Champions

🚀 About the Event

 The upcoming WAVEZ Spring 2025 Event is a dedicated event for those in the formative years of their mainframe careers.

We have designed this in-person event for an audience of aspiring mainframers, including students, interns, apprentices, graduates, and early-in-career professionals.

The event is hosted by Barclays Bank in the United Kingdom, acting as an opportunity to learn from industry professionals, and also to network with peers in the IBM Z community.

As the mainframe industry evolves, we’re seeing an increasing number of retirements—meaning technical knowledge and professional networks are disappearing.

WAVEZ exists to preserve and pass on this ethos to the next generation, ensuring you have the connections and skills to thrive in the industry.

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🌟 Why Attend?

✅ Build Your Network

The mainframe community is vast, not being isolated to a single organization.

By connecting with peers now, you’ll create a network of mainframe professionals.

This professional network can offer support throughout your career, regardless of which country you work in or which company you work for.

✅ Preserve the Mainframe Ethos

As many seasoned professionals retire, technical knowledge and professional connections are being lost.

WAVEZ is committed to passing down knowledge and maintaining the collaborative spirit of the mainframe industry for future generations.

✅ Learn from Experts in the Field

Gain insights from experienced professionals in mainframe organizations, covering a multitude of key IBM Z technologies including z/OS, RACF, DB2, CICS and MQ.

✅ Career Development & Soft Skills

In addition to technical sessions, the event includes soft skills training!

Building confident with communication and interpersonal relationships is vital to a fruitful career, so this event will help you position yourself for growth in the industry.

✅ Free to Attend – Lunch & Refreshments Provided!

The WAVEZ team don't believe in gatekeeping education and empowerment, which is why this event is free to attend. 

Enjoy a full day of accessible technical sessions, networking opportunities, and career-building discussions, all at no cost.

This event is about more than just technical knowledge:  It’s about creating a strong, connected, and skilled mainframe community for the future.

🔗 Follow WAVEZ on LinkedIn for future updates:  WAVEZ LinkedIn

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🎤 Call for Speakers!

We are currently accepting technical session and workshop submissions for WAVEZ Spring 2025!

If you are willing to share your IBM Z expertise then we would encourage you to submit a session via Sessionize.

🔗 Submit Your Session Here:  Sessionize – WAVEZ Spring Event 2025

📅 Submission Deadline: Sunday March 10th 2025

💡 Session Length: 45 minutes (including Q&A)

Session Tracks:

📌 WAVEZ 101 – Building Mainframe Foundations (For newcomers and early-career professionals)
📌 WAVEZ 102 – Advancing Your IBM Z Expertise (For those with some experience looking to deepen their knowledge)

Topics of Interest:

🔹 Operating Systems  (e.g.  z/OS)

🔹 Security  (e.g.  RACF)

🔹 Databases  (e.g.  DB2)

🔹 Transactions & Messaging  (e.g.  CICS, MQ)

🔹 Soft Skills  (e.g.  Career development,  Communication in IT)

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®️ Who Can Register?

👨‍💻 Early-Career Mainframe Professionals (0-7 Years Experience)

This event is exclusively for mainframe professionals in the first 0-7 years of their careers.

If you are working in a mainframe-related role and looking to expand your knowledge and network with peers, you are encouraged to register.

🔗 Register Here:  Mainframe Professional Registration

⚠️ This event is NOT intended for seasoned mainframers.

If you are an experienced mainframer and wish to attend, we encourage you to contribute to the event by delivering a session.

See our Call for Speakers section above for more details.

🎓 WAVEZ Student Scholarship

Students and recent graduates (within 2 years) can apply for a scholarship ticket to attend the WAVEZ Spring 2025 Event.

Due to limited spots, each application will be individually reviewed and the best applicants will be awarded tickets.

✅ Open to:  Students and graduates (graduated within the last 2 years)

✅ Required:  Interest in mainframe technology and IBM Z

✅ Recommended:  Progress in IBM zXplore (or IBM Skills Depot) to develop foundational mainframe knowledge

⚠️ Important:  Travel and accommodation are not provided and must be arranged at your own expense.

🔗  Apply Here:  WAVEZ Student Scholarship Application

📅 Application Deadline: March 18th, 2025

📅 Scholarships Awarded: March 21st, 2025

📧 Questions?  Contact us at students@gse.org.uk

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📝 Agenda

Each topic will have both a WAVEZ 101 (introductory) and WAVEZ 102 (intermediate) session running simultaneously.

A sample agenda has been provided below:  Please note final details will be confirmed after the Call for Papers closes on March 10th, 2025.

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❔ Questions?

For any inquiries, please reach out to us!

📧 Students & Scholarship Applications:  students@gse.org.uk

📧 General Inquiries:  ricki.west@gse.org.uk

🔗 Follow us on LinkedIn:  WAVEZ UK

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WAVEZ UK Team:

🟦 WAVEZ Chairman: Ricki West
🟦 WAVEZ 101 Co-Chairs: Niall Ashley, Elitsa Popova
🟦 WAVEZ 102 Co-Chairs: Chris Knowles, Lukas Jaks
🟦 WAVEZ IBM Rep: Ben Davis