Celebrating 10 Years of ‘Joy of Volunteering’
Prepared by: Dr. Santhosh Kumar G, Chair for IEEE Kochi Subsection
Kochi Subsection has traversed ten glorious years by advancing with one vision and a shared mission through persistent ideas, tireless efforts, and daily improvements. Looking back on this decade’s journey1 is quite enriching, rewarding, and gratifying. Thanks to the Section’s predecessors, the Subsection inherited a solid and sound foundation, which helped to achieve significant objectives. Kochi Subsection is the second Subsection of Kerala Section covering members from five districts of Kerala State, namely Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alleppey, and Thrissur. The Subsection got its formation approval from the IEEE MGA in July 2011. Since its inception, the Kochi Subsection has grown as the most significant Subsection globally regarding membership and activities. More than 4700 members and volunteers in the Kochi Subsection have worked tirelessly to develop and promote IEEE activities. Ms. Susan Kathy Land, the IEEE President, and CEO had commended the Section’s participation and passion in engineering, technology, and IEEE during the decennial celebrations. Mr. Deepak Mathur, R10 Director, said, “IEEE Kochi Subsection is not only contributing to the Kerala Section, but it has great footprints all across IEEE through its remarkable activities and dedicated volunteers.”
The Section has vibrant volunteers lined up to undertake challenging activities, be it professional events, student activities, Women in Engineering events or humanitarian activities. The joy of volunteering is the wind behind the wings of the Kochi Subsection. The confidence gained through the successful conduct of 2012 INDICON, the IEEE India Council flagship event, boosted the activities in the Section. Kochi has always been a happening place. As Kerala’s commercial and technical capital, Kochi has the largest number of technical organizations and IT companies in Kerala, with thousands of engineers, researchers, and technical students. Subsection, joining hands with sister societies like Computer Society of India, IETE & ACM, has conducted numerous activities benefiting the members. During these years, the number of events reported by the Kerala Section to IEEE HQ occasionally reached 1000 per year with significant contributions from Kochi Subsection and Kochi HUB.
The Subsection has always been keen on reaching out to society with the technological benefits for the betterment. The sixth installation of the flagship IEEE E-Scientia exhibit has been a significant milestone of the Section, demonstrating the enthusiasm and dedication of IEEE volunteers of Kochi. In July 2014, Dr. Moshe Kam (IEEE President 2011) inaugurated the E-Scientia facility2 in Cochin University of Science and Technology. As of today, half a million school students visited and enjoyed the exhibit. The role played by the Kochi Subsection in the implementation of Techno Unnati, the IEEE HAC-funded project of IEEE Kerala Section, is remarkable. Since its inception, the Subsection has conducted its flagship program, ‘Roadmap to Success’, guiding and motivating the engineering aspirants.
The success of IEEE TENSYMP 2017 and IEEE TENCON 2019 exemplifies the technical prowess of the Kerala Section and the organizing strength of the Kochi Subsection. With these strengths, Kochi is ready to take up major challenging roles of IEEE.
The Section was able to tame the hardships of the pandemic through several online programs, including R10 sponsored Panel On Conference Organizers, technical workshops, and a specially designed program for school kids to build computational skills. The role played by the Subsection by teaming up the Photonic Society members to form a society chapter is also exemplifying the leadership roles of the volunteers in the Section.
Kochi Subsection is proud to be part of IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Looking forward to more opportunities to discover the ‘Joy of Volunteering’.
Links
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES3UW3U3w5Y
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvqZa4DnFoI
