Prepared by: T. T. Lie, Chair for IEEE New Zealand North Section
IEEE New Zealand North (NZN) Section was established as the New Zealand Section in 1968. From 1979 onwards, various sections were formed in New Zealand and in 1979, the New Zealand Section was renamed as the New Zealand North Section and the New Zealand Council was formed.
New Zealand’s City of Sails is Auckland, a popular destination for many IEEE conferences and events. In 2021, Auckland was the host city for the IEEE Region 10 Flagship conference (TENCON). The NZN Section has not been significantly growing its membership and thus one of the priorities for the Section in the coming year is to focus on several targeted initiatives.
The Section will focus on four focus key areas in the coming year. The first area of focus is to revive the Student Branches which have been inactive for the last couple of years. The Section will put more effort to improve the number of student memberships, especially undergraduate students. The Section is fully committed to implement initiatives that provide the benefits and value for student members such as leadership training, open communication channels, encourage greater responsibility, reward initiative and success, streamline processes, and provide clear pathways to funding. One of the vital components for the future of Section is students, and the Section will put substantial effort to re-establish the Student Branches.
The second area of focus is to reform the Affinity groups such as WIE, SIGHT and YP. The Section will provide more support and funding opportunities for Affinity groups.
The third area of focus is to grow the membership. The Section will form a membership development committee to work on the initiatives that provide local value of membership.
The final area of focus is to encourage Chapter Chairs and Affinity Group Chairs to perform as expected. They have to lead by example by showing a full commitment to serve their respective members.
The NZN Section has won several awards and accolades. Some of the recent achievements include:
