Whichever your area of interest, our wide-ranging specialist groups, regional groups and online community offer you a professional and friendly platform to share knowledge and experiences, debate ideas, grow your network and raise your profile.

Specialist groups

Choose from over 50 specialist interest groups where members share discussion, ideas and enthusiasm for their chosen subject. Access insight and expertise on topics as niche as Fortran and as diverse as Women in IT or Consultancy.  

Health

BCS Health and Care
This group was formed to cover all aspects of informatics in support of health.

Health and Care Northern
This group aims to promote the theory and practice of using IT responsibly in healthcare.

Health and Care Scotland
This group aims to promote the development and use of health informatics in Scotland.

Health and Care Wales
This group aims to promote the health informatics industry in Wales, in recognition of the particular challenges faced by the Welsh health sector.

Health Nursing
This group is for nurses and therapists interested in the management and use of information and communications technology to improve the quality, delivery and recording of care.

National Mental Health
This group represents the views of healthcare and informatics professionals whose passion is to use technology to support direct patient care and self-care.

Primary Health Care
This group’s main focus is the development and dissemination of best practice in primary care informatics.

Project management

Agile Methods
This group focuses on the implementation and promotion of agile methods covering all the disciplines in the lifecycle of a project.

Project Management (PROMS-G)
This group provides the opportunity to develop awareness and competence in project and programme management, encourages research and promotes the use and development of standards.

Information management

Data Management
This group helps data management professionals support organisations to achieve their objectives through improved awareness, management and responsible exploitation of data.

Information Retrieval
This group aims to include supporting communication between researchers and practitioners, promoting the use of IR methods in industry and raising public awareness.

Information Risk Management and Assurance (IRMA)
This group supports practitioners in the areas of information systems risk management, compliance and audit, and promotes the awareness and use of computer auditing, control and risk management techniques.

Internet
This group is a forum for internet and IT professionals. It provides presentations, meetings, events and resources on internet technology and all aspects of its application.

Future of computing

Artificial Intelligence
This group aims to foster achievement, capability and awareness in both business and research in artificial intelligence, and to promote the interests of the related community.

Computer Arts Society
This group promotes the creative uses of computers in the arts. It is a community of interest for all involved in doing, managing, interpreting and understanding information technology's cultural potential.

Interaction
This group provides an organisation for all those working on human-computer interaction - the analysis, design, implementation and evaluation of technologies for human use.

Business and consultancy

Business Change
This group promotes the role that business change has to play in the advancement and development of the IT profession.

Communications Management Association (CMA)
This group offers members access to good practice, knowledge networks and government representation in communications, collaboration and cloud services.

Consultancy
This group aims to help members develop their knowledge and consultancy competencies and skills.

Entrepreneurs
This group offers expert advice, mentoring and independent, objective thinking to help launch your start up.

Quality
This group holds two international conferences each year, respectively on IT quality, and on education and training in process improvement.

Requirements Engineering
This group offers the opportunity for requirements engineering practitioners, researchers, educators and students to exchange experiences and new technologies through workshops, seminars and tutorials on all aspects of requirements engineering.

Service Management and IT Asset Management (SM-ITAM)
This active group run events covering the full range of service management and IT asset management topics.

Sociotechnical
This group promotes the view that in developing, using and studying ICT systems, it is essential to give due weight to both social and technical factors.

Software development

Advanced Programming
This group concentrates on the new ideas underlying recent developments and is not confined to particular programming languages, paradigms or development methodologies.

Animation and Games Development
This group aims to raise awareness and knowledge of the issues and opportunities related to animation and computer games.

DevSecOps
This group is essentially about acceleration and automation of the code development to deployment process.

Digital Accessibility
This group provides a forum to develop an awareness of DA issues, and champions the need for DA to be a cornerstone of all digital solutions.

Formal Aspects of Computing Science (FACS)
This group helps British industry to stay in the forefront of formal computer techniques, and British academics to maintain the applicability of their research.

Fortran
This group disseminates information about Fortran and its application in various fields, and provides a platform for discussion of users' needs and requirements in future versions of Fortran.

