<s>
The	O
European	O
Certification	O
of	O
Informatics	B-General_Concept
Professionals	O
(	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
)	O
is	O
a	O
professional	O
certification	O
and	O
competency	O
development	O
scheme	O
,	O
aimed	O
at	O
informatics	B-General_Concept
professionals	O
and	O
practitioners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
originated	O
with	O
the	O
Council	O
of	O
European	O
Professional	O
Informatics	B-General_Concept
Societies	O
,	O
is	O
offered	O
in	O
a	O
range	O
of	O
European	O
countries	O
through	O
national	O
computer	O
societies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
certifications	O
are	O
maintained	O
by	O
ECDL	O
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
evolution	O
of	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
stems	O
from	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
earlier	O
projects	O
in	O
the	O
area	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
competence	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
include	O
the	O
EISS	O
(	O
European	O
Informatics	B-General_Concept
Skills	O
Structures	O
)	O
and	O
EICL	O
(	O
European	O
Informatics	B-General_Concept
Continuous	O
Learning	O
)	O
(	O
circa	O
1995	O
–	O
1999	O
)	O
,	O
EPIC	O
(	O
European	O
Professional	O
Informatics	B-General_Concept
Certificate	O
)	O
in	O
2000	O
,	O
which	O
aimed	O
at	O
providing	O
a	O
basic	O
level	O
of	O
IT	B-General_Concept
professional	I-General_Concept
certification	O
,	O
followed	O
by	O
EPICS	O
(	O
European	O
Professional	O
Informatics	B-General_Concept
Certificate	O
Service	O
)	O
in	O
2001	O
–	O
2003	O
,	O
which	O
saw	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
what	O
was	O
soon	O
to	O
become	O
the	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
Core	O
syllabus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
name	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
in	O
late	O
2001	O
and	O
a	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
central	O
organisation	O
was	O
created	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
CEPIS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
initial	O
meeting	O
of	O
early	O
adopters	O
was	O
held	O
in	O
Athens	O
in	O
January	O
2002	O
and	O
the	O
work	O
of	O
creating	O
the	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
product	O
(	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
initial	O
activities	O
from	O
the	O
EPICS	O
)	O
began	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
the	O
year	O
,	O
the	O
working	O
groups	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
involved	O
in	O
designing	O
the	O
product	O
were	O
transformed	O
into	O
a	O
more	O
structured	O
form	O
and	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
moved	O
into	O
office	O
space	O
in	O
the	O
BCS	O
(	O
British	O
Computer	O
Society	O
)	O
headquarters	O
in	O
Swindon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
2004	O
CEPIS	O
decided	O
to	O
hand	O
over	O
operation	O
and	O
maintenance	O
support	O
for	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
to	O
ECDL	O
Foundation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
involvement	O
of	O
ECDL	O
Foundation	O
has	O
led	O
to	O
further	O
revision	O
to	O
the	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
programmes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
certification	O
is	O
available	O
in	O
8	O
European	O
countries	O
with	O
testing	O
being	O
administered	O
in	O
competence	O
centres	O
in	O
each	O
these	O
countries	O
for	O
a	O
fee	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
ECDL	O
Foundation	O
markets	O
the	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
programme	O
to	O
practitioners	O
working	O
in	O
industry	O
,	O
government	O
and	O
public	O
organisations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
aims	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
pan-European	O
skills	O
standard	O
for	O
ICT	O
Professionals	O
,	O
helps	O
to	O
close	O
the	O
IT	B-General_Concept
skills	O
gap	O
,	O
enhance	O
worker	O
mobility	O
,	O
and	O
increases	O
the	O
labour	O
market	O
value	O
of	O
certified	O
practitioners	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
ECDL	O
Foundation	O
,	O
the	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
Core	O
provides	O
students	O
with	O
a	O
solid	O
foundation	O
for	O
all	O
types	O
of	O
ICT	O
related	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
achieve	O
a	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
certification	O
,	O
the	O
candidate	O
must	O
successfully	O
pass	O
a	O
test	O
in	O
all	O
three	O
knowledge	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
is	O
therefore	O
directly	O
concerned	O
with	O
management	O
processes	O
and	O
defining	O
requirements	O
within	O
a	O
strategic	O
perspective	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	B-General_Concept
deals	O
with	O
methodological	O
and	O
technological	O
issues	O
related	O
to	O
development	O
processes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Essential	O
topics	O
include	O
:	O
hardware	B-Architecture
and	O
software	O
concepts	O
,	O
management	O
of	O
networks	O
,	O
service	O
delivery	O
and	O
support	O
,	O
and	O
security	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
Professional	O
demands	O
advanced	O
competence	O
in	O
a	O
particular	O
role	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IT	B-General_Concept
Administrator	O
is	O
a	O
standalone	O
certification	O
programme	O
that	O
certifies	O
practical	O
and	O
theoretical	O
knowledge	O
of	O
computer	O
technicians	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
certification	O
covers	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
Hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
Software	O
and	O
Networks	O
knowledge	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
ECDL	O
Foundation	O
has	O
developed	O
a	O
EUCIP	B-General_Concept
IT	B-General_Concept
Administrator	O
-	O
Fundamentals	O
module	O
that	O
provides	O
a	O
broad	O
understanding	O
of	O
hardware	B-Architecture
,	O
operating	O
systems	O
,	O
networks	O
and	O
IT	B-General_Concept
Security	O
.	O
</s>
