2021 R10 EAC & SAC Outstanding Volunteer
M Sai Prashanth became an IEEE member in 2009 and has been actively contributing as an IEEE volunteer since. He is a Computer Science Engineer who graduated from Vardhaman College of Engineering, Hyderabad. He has worked as a blockchain developer at Tech Mahindra, Hyderabad, and presently pursuing his master’s degree from the same university and has been driven in passion to appear and crack the civil services examinations. For him, IEEE is an opportunity, in which it provided enormous learning and a commendable volunteer opportunities in Region 10. He scaled through various roles including the Student Branch Chair of IEEE Vardhaman SB and Section Student Representative of IEEE Hyderabad Section, on his path to the responsible position of Computer Society Regional Student Ambassador for Region 10. His exemplary volunteering and leadership bestowed him with the prestigious IEEE R10 SAC Outstanding Volunteer Award, IEEE R10 Educational Activities Outstanding Volunteer, IEEE Education Society Student Leadership Award, IEEE R10 YP Revol Winner and IEEE MGA Member-Get-Member Winner (first in R10 and first at the Section in recruiting more members since 2020-2021 and with acash prize of USD1000).
He is presently volunteering as YP Representative of IEEE Education Society BOG and Deputy Chair, IEEE WICE Comsoc. He Volunteered as a Webinar & Training Coordinator, IEEE R10 Student Activities Committee, IEEE Collabratec Coordinator IEEE R10 SAC, and Technical Coordinator of IEEE R10 Talk Webinar Series. He also contributed as Vice-Chair, IEEE India Council Student Coordination Team 2021 and also held the responsibility as Section Student Representative of IEEE Hyderabad Section and also being part of Student Network Team, IEEE Hyderabad Section (2019-2021). He was the Chair for IEEE Vardhaman College of Engineering (SBC02391), Chair for IEEE Vardhaman College of Engineering Computer Society Chapter, Chair for IEEE Vardhaman College of Engineering Education Society Chapter, and IEEE Vardhaman College of Engineering Robotics and Automation Society, and has been the IEEE Collabratec Coordinator under IEEE R10 SAC in spreading the word and main motto of IEEE Collabratec and IEEE Students community across the Section in various events and student branches. For his outstanding leadership abilities as an organizer and volunteer, the Vardhaman College of Engineering IEEE Student Branch awarded him with an outstanding volunteer for excellence in the year 2021. He has also been actively engaged in startup hackathons, codethons, and the Idea Pitching sessions in India. He is an active, ambitious, enthusiastic, and passionate leader who continuously strives to work toward the betterment of the community.
Sai Prashanth always believes without leaps of imagination and dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. IEEE is a form of planning to organize events, engaging in volunteering, acquiring knowledge, and working on community outreach projects that make the possibility more precious. He has been selected as the Global Nominee of NASA Space Apps Colombo Hackathon to represent India in International NASA Space Apps Challenge. He has presented his start-up idea ‘REJOLT’ in the NextGen student Entrepreneurship Challenge and received third place in India. It is a student-teacher-friendly platform, where the students can access courses and internships using chatbots that involve AI and Python. He was the runner-up in start-up hackathon 2020 organized by the center for innovation and entrepreneurship and Asia Inc 500. He has received the ICT Student Innovator award from the government of Telangana for the project titled ‘D.N.A Fountain’. He has received the Pitch Innovator award by the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog for the incubation title, “Technology for Social Impact” organized at the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.
One of the major contributions of Sai Prashanth towards IEEE and humanitarian activities is the “AI-Enabled Chat Bot”, a new initiative established towards fighting against COVID-19. Sai Prashanth initiated and lead this project under the IEEE Vardhaman Student Branch, IEEE Hyderabad Section, and funded by IEEE R10 Student Activities Committee (R10 SAC). The “AI-Enabled Chat Bot” is an open-source project launched to help the health sectors in India by providing interaction facilities with doctors/patients, generating disease prediction rates, and providing e-prescriptions. The “AI-Enabled Chat Bot” has been very useful during the COVID-19 lock-down to support society in ensuring their safety and fraternity. In recognition of his efforts, Sai Prashanth was one of the invited speakers at the “Role of Humanitarian Projects” organized under the IEEE MGA Virtual Speaker Bureau where he shared his experience executing humanitarian projects under IEEE R10. He was invited to IEEE R10 SYWL Congress 2020 to share his experiences working with “AI-Enabled Chat Bot”. The “AI-Enabled Chat Bot” stood among the top 5 selected projects in R10 and among the top 3 selected projects from India, under the Special Call for Covid-19 projects organized by IEEE R10 SAC. “AI-Enabled Chat Bot” initiative was also featured in the IEEE R10 Newsletter as well as at the India Council Newsletter. Sai Prashanth has been the lead and mastermind behind this project and the reason for its successful accomplishments.
