There are various professional Information Systems communities that HDR students are encouraged to join. Please visit the community websites listed below to find out more about memberships, costs, benefits and rewards, and eligibility to apply.
The Association for Information Systems (AIS), founded in 1994, is a professional organisation whose purpose is to serve as the premier global organisation for academics specialising in Information Systems. The need for such an organisation was first spelled out in an editorial authored by five past Editors-in-Chief of the Management Information Systems Quarterly in March of 1993. Bill King, of the University of Pittsburgh, was the first among many to play a key leadership role in bringing the association into existence. He served as the first president.
The specific purposes of AIS are to:
To these ends, AIS intends to: conduct meetings; publish books, journals, and other materials; cooperate with other organisations interested in the advancement and practice of information systems; stimulate research; promote high professional standards; and in general, to promote the growth of information systems and to improve the profession's quality throughout the world.
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society, delivering resources that advance computing as a science and a profession. ACM provides the computing field's premier Digital Library and serves its members and the computing profession with leading-edge publications, conferences and career resources.
The IEEE Computer Society (IEEE) is the world’s leading organisation of computing professionals. Founded in 1946, and the largest of the 39 societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the CS is dedicated to advancing the theory and application of computer and information-processing technology.
The Australian Computer Society (ACS), founded in 1966, is a recognised association for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) professionals, attracting a large and active membership from all levels of the ICT industry. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the public voice of the ICT profession and the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the ICT industry, with a commitment to the wider community to ensure the beneficial use of ICT.
The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is the leading multinational, apolitical organisation in Information & Communications Technologies and Sciences that is recognised by United Nations and other world bodies. It represents IT Societies from 56 countries or regions, covering all 5 continents with a total membership of over half a million and links more than 3500 scientists from academia and industry, organised in more than 101 working groups reporting to 13 technical committees. IFIP sponsors 100 conferences yearly, providing unparalleled coverage from theoretical informatics to the relationship between informatics and society including hardware and software technologies and networked information systems.
Please note there are many more professional IS communities out there. If you are not sure what professional community to join, ask your supervisor for advice.