The UK SUPERGEN programme for advanced thin film PV materials and device concepts

The PV21 Renewal project is focusing attention on thin film photovoltaics (PV) which is the fastest growing PV production technology and one which has the opportunity for disruptive R&D over the period of the Renewal programme.

For this project I was aked to create a members-only area for the PV21 website for storing, managing and sharing project documents and reports.

Joomla was the obvious choice for this as it provides nice range of features for access control and document management.

The new homecoming version of the Manchester Adult Education Service Learning Platform is now live at www.man-adulted.org.uk

The Centre for Solar Energy Research is working on a Feasibility Study sponsored by the Welsh Assembly Government and hosted by Glyndŵr University. I was commissioned to develop a Joomla! theme based on the designs of Lucy Martin of Aristone Studio.

I also manage the domain name cser.org.uk and provide Joomla! support and training through my company Loquela.

For two years it was my job to manage the development and maintainence of the organisation’s suite of websites and intranet, all of which are individual Joomla! installations. www.ukonlinecentres.com is a membership service that provides support and resources for the networks member centres who provide free internet access and training for members of the public who want to find out how the internet can enrich their lives. www.onlinebasics.co.uk , provides access to free online courses helping the digitally excluded become more internet literate, while www.helppasssiton.co.uk and www.partners.helppassiton.co.uk are the public and steakholder webistes sites providing information and resources  to help spread knowledge and skills for making th emost of the internet and its potential to enrich lives.

I of course believe that the internet provides enormous life-improving opportunities in our modern world. For me it is my livelyhood. But for everyone else too the internet can make life much easier and save lots of money. I was surprised to learn the findings of new research* that about 17 million people in the UK have never used a computer! The research shows that 33% of adults don’t use the internet and 27% have never been online!

The message of Get online day, organised by UK online centres, is that the internet can be used as a tool to make your life easier and save you money. It is estimated that a family can save up to £300 a year by shopping online*, using comparison websites and taking advantage of online offers. Today, many government services are available via the internet and home delivery services are now commonplace.

So today up and down the country community centres, learning centres and local libraries are taking part in Get online day 2008 and working hard to bring the benefits if the internet to the millions of digitally excluded.

To find you nearest Get online centre call 0800 77 1234 or visit the Get online day website.

*BBC News at One: 23/10/2008

http://www.hse.gov.uk

I worked for the HSE as a contract Web Designer for nine months. It was great to have the opportunity to work on one of the UK’s largest pubic sector websites that constantly ranks higher than all other UK government websites in the Site Morse league table for quality and accessibility. This work required advanced knowledge of XHTML, CSS, W3C standards and WCAG.