By Alberto Sánchez, General Chair, IEEE Sections Congress 2023
IEEE is thrilled to announce that the highly anticipated IEEE Sections Congress is making a comeback as a face-to-face event! This is an exciting moment for IEEE, as Sections Congress provides a unique opportunity for volunteers to come together, connect, and learn about the various tools and opportunities that IEEE offers. It is an invaluable platform for Section chairs to effectively implement these resources and ultimately enhance the experience of our members.
Known for its captivating blend of Anglo-French culture, and language, and being the capital of Canada, Ottawa provides the perfect backdrop for this remarkable event. Notably, the congress will revolve around a theme that has been making headlines in our local news—sustainability. Given the current state of our planet and the pressing issue of climate change, IEEE must enable our leaders to build a sustainable future. Recognizing the significance of this, IEEE MGA has selected “Enabling Leaders to Build a Sustainable Future” as the theme for Sections Congress 2023. The entire congress program has been focused to address this theme, while also encompassing other vital training for IEEE volunteers. I invite you to explore the program sessions on our website at https://sections-congress.ieee.org/.
Additionally, one of the objectives of Sections Congress is to provide our dedicated volunteers with a unique opportunity to offer recommendations to IEEE regarding what we believe is essential for volunteers and members. This year, the process involved the submission of statements from each of the 10 geographical regions of IEEE. Each region followed a rigorous process to propose three recommendations that met the criteria of achievability, worldwide relevance, conciseness, and alignment with the Congress theme. These 30 recommendations were carefully reviewed and combined to eliminate any overlaps with past or current Sections Congress recommendations. As a result, we now have a total of 12 recommendations that will be put to a vote during the Congress. The top three recommendations will then be implemented by IEEE, further enhancing our volunteer experience and member services.
The top Recommendations for 2023 are:
- Rec 4 – Increase focus on attracting new members outside of traditional fields
- Rec 7 – Membership Value
- Rec 9 -Provide continuing incentives to volunteers
- Rec 10 – Provide support, education, and processes for working with student chapters & building relationships with sections
- Rec 12 – New Officer Planning Email
- Rec 16 – Role-based IEEE-ID access-controlled storage and management of OU information and documents
- Rec 17 – Publish a database of answers to “Why IEEE?”
- Rec 18 – To establish more links, recourses, and best practices between the IEEE Regions
- Rec 19 – Improve engagement and communication between Societies and Geographic Units to create fruitful benefits for members
- Rec 21 – IEEE Loyalty Program
- Rec 27 – Volunteer Dashboard
- Rec 29 – Continuous Education in the IEEE professional field
I am very excited that we will have the opportunity to meet again after the pandemic. The Sections Congress Committee and the whole governing body of MGA and its staff have worked very hard to bring a consistent, interesting, and useful program for all attendees, which I am sure you will enjoy.
Highlights from this year’s program include:
- Over 50 Exhibit Booths
- Climate Change Pavilion
- MGA Lounge
- Dynamic Keynote Speakers
- Local Entertainment
Hope to see you soon in Ottawa!