Mr. Sai Prashanth has been an active volunteer for IEEE India Council for the past 4 years focusing on member engagement. He extended his endless support by volunteering for the All India Computer Society Student Young Professionals Congress 2019, in publicity and registration domains, where he demonstrated exceptional leadership abilities and teamwork. He was in the core team of All India Student Young Professionals Women in Engineering and Life Member Congress 21, as an intimate support for the whole team and played his role in the successful execution of hybrid congress and received special appreciation from the IEEE India Council. He was on the core team of All India Student Young Professional Women in Engineering Congress 2021, where he led and demonstrated his abilities working with a multicultural team. He volunteered for IEEE India COVID Move Challenge, organized under IEEE India Council in collaboration with Hyderabad, Pune, UP, Bangalore Sections and contributed selflessly and dedicatedly to IEEE activities during the pandemic time. As the Student Chapter representative for IEEE TEMS India, he organized more than 20 activities to connect all the student members and professionals globally under one TEMS community. He also served as social media team lead (2020) focusing on collaboration within Chapters & Student Branches across the 12 sections of IEEE India Council and bringing them under a single platform. As a result of his dedicated work, he has been elected as the Vice-chair of IEEE India Council Student Coordination Team 2021. He is the only India Council delegate at global-centric IEEE entrepreneurial events. Prashanth was awarded the IEEE India Council Outstanding Student Volunteer award 2019, for his exemplary roles and initiatives at his Student Branch, Hyderabad Section, and India Council.
Prashanth is an active humanitarian and a very enthusiastic social worker. For the past four years, Prashanth has conducted many IEEE membership-driven activities as a Student Network member in the Hyderabad Section, especially increasing the awareness of IEEE Membership benefits in collaboration with Section, India Council, and R10. He helped Student Branches in creating opportunities for student membership development and retention in the Section, by which in 2021 the student member count has reached above 5000. As part of membership development initiatives, he established 30 new student branches and more than 100 new Student Branch Chapters across the Hyderabad Section. As a student network member, he organized numerous technical webinars, code contests, and hackathons under IEEE Hyderabad Section, and Student Activities Committee in collaboration with other Student Branches and Chapters.
He pioneered in organizing over 200 events during the COVID-19 pandemic which include major events like IEEE R10 MDLT Summit-Hyderabad, IEEE AISYWLC’21, and IEEE WIE ILS Nagpur. Among his impactful initiatives, IGEN 2020 an IEEE R10 MDLT Summit-Hyderabad is worth highlighting which articulated the technological leadership in students. Most of the events he volunteered and/or spearheaded involved boot camps, workshops, technical training and meetups that helped students to upgrade skills in staying industry-ready. He organized various global collaborative events with eminent speakers like Susan Kathy Land, Deepak Mathur, Leila De Floriani, Elisa Barney, and IEEE MGA SAC Committee Members (Hossam Ali, Adil Usman), IEEE R10 Committees, and India Council Leadership Team, where in total over 6,000 participants were reported globally. Mr. Sai Prashanth Mallellu has been elected as the Section Student Representative for 2021 of IEEE Hyderabad Section for his innovativeness and intellectual initiatives, and for creating impact over the past two years serving in the Student Coordination team of his Section in various roles and leading numerous activities. All his services made him won IEEE Education Society Student Leadership Award in 2021.
“I would advise anyone to maintain focus because IEEE is a huge ocean. Not all options are for you. But you must be wise enough to pick the right ones that come your way. Once you’ve taken something, try to do your best. Try to give your all when you take on something. Be the best, not the second-best; aim to be the best. Always be prepared to put forth more effort than everyone else on the team. That’s what motivates you to go above and beyond. Never forget that helping others is greater than being grateful. Try giving back to the community, whether it may be knowledge or your teamwork.”
- Sai Prasanth