IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. It has over 419,000 members in over 160 countries. The students of our Institution too have an opportunity to join this technical community and become members of the IEEE Student Branch (SB) of Ahalia School of Engineering and Technology (ASET), Palakkad.
The IEEE SB of ASET started functioning in May 2019 and organized a variety of activities last year. Continuing on with these efforts, in 2020, our SB organized twenty nine activities (until November 2020) in the Institution. Prior to the lockdown, which came into effect in mid-March, offline or in-person activities were conducted. During the lockdown, the branch’s activities shifted to online mode and in this context, I greatly appreciate our student members for taking the initiative and continuing on with the branch’s activities. The topics covered include data science, mental health, career growth, electromagnetics, cyber safety, MATLAB, Python, OpenCV, entrepreneurship, communication skills as well as non-technical activities such as drawing and bottle art competitions and learning Adobe Photoshop. A highlight of 2020 was the inauguration of the IEEE Women In Engineering (WIE) Student Branch Affinity Group in June 2020. The presence of this in ASET provides a good opportunity for the students to connect with leading personalities in Kerala, India and abroad. This is in addition to the IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (APS) Student Branch Chapter that was inaugurated in July 2019, to link students interested in the field of antennas, wave propagation and electromagnetics with the top researchers in this field across the globe.
One of the goals of the SB is to provide a platform for the students to connect to their peers in other Institutions inside and outside Kerala. This allows them to mutually learn, broaden their outlook and perspectives and share their experiences. In 2020, the members of our SB participated in forty one events (including webinars) at the national and international level. Within Kerala, the members attended twenty three activities (including webinars). Some of the programs attended by our members include the IEEE Xtreme 14.0 (a global programming content), All India Student – Young Professionals – Women In Engineering – Life Member Congress, All Kerala Antennas and Propagation Society Students Conclave 2020, V-Fiesta 2020 and other events organized by Student Branches across India.
At present, the SB consists of twenty nine students and three faculty members and we look forward to having more members in the student branch in the coming years. The SB is also thankful to all the departments and other student bodies of the Institution with whom we have collaborated and look forward to continued association in the upcoming year. Looking forward to 2021, the SB aims to organize more technical and developmental activities with a wider reach amongst the students both inside and outside ASET.
Note: This article was first published in the January 2021 issue of the ASET Newsletter.
Krishna Kumar Kishor 