11th – 14th August 2022, Jeju Island, Korea
Prepared by: Garima Patel and Tridibesh Nag, IEEE R10 Newsletter Committee
The IEEE Region 10 Students, Young Professionals, Women-in-Engineering and Life Members Congress 2022 (R10 SYWL Congress 2022) took place from 11th to 14th August 2022 in Jeju Island, South Korea. The Congress was hosted by IEEE Seoul Section and was open to, but not limited to, all IEEE R10 members. The theme of the R10 SYWL Congress 2022 was ‘Sound and Young Influences for World Leading’. The bi-annual event happened in person for the first time after the pandemic and was organized at Jeju Shinhwa World Marriott Resort. Being the flagship event of the IEEE Region 10 volunteer calendar, it gathered delegates from all over Asia-Pacific for four days. The event was an excellent opportunity for participating delegates to share ideas, knowledge, and best practices through mutual understanding and exchange. Training sessions were held to assist with the development of the volunteers, with particular emphasis on becoming effective leaders within their communities.
During the 4-day congress there were a total of 50 sessions, consisting of the opening ceremony, 10 keynote sessions, 8 sessions under the Students Track, 5 sessions under the WIE Track, 6 sessions of YP Track, 3 sessions of LM Track, 7 sessions related to Industry and Technology, 3 sessions related to Humanitarian Activities, Sessions on “Why IEEE” and IEEE Region 10 Executive Committee Talk and finally a closing ceremony. A total of 133 registered participants from around 14 countries took part in this extravagant congress.
The R10 SYWL Congress 2022 was launched with an Opening Ceremony on 11th August 2022. Welcome address was delivered by the R10 SYWL General Chair Cheon Won Choi, IEEE R10 Director Deepak Mathur and IEEE Korean Council Chair Yong Seok Choi. Juho Lee from Samsung Research, Samsung Electronics delivered a session on “Evolution of Mobile Communications towards 6G” post which JeongYon Shim, SYWL 2022 Program Chair, gave an Orientation of the Congress.
Students Activities Track
Student Track consisted of 9 Sessions, delivered by 14 globally recognized speakers/moderators. Each session consisted of bonus networking sessions for attendees. The best part of R10 SYWL Congress was the opportunity of connecting to a broader IEEE member network. As such, exclusive networking sessions were designed during Student Track sessions which allowed to foster a much stronger web of networks at various organizational units and geographic levels. The purpose of organizing the networking activities was for the participants to mingle with each other, widen their connections, learn from each other, and have fun while attending the congress. Interactive games were organized to make the sessions much fun and engaging. Moreover, the speakers and delegates also conducted sharing sessions about best practices when volunteering and about IEEE student member benefits. Surprise prizes were also presented to the engaged student attendees of the sessions.
IEEE Entrepreneurship also contributed to the event with an introduction to IEEE Entrepreneurship initiatives and a discussion on how best IEEE Entrepreneurship can support local events within IEEE Region 10. Subodha Charles, Member at Large 2021 IEEE Entrepreneurship Steering Committee, delivered the IEEE Entrepreneurship – A Local Flavor session outlining what IEEE Entrepreneurship has done over the years, its mission, organizational structure, products/programs, and plans. IEEE R10 SAC also organized the BG Park contest at R10 SYWLC 2022 which offered all IEEE R10 sections an opportunity to showcase their ideas on the theme “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”. Participating teams were asked to draft and present their best ideas and implementation of an activity based on this theme.
Young Professionals (YP) Track
The YP Track had 1 keynote session attended by all and 6 talks during the parallel session. All sessions were well-attended by registered delegates and a large number of members joined the parallel session to hear the intriguing conversations. During the parallel session, Saaveethya Sivakumar who is currently the IEEE Region 10 (Asia Pacific) Young Professionals Committee Chair for 2021-2022 and the Student to Young Professionals Transitions Committee Chair at IEEE MGA Student Activities Committee 2021-2022, delivered a keynote address on the topic “Stepping to IEEE Young Professionals”. The panel discussion on the topic “Best Practices in Young Professionals Affinity Group” covered how these active sections collaborate with the committee, initiatives, events, the AG’s strategic plan, yearly planning, team structure, and what has been done to keep the section active thus far. Victories, defeats, new learning from errors and blunders, and thoughts and assistance for fellow sections. The panel discussion “Technology as an enabler: bridging the gap in a Technology” apprised participants about how technology is an enabler in every part of the organization and business from the front line to the back office, and creating technological leaders in space.
