Co-organiser of YOW!, Dave Thomas, said the organisation has partnered with Professional Recruitment Australia (PRA) to put on the conferences which he says will attract international experts from the YOW! global network of 400-plus authors and 'thought leaders', presenting the latest practices. 'There is no other conference or event in Australia with this number of international experts,' Thomas said.

'This year more than ever, we will support developers and ICT leaders to stay on top of technologies, practices, tools and methods,' he added.

The event includes numerous workshops in Melbourne on 28-30 November and a two-day conference on 1-2 December, as well as a two-day conference in Brisbane on 5-6 December and workshops from 7-9 December.

Thomas says that guest speakers from IBM, Google, Oracle, Mozilla, and respected authors and thought leaders in the software industry such as Mary Poppendieck, Mike Lee and Simon Peyton Jones, will all be presenting their latest methods and participating in workshops.

PRA co-director, Matt Gordon, said the partnership between PRA and YOW! is yet another step forward 'towards the type of support the ICT industry needs.'

'Research shows that we are heading in an environment in which skills shortage already visible in Australia's information and communications technology sector will become critical. Personalised communication and stakeholders' personal development will ultimately leads to brand loyalty. It is the only way for our industry to move forward,' said Gordon said.

Gordon urged Australia software developers to attend YOW!, saying that 'because a conference of this calibre rarely reaches Australia's shores, it's a once a year opportunity for the best of the best to meet up."

Software Development Australia