IEEE Bangladesh Section Technical Expert Forum
S M Saiduzzaman, Newsletter Editor for IEEE Bangladesh Section
On 26th September 2020, IEEE Bangladesh Section organized the “IEEE Bangladesh Section Technical Expert Forum”. As the Chair of IEEE Bangladesh Section, Prof. Celia Shahnaz brainstormed, led and launched this initiative. The forum was live on Facebook from the IEEE Bangladesh Section Facebook Page. This program was open for all, and around 900 people watched the forum via Facebook live.
The objectives of this forum were following:
- To foster research and innovation
- To promote industry-academia collaboration
- To drive membership grade elevation (IEEE Senior Membership)
- To mentor graduate students for scholarships, travel grants and graduate admission
- To create cell to nurture social entrepreneurship and start-ups
- To advance Women by Skill development
- To enhance member engagement in corporate, public and private industries
Members of the IEEE Bangladesh Section are encouraged to join the forum, which consists of four major technical divisions focusing on Communication, Computer, Electronics, and Power. IEEE Bangladesh Section will be strengthening the initiative for Senior Member Elevation, although the first training of this year was conducted on 30th January 30 2020 that encouraged many to apply for senior memberships throughout the year.
IEEE Bangladesh Section will invite experts from the industry to build a strong industry-academia collaboration. Members of the IEEE Bangladesh Section Technical Forum will recommend the possible industry experts. These experts will also be a part of the IEEE Bangladesh Section Technical Forum. These industries will be approached for internships and research funding.
The other points discussed were to launch new technical chapters to address and include more diverse research enthusiasts in IEEE Bangladesh Section, to mentor graduate students for scholarships, travel grants and graduate admission, to create a cell to nurture social entrepreneurship and start-ups, to advance Women by Skill development and to enhance member engagement in corporate, public and private industries. At last, it was decided that the forum members will be holding multiple meetups and other synergistic activities from time to time in order to strengthen the community and ensure the betterment of the technical professionals for a post-pandemic world. Prof Celia Shahnaz, Chair for IEEE Bangladesh Section, presided over the whole session. The program was ended by a note of thanks by the Chair.
IEEE Members present in the meeting appreciated this milestone effort in creating the IEEE Bangladesh Section Technical Forum. They opined that it will enhance collaboration among technical experts and can create a borderless platform to share recent research updates. It will also invigorate the efforts towards the 4th industrial revolution for which technical assistance and collaboration would be a dire need.
IEEE Day Observations – Dreams, Dialogs, and Directions for a Better Tomorrow
Celia Shahnaz, Chair for IEEE Bangladesh Section
Considering the COVID-19 pandemic, IEEE Bangladesh Section observed IEEE day through full virtual events focusing on “Dreams, Dialogs, and Directions for a Better Tomorrow”. The new mode of these events was “Interactive Dialogs”, instead of conventional continuous talks.
The five-day program consists of the following:
- Student Branch Activities: 6th October 2020
- Student Branch Technical Chapter Activities: 7th October 2020
- Women in Engineering Activities: 8th October 2020
- Technical Society Chapter Activities: 9th October 2020
- Members and Young Professionals Activities: 10th October 2020.
The inauguration ceremony on October 6th was adorned with Prof. S. N. Singh, FIEEE, Vice-Chair, Technical Activities, IEEE Region 10 as the inaugural speaker of the event. Another notable speaker was Prof. V. R. Singh, LFIEEE. Parts of the third and fourth day sessions were held in Bangla Language following the Reaching Locals project, an initiative of IEEE President & CEO (2020) Dr. Toshio Fukuda.
The First Women in SIGHT Summit (WISE) by IEEE Bangladesh Section and IEEE SIGHT FLASH Bangladesh
Celia Shahnaz, Chair for IEEE Bangladesh Section
To celebrate 2020 IEEE SIGHT Week (29th November – 6th December 2020), IEEE Bangladesh Section and IEEE SIGHT FLASH Bangladesh organized the first Women in SIGHT Summit (WISE) on 6th December 2020. Dr. Celia Shahnaz, Chair for IEEE Bangladesh Section, IEEE SIGHT FLASH, and Women in SIGHT Working Group (2020) has led this initiative to engage more women in SIGHT/HAC projects/events.
Speakers and panelists from 3 IEEE Regions and 11 Sections joined the Summit. More than 65 participants from over 13 Sections from R10 and R9 joined the Summit. Sampathkumar Veeraraghavan, 2020 Chair for IEEE SIGHT and 2021 Chair for IEEE HAC was chief guest, and Jennifer Castillo, 2021 Chair for IEEE WIE was guest of honor. Other panelists were Antuanett Yomyra Damian Gomez (IEEE Peru); Muhfizaturrahmah (IEEE Indonesia); Iti Saha Misra (IEEE Kolkata); Nadiah Husseini (IEEE Malaysia); Aarti Karande (IEEE Bombay); Pia Torres (IEEE Argentina); Thiago Alencar (IEEE South Brazil) and Hana Siddiquee from New York, USA. Shaikh Fattah (2020 Education Chair for IEEE HAC) presented IEEE RAS-SIGHT funded project of SIGHT FLASH for designing and building of disinfection robots to handle Covid 19. Women interested and engaged in SIGHT/HAC activities have also presented their works in WISE.