‘YP AG Coordination’ was an interactive session with participants to share knowledge about YP affinity group coordination to discuss awards, award applications, and specific information, funds, and funding applications/ specific details which need to be considered for a perfect submission, events, collaborations, and event reporting. The panel discussion on the topic “Enhancing the opportunities with IEEE” discussed ATS (Application Tracking System) friendly CVs, structuring cover letters, getting jobs in academia, remote working, and hybrid working. This discussion also aimed to reduce the gap in HR knowledge and mistakes during interviews, the CV-making process, and all related job opportunities in engineering and IT companies. Also, about the working opportunities, such as remote working, short-term employment, hybrid working, career-changing, etc. The YP Track offered a networking opportunity for Young Professionals and strengthened YPs’ network to communicate directly and casually.
Women In Engineering (WIE) Track
The R10 WIE Committee organized 4 sessions, some of which were exclusively designed for female engineers and professions to discuss strategies to deal with issues relevant to their career, challenges of work-life balance and scarcity of female leadership in academia and industry. In one session “WIE Meet/Round Table discussion”, distinguished female speakers discussed best practices, challenges and opportunities from their professional career and how IEEE had helped them. Throughout the congress WIE volunteers were grouped in various teams to deliberate on key goals of WIE – Retention, Recognition, Mentorship, Leadership, Collaboration and came up with recommendations for R10 to implement in its WIE program. The exercise created an opportunity for discussion to inspire delegates and live audience for innovation, facilitated knowledge sharing and provided support through highly interactive sessions designed to initiate discussion and foster collaboration
The session on “Problem Solving – Empowering Women for Relevance” focused on introducing professional career development skills for women and enabling women engineers and researchers to reach their full potential and shine. The expert panel also discussed how to support and encourage the next generation of the WIE members to move forward together.
Life Members (LM) Track
The IEEE R10 SYWL Congress 2022 provided a platform to Life Members (LM) to share their experience and expertise with fellow LM. LM delegates and other audiences were informed about the significance of IEEE milestone program and the process of applying for milestone recognition. Hajime Imai, IEEE Tokyo Section LMAG Chair, who was the invited presenter apprised the following points:
Mr. Asthana, IEEE Region 10 LM Chair made a brief presentation on the activities of Life members at regional as well as MGA level. He also explained to the participants about the expectations from LMAGs by the Region and MGA Board. 23 LMAG Chairs were also invited to present achievements and challenges faced by their respective LMAGs.
Detailed account on the LM track at SYWL2022 congress is also reported under the Life Members Committee Updates.
The evening of Day 2 ended with the Award Night, wherein the various award winners for 2021 were announced. Region 10 ExCom Members as well as the Organizing Committee Members of the Congress were also felicitated for their dedication towards making the vision of the Region a reality.
Day 3 involved sessions on Industry & Technology, Humanitarian Technology Activities, and talks on IEEE & Startup. A meeting was conducted by the Region 10 Director to review the activities of Region 10 with all participating Region 10 ExCom members and committees making a presentation of their activities. The participants were then guided to a tour of Yongmeori Coast and Beach – a natural landscape created by sea erosion of coastal mountains, named for its appearance like a dragon heading into the sea. The traditional lunch with local cuisines was a surprise delight for all the participants. This activity added value to the list of memorable and unforgettable firsts that the participants took back from the SYWLC 2022.
The Congress also hosted a Cultural Exhibition on the evening of Day 3, where all delegates representing IEEE Sections at the Congress were invited to showcase their activities and culture. IEEE Region 10 Director, other dignitaries and all participants went around the stalls, interacted and enjoyed different cultures. This cultural exhibition was followed by a “Culture Night” which involved Multi-Cultural Performances by the participants showcasing their culture. Attendees exhibited their talents through dance, songs and various art forms. The evening was an amazing experience for the participants, encompassing memories to cherish forever.
The R10 SYWL Congress 2022 was supported by:
● IEEE Seoul Section SAC
● IEEE Young Professionals
● IEEE Women In Engineering
● IEEE Humanitarian Activities Committee
● IEEE Young Professionals Power and Energy Society
● IEEE Region 10 Membership Development Committee
● Iron Bottle
● Samsung Electronics
● I.V Solution
● Korea Tourism Organization.