Reflections of a Programme Chair

Hi, I'm Martin Pol and I was programme chair for EuroSTAR 2005 in Copenhagen.

2006 will witness the 14th EuroSTAR to be held in Manchester, UK. As last year's programme chair, I have been asked to share some of my thoughts about EuroSTAR and what it represents.

I have been fortunate enough to attend 12 EuroSTAR's to date and I am proud to have been programme chair for three of these. EuroSTAR represents quality, networking and socialising with fellow professionals while importantly it offers the testing community the best meeting plaza to exchange experiences in what is a rapidly changing testing scene. It also offers each tester the opportunity of world class training and to learn from the very best practitioners in the field!

Over the course of my association with EuroSTAR, I have met many like-minded people. discussed many challenges with them, had a great time and lots of fun and what is significant made numerous friends over the years. I have witnessed pioneers and innovators take their first steps in presenting to an audience, I have seen their nerves and I have seen them make excellent keynotes in the proceeding EuroSTAR's. I would encourage each tester who is passionate about their profession to get involved and present your contribution or experiences, the call for papers is now open for 2006, so why not take the plunge and submit??

The networking element of EuroSTAR is of huge importance as it is a forum to:

• Bridge practise and theory from the academic world
• Discuss solutions with top experts
• Debate the content of books with the authors the authors themselves
• See how testing is approached in other organisations/countries
• Actively participate in forums and workshops

In addition, the exhibition is home to all of the main players in the testing market and is an excellent place to gather information on the newest tools and most up to date method's, discuss partnership possibilities and to view what is available in the marketplace that would best serve your specific needs. The exhibition is also an excellent chance to showcase your own testing tools and services.

The face of software testing is changing, as a profession it is growing and as a result EuroSTAR has become even more important. I hope to see you all in Manchester this December to discover the solutions to the mutual challenges we face as testers and to share our individual dissapointments and successes - See You There..

Martin Pol