Outreaching and Energizing IES Chapters in Southeast Asia
In the quest for outreach to IES regional Chapters through the Growth Centre initiative, an IES Chapter Leaders Workshop was conducted on 13 Sept. 2024, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Participated in this workshop 10 IES Chapters Leaders representing their chapters in the following IEEE Sections: Thailand, Sri Lanka, Bombay, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Kolkata – Guwahati, Kolkata – Silchar, Kolkata – Pradesh. In addition, the workshop was also attended by the local IES SBC’s leaders and the Sri Lanka Section Chair.
The workshop consisted of three phases: i) Expository Phase, ii) Exploratory Phase and iii) Chapter Road Map Phase.
i) The Expository Phase of the workshop consisted of information exchange between the chapters and IES
a) IES to Chapters Leaders
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- Familiarizing the Chapters Leaders with the distinctive history and achievement of IES,
- Detail information on the IES resources available to support geographically remote members through chapters and student branch chapters supporting mechanisms.
- Also, there was an address on the efficient and effective administrative leadership of chapters
b) Chapters Information to IES
The expository phase of the workshop also included a presentation by each chapter leaders on the chapter composition (by gender, by membership class, industry and academia) in addition to projects and initiatives.
ii) Workshop Exploratory Phase
The workshop moved into an exploratory phase by conducting team exercises to explore the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) chapters face in this part of the world. Upon the completion of the SWOT analysis, each team presented their findings. It was interesting to see the common challenges and opportunities chapters face in this region with some differences. The discussion and positive energy in the room was great.
iii) Chapters Roadmap and Outlook
Based on the knowledge gained through the first and second phases of the workshop, each chapter leader designed, and presented, a roadmap for his/her chapter taking into consideration the chapters circumstances.
It was observed, in all Chapters Leaders workshops conducted this year, that only few leaders, if any at all, attended the IES sponsored main conferences. Therefore, there was a great appreciation expressed by the participants for the IES outreach through this workshop. In addition, a keen desire was also expressed to have local IES periodic technical events that rotate between different chapters within the same region. Hopefully this can be realized, with collaborative efforts, to have a mechanism in place for outreaching and energizing IES remote and regional communities.