Open Source
This group exists to help demystify open source practice and its implications, to illuminate the pros and cons of open source and to act as a centre of expertise.

Payroll
This group is involved in the development and maintenance of payroll IT solutions and IT interchanges with the Government.

Software Practice Advancement (SPA)
This group brings together practitioners to share knowledge and experience about best and emerging practices for software development.

Software Testing
The objectives of this group are to promote the importance of software testing, and to develop awareness of industry's best practices in software testing.

Learning and development

Computer Science Academics: Higher Education Community of Practice specialist group
This group provides help and support for early and mid-career computer science academics who are employed in Computing/Computer Science Departments involved in the development of tertiary Higher Education.

e-Learning
This group aims to promote e-learning and e-safety and is of relevance to academics, teachers and those interested in the use of e-learning for continuous professional development, and by the wider public.

Learning and Development
This group brings together learning and education practitioners working in the fields of IT and computing, whether they be in industry, compulsory education, further education or academia.

History of computing

Computer Conservation Society
This group promotes the conservation of historic computers and identifies existing computers which may need to be archived in the future.

Ethics, law and diversity in IT

BCSWomen
This group is dedicated to supporting female and non-binary tech professionals and tackling the industry's gender gap.

Digital Divide
This group aims to address the Digital Divide by championing digital inclusion for all.

EMBRACE
This group focuses on making the IT profession more racially diverse and inclusive to all.

Financial Services
This group aims to identify and promote good practice in the design, development and use of financial services IT systems. 

Green IT
This group promotes green computing and addresses green issues and the adoption of green practices associated with information and communication technologies and services across their lifecycle.

ICT Ethics
This group focuses on the ethical implications of ICT provision, use and development. Ethics is fundamental to professionalism, informing both behaviour and practice and is at the core of BCS and relevant to all members.

Law
This group covers many legal aspects of IT, including IT law, communications law, IT litigation, IT disputes and regulatory compliance. 

NeurodiverseIT
This group supports neurodivergent individuals within the industry, raising awareness of neurodiversity’s contribution to broader society through the IT industry.

Pride
This group aims to provide better and bolder visibility and inclusion for our LGBTQIA+ community in the IT profession.

Security

Cybercrime Forensics
This group aims to raise awareness and knowledge of the issues and opportunities related to cybercrime and cybercrime forensics.

Information Security (ISSG)
The objectives of this group are to raise awareness of the risks to information systems and identify technical and non-technical methods for attaining acceptable levels of security.

Strategy and architecture

Enterprise Architecture
This group promotes best practice in enterprise and IT architectures, and contributes to the development of enterprise architecture methods and practices.

UK branches

From Aberdeen to Belfast, Sussex to the South West, our network comprises almost 50 branches spanning the UK. They’re a great place to make new contacts and stay up to date with developments in your region.  

Scotland

Aberdeen
Our Aberdeen branch is ideally located for members in North East and Northern Scotland.

Edinburgh
Our Edinburgh branch supports our community in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Glasgow
Glasgow branch members are typically located in Glasgow and West or Central Scotland.

Tayside and Fife
Our Tayside and Fife branch serves members in Dundee and Perth and the surrounding areas of Angus, Perthshire and North Fife.

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland
Our Northern Ireland branch supports our community in Northern Ireland.

North

Cumbria
Our Cumbria branch is ideally located for members in the North Cumbria area.

Manchester
Our Manchester branch supports our community in Greater Manchester (and just beyond).

Merseyside
Merseyside branch members are typically located in Liverpool and its environs, Wirral and South Lancashire.

Newcastle upon Tyne
Our Newcastle upon Tyne branch serves members in the North East and Cumbria. 

Preston and District
Our Preston and District branch is ideally located for members in Preston and the surrounding area.

South Yorkshire
Our South Yorkshire branch is ideally located for members in the Sheffield area.

Teesside and District
Our Teesside and District branch supports our community in the Middlesbrough area.

West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire branch members are typically located in and around Leeds and Bradford.

Wales

Chester and North Wales
Our Chester and North Wales branch serves members in the Chester and North Wales area.

Mid-Wales
Our Mid-Wales branch is ideally located for members in South Gwynedd, Ceredigion, North Powys and West Pembrokeshire.

South Wales
Our South Wales branch supports the community between Milford Haven to Chepstow and up to Brecon.

Midlands

Birmingham
Our Birmingham branch serves members in the West Midlands area.

Coventry
Our Coventry branch supports our community in the Coventry and Warwick area.

Hereford and Worcester
Our Hereford and Worcester branch is ideally located for members in Worcestershire and Herefordshire.

Humberside
Humberside branch members are typically located in and around Hull.

Leicester
Leicester branch serves members in and around the Leicester area.

Nottingham and Derby
Nottingham and Derby branch members are typically located in the Nottingham and Derby area and beyond.

Shropshire
Our Shropshire branch serves members in the Shropshire area.

Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire
Our branch supports our community in Stafford and Stoke-on-Trent.

Wolverhampton
Our Wolverhampton branch supports our community in and around Wolverhampton.

East Anglia

Beds, Bucks and Northants
Beds, Bucks and Northants branch members are typically located in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire.

London

London (Central)
London (Central) branch members are typically located in central London.

London (North)
Our London (North) branch serves members in North London

London (South)
Our London (South) branch supports our community in South London.

London (West)
Our London (West) branch is ideally located for members in West London.

South

Berkshire
Berkshire branch members are typically located in and around Maidenhead and Reading.

Bristol and Bath
Our Bristol and Bath branch serves members in and around Bristol and Bath. 

Cheltenham and Gloucester
Our Cheltenham and Gloucester branch supports our community in and around Cheltenham. 

Dorset
Our Dorset branch is ideally located for members in Poole, Bournemouth and surrounding areas.

Hampshire
Hampshire branch members are typically located in the Southampton and Portsmouth area.

Kent
Our Kent branch supports our community in and around Kent.

Oxfordshire
Our Oxfordshire branch is ideally located for members in and around Oxford. 

South West
South West branch members are typically located in Devon and Cornwall.

Surrey
Our Surrey branch serves members in the Surrey area.

Sussex
Our Sussex branch serves members in the Sussex area.

Wiltshire
Our Wiltshire branch serves our community in and around Swindon. 

International sections

Our international hubs are located across Europe, North America, Asia and Africa, supporting our member communities in these areas with a platform for networking, professional development and debate.  

Europe

Guernsey
Our Guernsey section hold events at the GTA University Centre in St Peter Port. 

Hellenic
Our Hellenic section serves members in Greece and holds events in Athens.

Isle of Man
Our BCS Isle of Man section hold events in Douglas.

Jersey
Our Jersey section hold events in the St Helier area.

Malta
Our Malta section hold events in various locations in Malta.

Africa

Mauritius
Our Mauritius section was established in 2003 and aims to promote information technology in the country.

Africa
Join the BCS Africa LinkedIn group and network with your peers.

Asia

Hong Kong
Our Hong Kong section hold events in and around Hong Kong.

Sri Lanka
Our Sri Lanka section was established in 1996 and has over 3,000 members. 

USA and Canada

Canada
Our Canada section serves members in the Southern Ontario area of Canada. 

USA
Our USA section was formed in 2004 and serves members across the country. 

BCS Community

An online platform which enables BCS members to network, to seek professional advice, and to share expertise.

Visit BCS Community

BCS Volunteer Hub

How to communicate with other members and volunteers, run a community event, and more.

More about the Volunteer Hub

BCS student chapters

Bringing talented computer science students together in universities throughout the UK.

More about student chapters

Community competitions

Our groups run a number of student competitions throughout the year.

Find out more and how to enter

BCS Early Careers Executive

Whether you’re a graduate, apprentice or career changer, this group was formed to support you.

More about BCS Early Careers Executive

BCS IT Leaders Forum

A forum for impartial, non-commercial networking, discussion and problem solving.

More about BCS IT Leaders Forum

Computing At School

A learned society dedicated to advancing computing as an academic discipline.

More about CAS

STELLAR

An initiative that aims to encourage more women to consider careers in science, engineering, mathematics and IT.

More about STELLAR

CHIME

A professional organisation for chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders.

More about CHIME