,
Residency Road, Bangalore - 560025

Michelle Cherian
BEA systems
Embassy Golf Links Software Park,Fairwinds block - 1st Floor
Off. Intermediate Ring Road, Koramangala
Bangalore - 560 071

Greshma D
Sasken Technologies
4th floor
#690 Gold Hills Square,Hosur Main Rd.,
Bommanahalli, Bangalore-560068

Hope to see you at the unconference.

Thanks & Regards
Rajdeep Gupta
Bangalore STC India City Representative

Official Website: http://www.stc-india.org